From the Author
"With the phenomenal growth in the industry, OTA's directory has grown exponentially, too. OTA is pleased to offer this new improved edition of our membership directory." said OTA Executive Director Katherine DiMatteo. "Every person interested in additional business contacts in the organic industry should have a copy of this comprehensive resource."
About the Author
Organic Trade Association is the business association representing all sectors of the organic industry in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Our goal is to encourage global sustainability through promoting and protecting the growth of diverse organic trade. Established in 1985 as the Organic Foods Production Association of North America (OFPANA), the Organic Trade Association (OTA) promotes organic products in the marketplace and protects the integrity of organic standards. OTA's Goals The Organic Trade Association: *
provides leadership consistent with organic principles and values *
creates and expands market opportunities for the industry *
promotes awareness and understanding of organic production *
provides a unified voice on legislative, regulatory and policy issues affecting the
business of organic production *
promotes the sustainability of a balanced ecosystem *
protects the integrity of the organic guarantee OTA's Activities The Organic Trade Association provides information, government liaison, market development, education and training. Expert information from the Organic Trade Association includes a wide variety of publications including "The Organic Pages: North American Resource Directory" and "Guidelines for the Organic Food Industry". As a service to our members, we provide a monthly newsletter with information about trends in the industry. In its role as liaison to government, the Organic Trade Association speaks for members at international and national regulatory discussions, provides legislative alert bulletins, and more. Market development includes a wide variety of activities: OTA sponsors the nationwide Organic Outreach Program designed to promote organic agriculture and products. As part of this program, the Association educates the media and others about the benefits of organic production. Organic Outreach culminates each year with Organic Harvest Month, held in September. OTA also offers point-of-purchase materials to retailers, informative brochures for shoppers, and educational materials for kids. In addition to children's educational materials, education and training services include seminars and staff training workshops at major trade shows throughout the country. Attendees learn about how changes in laws and regulations could affect their business as well as how to select and market organic products. OTA's Members Our members include growers, shippers, retailers, processors, certifiers, farmer associations, brokers, consultants, importers, exporters, restaurants, distributors and others involved in producing or selling organic products. The Organic Trade Association's network of industry advisory boards, committees and councils represent all sectors of the organic industry. At present, OTA has three such industry advisory boards--the Organic Certifiers Council (OCC), the Organic Fiber Council (OFC), and the Organic Suppliers Advisory Council (OSAC)--with more expected. Each industry sector brings its own perspective to help create unified standards of excellence for the entire organic industry. As a member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Organic Trade Association is an active participant in creating a global system of organic agricultural production and verification.
