Who we are
The Soil Association is the charity that digs deeper to transform the way we eat, farm and care for our natural world.
Find out more:
Who we are
The Soil Association is the charity that digs deeper to transform the way we eat, farm and care for our natural world.
We want to live in a world which is in balance with nature and a future with good health and a safe climate.
In order to achieve that, it is our mission to help everyone understand and explore the vital relationship between the health of soil, plants, animals and people. Campaigning, educating and helping everyone to grow better together.
The charity helped to establish, and has ongoing involvement in:
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Our wholly-owned subsidiary Soil Association Certification Limited, the UK’s largest organic certification body.
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Food for Life, our programme making good food the easy choice for everyone.
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The Soil Association Land Trust, who acquire and maintain farmland sustainably and to connect the public with land stewardship.
We’re also a lead partner in several programmes working directly with communities to deliver positive change in food and farming, including: Innovative Farmers, Sustainable Food Places, Food For Life Get Togethers and more.
The Soil Association is registered with the Charity commission for England and Wales, charity number 206862 and with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, charity number SCO39168.
The wholly owned subsidiary Soil Association Certification Limited is run as a not for profit company that as well as helping to delivery parts of the Charity’s strategy also generates financial returns that are ploughed back into the Charity’s wider work.
The Soil Association Land Trust is a charity in its own right, charity number 1121011, established to acquire and maintain farmland sustainably and to connect the public with land stewardship.
What we do
The Soil Association, formed in 1946 is the only UK charity working across the spectrum of human health, the environment and animal welfare. We do this because we know if we work together with our community of supporters, partners, donors and dedicated staff we can make a world of difference.
The ways we make a difference:
We campaign for change
Our policy team lobby government and support positive changes to food and farming laws. We research ways to move away from current intesive production and consumption systems towards a nature-friendly future, allowing us to run our campaigns with clout.
Sign up for updates to receive news, offers, practical tips and information on ways you can get involved with our campaigns.
We support farming innovation
We support farming innovation and farmer-led research through programmes like Innovative Farmers, and Future Farming Scotland. These programmes provide a platform for farmers and growers to develop and share knowledge and skills - to secure the future of healthy, sustainable food.
We serve healthy food
Our Food for Life programme makes good food the easy choice for everyone, whoever and wherever they are. As well as improving the quality of life for thousands of school children, we are helping other communities access good food in UK hospitals and cities.
Food for Life's Get Togethers programme uses good food to bring people of different ages together through growing, cooking and eating.
We develop world-leading standards
The Soil Association was one of the founders of the global organic movement and developed some of the world’s first organic standards.
Today, we continue to develop high standards for food, farming, health and beauty and textiles and work across Europe to influence legislation.
Through our work with The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) both in the EU and internationally, we support a thriving organic movement in all corners of the world.
We support and grow the organic market
Through Soil Association Certification, we provide our organic businesses with technical advice and marketing support.
Year on year, our Organic Market Report shows healthy growth in the organic sector.
Through our organic standards and our licensees, we effect real change on the ground – the farming they do and the food that they produce is rooted in the organic principles of health, ecology, fairness and care.
We protect forests
Soil Association Certification Forestry supports over 2,000 forestry, wood and paper clients.
Through these clients, we’re protecting over 17 million hectares of forest all over the world – as well as the people, plants and animals that live in them.
Our impact
We're on the road to making big changes for our future. Read our 2019 Work & Impact Report for an overview of our impact this year.
Our Annual Report and Accounts is available to view too, which details how we raised and spent money over the last year.
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Join the community of thousands fighting to transform food and farming - we must act now to protect our health, our natural world, and our climate
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