How-to Guide

Rainforest Alliance Messaging Templates

Filed Under: Marketing sustainability  |  Tagged: ,

Knowing how to talk about the Rainforest Alliance and your sustainability commitments is essential so that your stakeholders understand the hard work you are doing to make a difference. Below you will find a wide variety of Rainforest Alliance key messages. You can use these templates for your promotional materials or product packaging.

We have divided these texts into the following building blocks so that you can easily pick and choose from there depending on your specific needs.

  1. About working with the Rainforest Alliance
  2. About the Rainforest Alliance
  3. About using the Rainforest Alliance seal
  4. About using the UTZ label
  5. General messaging tips

If you wish to deviate from the below messages and adapt them more to your own brand, make sure to consider these six basic guidelines. These will help you to communicate about your sustainability commitments credibly, transparently, and more effectively.

Feel free to use the below messages in your communication, but please remember that the Rainforest Alliance needs to review and approve any mention of us on your packaging and in your promotional materials. For questions or support, please contact our Customer Success team.

Although we provide recommendations on language related to sustainability claims, you as a company are responsible for the accuracy and credibility of all text claims made on your material and that such text claims otherwise comply with applicable laws.

Also check our Translation Guide with a list of approved translations of commonly used terms when referring to Rainforest Alliance Certified products on packaging and in marketing materials.

1. About working with the Rainforest Alliance

*[product] refers to the certified ingredient, such as cocoa, coffee, tea, banana, etc. (not to a consumer end product or brand name)

2. About the Rainforest Alliance

  • The Rainforest Alliance is working to solve some of the most pressing social and environmental issues of our time—including the climate crisis—by changing the way the world produces and consumes. When you choose Rainforest Alliance Certified [product], you are supporting the farmers who are looking after their workers and our natural resources. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization working at the intersection of business, agriculture and forests. They aim to create a better future for people and nature by making responsible business the new normal. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization working to create a better future for people and nature. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • Rainforest Alliance certification aims to create a better future for people and nature. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • Together with farmers, businesses, consumers and others, the Rainforest Alliance is working towards a world where people and nature thrive together. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • The Rainforest Alliance is working towards a world where people and nature thrive together. They are building a powerful alliance with farmers, businesses, consumers and others. To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • By bringing diverse allies together, the Rainforest Alliance protects forests, improves the livelihoods of farmers and forest communities, promotes their human rights, and helps them mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis in bold and effective ways. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • Rainforest Alliance Certified [crop] means…
    • Livelihoods
      … contributing to lifting rural people out of poverty by improving sustainable livelihood opportunities for farmers, workers, and their families
    • Climate
      …training farmers to grow better crops using climate-smart agriculture, which help them mitigate and adapt to climate impacts.
    • Forests and biodiversity
      …promoting more sustainable land management practices to protect forests, biodiversity, and natural resources.
    • Human rights
      …addressing human rights abuses like child and forced labor, low wages, poor working conditions, and gender inequality. Learn more at www.rainforest-alliance.org.

3. About using the Rainforest Alliance seal

  • The Rainforest Alliance green frog seal stands for a better future for people and nature. Certified farms are better and safer places to live and work, where human rights must be respected. Farmers receive training which addresses issues like child labor and promotes gender equality and non-discrimination. The Rainforest Alliance also works to achieve better livelihoods for farmers and workers, for example, by encouraging farmers to use good agricultural practices that help improve crop yields and reduce costs. Farmers must protect natural resources and the environment by using land, water, and energy carefully. Farmers on certified farms use fewer artificial fertilizers and pesticides, preventing pollution and managing waste. They learn how to preserve forested and protected areas, which in turn helps support biodiversity of plants and animals. Farmers and farm workers are also trained to use climate-smart farming methods and to adapt to the effects of the climate crisis. To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal stands for a better future for people and nature. The Rainforest Alliance trains farmers to use growing methods on certified farms that help improve crop yields and income, while protecting the environment. Examples include natural pest control techniques and better pruning practices. Learn more about the Rainforest Alliance by visiting www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal means that farmers follow more sustainable farming practices that protect forests, improve their livelihoods, promote human rights of farm workers, and help them mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal stands for a better future for people and nature. When you choose our Rainforest Alliance Certified [brand/product], you can be confident that you are supporting farmers to look after their workers and protect our natural resources. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal means farmers follow a rigorous standard for sustainable agriculture and responsible business practices, and commit to improving over time. To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal means that farmers manage their land more sustainably, protect the environment, and benefit from improved livelihoods. The Rainforest Alliance is working towards a world where people and nature thrive together. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal means that [product] is grown using methods that promote a better future for people and nature. To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal means that [product] is grown using more sustainable farming practices. To learn more about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • When you buy [brand/product] with the Rainforest Alliance seal, you are supporting a better future for people and nature. Find out more at www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal stands for more sustainable farming practices, promoting a better future for people and nature. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • The Rainforest Alliance seal stands for a better future for people and nature. www.rainforest-alliance.org
  • Rainforest Alliance Certified—a better future for people and nature. www.rainforest-alliance.org

Also read our web post “What does the Rainforest Alliance Certification Seal mean?”

4. About using the UTZ label

Please note: In order to use the UTZ label on-pack, you always have to comply with the UTZ Labeling and Trademark Policy.

  • [Company/brand] buys [product]* from UTZ certified farms.The UTZ program is now part of the Rainforest Alliance.
  • We source UTZ certified [product] for our [brand/product]. The UTZ program is now part of the Rainforest Alliance.
  • [Company/brand] wants to contribute to a better world for people and nature. That is why we buy [product] from UTZ certified farms. The UTZ program is now part of the Rainforest Alliance.
  • [Company/brand] buys [product] from UTZ certified farmers and/or Rainforest Alliance Certified farms to contribute to a better world for people and nature.The UTZ program is now part of the Rainforest Alliance.

*[product] refers to the certified crop or ingredient, such as cocoa, coffee, tea, banana, etc. (not to a consumer end product or brand name)

Read our web post for guidance on how to communicate the transition from the UTZ label and the legacy Rainforest Alliance Certified seal to the new Rainforest Alliance certification seal to your consumers, and take a look at the New Seal Consumer Communication support deck.

5. General Messaging Tips

We hope that our key messages will suit your needs and we encourage you to use them in your communications. However, it’s also acceptable if you want to create your own narrative inspired by our templates. Here are a few general messaging tips to keep in mind.

We are the Rainforest Alliance

  • Always use our full name: the Rainforest Alliance.
  • Never RFA, RA or any other abbreviation.
  • Never capitalize “the” unless it’s the beginning of a sentence.

Rainforest Alliance Certified farms

  • Always capitalize “Certified.”
  • Translations are allowed of the word Certified only.

Our website URL

  • On websites and other longer content pieces, please display and link to our full website URL www.rainforest-alliance.org.
  • On packaging and other materials where space is limited, the short URL www.ra.org or ra.org may be used.

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