Ensuring a responsible future for the global spice industry

Sustainability

ASTA is committed to ensuring that spice production can continue for future generations without compromising the ability of the environment to support it or the well-being of the people involved in its cultivation, processing, and trade.

What Sustainability Means

Sustainability within the spice industry involves a commitment to maintaining or improving conditions and processes over time without depleting resources or causing harm to the environment, society, or economy. Sustainability requires a holistic approach that considers environmental, social, and economic aspects, and it can be achieved through education, advocacy, and practical change.

Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability involves growing and harvesting spices to minimize or to deliver a positive environmental impact. It also includes practices such as preventing soil degradation, preserving water resources, and ensuring that the cultivation of spices doesn’t lead to deforestation or loss of biodiversity.

Climate Resilience

Building resilience against climate change is a crucial aspect of sustainability in the spice industry. This includes adapting farming practices to changing weather patterns, using drought-resistant crop varieties, and implementing measures to protect against extreme weather events.

Social Sustainability

The global spice industry relies on the success of smallholder farms typically in low and middle income countries. Social sustainability focuses on improving the livelihoods and well-being of those farmers and their communities. This can involve ensuring fair labor practices and gender equality, providing access to education and healthcare, and supporting community development projects.

Economic Sustainability

For the spice industry to be sustainable, it must also be economically viable for all stakeholders, from the farmers who grow the spices to the companies that process and sell them. This includes providing fair prices to farmers, ensuring stable supply chains, and creating resilience against market and climate fluctuations.

Sustainable Sourcing

Sustainable sourcing of spices involves procuring spices in such a way that supports sustainable farming practices, reduces the carbon footprint, and ensures the long-term viability of spice crops. This also means transparency and traceability in the supply chain, allowing consumers and businesses to understand where their spices come from and how they were produced.

Quality and Safety

Quality and safety standards are essential in the sustainable production of spices, ensuring not only the integrity of the products but also protecting consumer health. The spice industry provides training to spice farmers to enhance food safety, reduce contamination risks, and promote regulatory compliance in key markets, ultimately supporting the well-being of consumers and fostering trust in the spice industry.

Our Commitment to Promote a Sustainable Spice Supply

For the American Spice Trade Association, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword. ASTA is committed to meaningful, ongoing action to promote a sustainable spice trade. This is achieved through collaboration and partnerships, influencing policy through advocacy, targeted projects, and ongoing education.

Advocacy

ASTA supports the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is aimed at addressing global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. The agenda sets a target date of 2030 to achieve these goals, emphasizing the need for universal collaboration among countries, businesses, and communities to foster a sustainable and prosperous future for all.

Education

ASTA is dedicated to the continued education of members and partners to develop awareness, a common terminology, and an understanding of sustainability issues. Ongoing education through webinars, best practice documents, and in-person foster industry-wide discussions on sustainability opportunities and how to navigate sustainability issues.

Partnership

The Sustainable Spices Initiative (SSI) is a global partnership facilitating and accelerating the sustainable transition of the global spice sector. SSI brings together industry stakeholders to promote and implement environmentally responsible, socially equitable, and economically viable spice farming and trading practices. ASTA announced a joint commitment and partnership with SSI in 2022 to promote sustainability in the global spice industry.

Learn more about SSI

Targeted Projects

The American Spice Trade Association is committed to ongoing work towards sustainability through targeted projects in countries of origin where spices are grown. Training and projects include working with farmers to help them produce higher-quality products, which in turn helps promote better wages.

Sustainability Resources

The ASTA Resource Library includes access to the Sustainability 101 series, 2022 ASTA/SSI Sustainability Symposium presentations and other relevant resources on sustainability for the spice industry.

View Resources Here