Our vision

The main objectives of our Quality approach are:

• To guarantee the quality of the vegetable raw materials we supply to our clients with the purpose of improving the quality, the safety and the efficiency of the finished products deriving from our plants.
• To encourage and support sustainable farming and harvesting of top quality medicinal plants, while respecting and preserving them and their environment.

That is why, we rely on our Quality Management System, which is based on the guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) for medicinal plants as well as the Ethical BioTrade Standard  STD01  imposed by the Union for Ethical BioTrade.

We are also concerned with carrying out different recordings of Documentation Systems of the company in order to guarantee traceability of the information regarding the collected plant batches.

Concerned with the preservation of the natural resources, LATITUDES 23 is committed to the sustainable use of the Biodiversity, the respect of the Traditional Knowledge and the benefit sharing with the collectors.

On 23th September 2013, LATITUDES 23° is a membership of the UEBT (Union for Ethical Bio Trade).

The development of the commercial activities of LATITUDES 23° is done in the strict observance of the rules of the CITES.

The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of flora and fauna is known under the initials CITES or under the name of Convention of Washington. It’s an international agreement between states. Its aim is to ensure that the international trade of specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. The text of the convention was agreed at a meeting of representatives from 80 countries. It was held in Washington,USA,on 3 March 1973 and came into effect on 1 July 1975.

The CITES controls and rules the international trade in species registered in its annexes.

There are three of them established according to the level of protection needed:

• Annex I includes all the endangered species. The trade of its specimens is authorised in exceptional case only.
• Annex II includes all the species not necessarily endangered but that need control to avoid exploitation incompatible with their survival.
• Annex III includes all the protected species in a country that asked for assistance others Parties of the C.I.T.E.S. to regulate its trade.

(Source : CITES)

Our objective is to encourage and support the sustainable agriculture and harvesting of quality botanical plants, in accordance with the methods that respect them and their environment as a whole.

Our harvesting partners are required to collect plants or parts of plants using methods and a pace that will not lead to the long term diminution of vegetable resources, thus conserving its capacity to satisfy the needs and aspirations of present and future generations.

We encourage our local exporting business partners to raise awareness among harvesters and collectors in order to avoid damaging the stability of the natural habitat and the sustainable preservation of the harvested species in their collecting zones. Environmental impact of the collecting activity is to be monitored in the course of time.

Preventing environmental degradation is vital to guarantee a sustainable utilization of vegetable raw materials.

LATITUDES 23°’s objective is to develop sustainable relationships with its southern supply partners thanks to clear and open negotiations with our partners based on mutual confidence.

The objective of any negotiation is to obtain market-viable prices which will significantly improve the suppliers’ lifestyle.

Where necessary, LATITUDES 23° accepts prepayment of crops to ensure the producers have sufficient cash flow without requiring the services of usurious money-lenders

We are totally committed to respecting Human Rights, in particular with regard to the minimum legal age for working as stipulated by the International Labour Organisation, thereby eliminating child labour and respecting workers’ rights. We are also particularly vigilant that these rights be protected and that no policy or proof of discrimination exists.

LATITUDES 23° respects the rights of local and indigenous communities when implementing a supply chain.

LATITUDES 23° is required to respect procedures to access biodiversity and traditional knowledge that is associated to it.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international agreement between more than 190 countries. These states are engaged to protect and sustainably use Biodiversity. Through these agreements, such as the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, they answer to the principles that rule over the use of this type of vegetable raw material for research, development and marketing. These principles are both applicable in the countries where the vegetable raw materials are collected and in the countries where they’re used.

This is how, in accordance with these agreements, we ask our clients that implement research and development on plants that we supply, to engage themselves in the respect of legislative and regulatory demands that are applied in the country or countries where these plants are collected or harvested, as well as in the countries where these raw materials are used.

In order to carry out R and D on vegetable raw materials, it is necessary to:

• Obtain prior informed consent from the Organization of Producers and Collectors that supply vegetable raw material or associated traditional knowledge.
• Settle on mutually agreed terms (MAT) on access and benefit sharing (ABS) conditions with Organizations of Producers and Collectors that supply vegetable raw material ( this benefit sharing can be monetary or not)