Chatting recently with the owner of Wellington’s organic retail chain, Commonsense Organics (not a client of ours), I was encouraged to hear that unlike most other retailers at present, they aren’t losing customers.

Indeed, their customer base is expanding and despite organic produce sitting at the high-end, they are seeing more customers from a wider a range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Why? People have a “huge yearning for integrity”, believes founding owner Marion Wood who started Commonsense more than 10 years ago with her husband. People want to put their money behind an alternative business paradigm to the one which has led to the global recession. So the idea that consumers are willing to downgrade their ethical values and expectations during a downturn is a myth.

Ethical-organics seems to be an international trend. According to an international organic information service, Organic Monitor, people are now demanding more from organic produce - they also want ethical sourcing, traceability, the carbon footprint, sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Indeed, consumers in all sectors are becoming more sophisticated in their expectations. It is the pioneer businesses such as Ideas Shop, which I am proud to say carries up to 10 per cent of its work pro bono to support community groups, emerging businesses and not-for-profit organisations, which are rising to meet the challenge.

In the European organic sector, pioneering producers have established the ‘Organic Plus’ certification which encompasses social responsibility and ethics as well as the environmental factors.

New Zealand’s organic sector is also setting the way. It has grown rapidly over the past few years - just watching Country Calendar is proof enough. I’ve become a fan of what was an icon of conventional Kiwi farming which now seems to document successful organic farmers 99% of the time.

Indeed, according to Organic Aotearoa New Zealand, the umbrella organisation for our country’s organic sector, the amount of organic land has increased by 155% since 2007 to 1.5% of our total horticultural and agricultural land. By the end of 2009, it’s expected to be a half billion dollar industry and the goal is for a one billion industry by 2013.

However, we still lag behind Europe where successive governments have put in place financial initiatives for farmers to convert to organics in response to the obvious environmental benefits and sustainable rural development opportunities.

But the incentives are there in the international market where demand is growing all the time. Our major meat exporter Silver Fern Farms has been advertising for organic lamb suppliers due to demand from major European retail chains such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer which view organics as being an integral part of their premium chilled lamb category.

Fonterra, in response to international market demand, is hoping to increase its organic supplier numbers over the coming year, and is offering substantial incentives for any North Island farmer willing to start converting to organic production. The story is similar for our fruit producers.

According to OANZ, New Zealand’s conventional food producers are also slowly moving towards organics methods – partly because it is easier for them to meet environmental regulations and economic considerations which increasingly restrict chemical inputs.Organic techniques are also cheaper and help them maintain access to international markets.

OANZ is currently looking at ways to increase access to Asia for New Zealand organic products. It’s a market that is close to home and the growing middle classes are demanding the healthy and environmentally beneficial food which New Zealand organic producers provide.

New Zealand’s benefited from its nuclear-free status which is almost our brand. Adding ‘Aotearoa, 100% Organic’ to that brand guarantees a positive future.