GreenCare – WQ-certified gardening products
GreenCare brings to the market the first WQ®-certified gardening products that take animal welfare into account. They facilitate the choices of consumers striving for ethical choices.
Purpose
Chicken and horse manure have served as raw materials for garden fertilizers for years, but until now the welfare of production animals has been measured mainly in the food industry. GreenCare was the first manufacturer of garden products to receive an animal welfare certificate for garden products of animal origin as well. The Maatilan Aito product line draws its strength from domestic farms, where the welfare of the farm’s animals has been ensured by an independent external auditor.
Maatilan Aito offers consumers the opportunity to get to know the origin of the products in a genuine and transparent way. The products have been developed by adopting old, well-proven manufacturing methods and combining them with new knowledge and skills.
Results
The product line includes long-aged and sanitized horse manure, odorless compost soil with up to 50% less peat used, and chicken manure that comes from organic chicken farms. The raw materials come from domestic chicken, horse and cattle farms. All products are packed in recyclable plastic packaging which is made out of recycled plastic.
Implementation
The Welfare Quality® (WQ) certificate is an objective measure of animal welfare and the evaluation method is based on scientific evidence. The certificate is granted to facilities that pass an inspection by an external party. It is the only internationally accepted and used well-being indicator.
The Welfare Quality indicator is based specifically on the welfare of the animal. The animal’s external well-being, behavior and attitude towards humans is observed. In the audit, four different areas are evaluated with 12 different metrics. The sub-areas are:
- Good feeding: the animal has enough food and drink when it is hungry or thirsty
- Good breeding environment: the animal has enough space, time to move freely and a comfortable place to rest
- Good health: the animal has no injuries, diseases or pain from procedures
- Behavior: the animal has a good human-animal relationship, no fear or anxiety, but a positive emotional state
This is the first time in Finland the well-being of horses has been ensured with WQ® certification.
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