Solidaridad is a leading Dutch and international NGO that has been an innovator and driving force in fair trade and environmental issues. This international network organisation has more than two decades of experience in creating fair and sustainable supply chains from the producer to the consumer. Solidaridad believes that fair and sustainable trade reduces poverty and helps to preserve the environment.

Back in 1988, Solidaridad was the founder of the Max Havelaar coffee label. This was a starting point for Fairtrade Certification, leading directly to the International Fairtrade Standard (FLO). Having introduced Fairtrade coffee, Solidaridad started a Fairtrade scheme for bananas in 1996. To do this, it set up a fruit company, Agrofair, that is co-owned by the farmers and which supplies Fairtrade labelled fruit to supermarkets across Europe. In 2001, Solidaridad established Kuyichi jeans, a sustainable fashion brand that is now sold in more than 500 leading stores across Europe, and in 2004, Solidaridad helped to launch what is now MADE-BY.

“A well-made product deserves a good price. This ensures a decent wage to which everyone is entitled”, says Nico Roozen, director of Solidaridad and chairman of the MADE-BY Foundation. “After Max Havelaar coffee and Oké bananas, fashion produced in a sustainable manner is our third major fair trade initiative. Why clothing? Because, as everyone knows by now, the textile industry is a tough sector where cost price takes priority over people and the environment”.

Solidaridad has been inspired by the vision that sustainable production in agriculture and industry, combined with fair trade, can make a significant contribution to combating poverty and preserving the environment, in the context of a globalising economy.

Over the years, Solidaridad has developed into a specialised organisation for sustainable development. It has a solid and proven track record as a force for innovation. Its development as a learning organisation with the capacity to anticipate and respond to new developments and opportunities in the market is a hallmark of its culture and strategy.

Cotton workers © MADE-BY