Home Grown - Self Declared is one of the declarations under the Ekko Score Artisan & Professional Standard.
Home grown produce has usually been grown in someone's backyard or on their hobby farm. Supporting small scale, local produce helps build local grower networks and community. Be aware that a self declaration of Home Grown does not automatically assert organic or pesticide free or that a resultant product was made by the business selling it. Make sure you check those declarations.
Apart from supporting local community, Home Grown usually implies that produce is both seasonal and fresh. It may also be rescued produce from someone else's property. In either event, origins should be known to the trader.
Home Grown - Self Declared sits in the GROWN Family, under the Societal Standard: Artisan & Professional of Ekko Score. One set of Ekko Score points are gathered from each Family.
These are the claimable declarations & certifications under the Societal Standard: Artisan & Professional. Please note that different certifications and declarations may be relevant to each category.
Yes, where the impact of the claim is similar. This is how it works.
IMPORTANTLY, SELF DECLARATIONS ARE GOVERNED BY CONSUMER LAW. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR BUSINESSES TO MAKE FALSE CLAIMS (INCLUDING IMPLIED CLAIMS IN A CONTEXT LIKE EKKO SCORE).
EVEN IF A PRODUCT HAS A FORMAL CERTIFICATION, THAT CERTIFICATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ENTIRE INTEGRITY OF THE PRODUCT'S MAKE UP.
An example might be a Handmade, Australian, Certified Organic chocolate that contains Palm Oil. Under Ekko Score, this product would claim Certified Organic and would self declare: Zero Waste Production and Australian made, but could not claim the No Palm Oil declaration. This would mean a lower score under the No Exploitation Standard, making the inclusion of Palm Oil clear to potential consumers, without detracting from its other assets.
No product is perfect, but some products are definitely better than others. Ekko Score allows you to make the best decision you can, or to put it another way, the least worst decision. And to make that decision with the confidence of not being green washed. Find out more about how Ekko Score works.