The international organisation (Organisme de Contrôle & de Certification) was founded in 1991 in France, co-founder and CEO of the company is William Vidal. At first, only farms working according to organic farming methods were inspected and certified. This was followed by the certification fields of natural/organic cosmetics, organic textiles, organic detergents/cleaning agents, room fragrances, paints and varnishes, operating resources, organic green space management, fair trade and golf courses. Among other things, the company follows the IFS (International Featured Standards or Intermational Food Standard) rules.
The company carries out inspections in over 130 countries, making it one of the largest organic certification organisations in the world. With 23 branches on 5 continents, ECOCERT is represented in over 80 countries. More than 500 employees form an international network. There are branches in Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Turkey and the USA. The headquarters of the ECOCERT INTERNATIONAL division is in Northeim (Saxony, Germany), that of ECOCERT France in L'Isle-Jourdain (Gers).
ECOCERT controls 70% of the organic farming and processing industry in France and 30% worldwide. This makes it one of the largest organic certification organisations in the world. The farms have their products inspected at regular intervals (12 or 18 months). If the results are successful, they receive a licence and the right to use the ECOCERT seal (ellipse with red text ECOCERT). Other similar international organic certification organisations are ICEA and SGS. All of them can act differently per country as one of the state-approved organic or ecological inspection bodies. See also further information under Organic viticulture.
