ETHICAL BRAND COMMERCIAL MEMBERSHIP TERMS
This document is published (at Commercial Membership Terms) (the "Website") by the Ethical Brand Foundation ("EBF") a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and incorporated in England & Wales (No. 8652927) at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU. It represents our agreement with you concerning your rights to access member only services as well as the terms and conditions under which your organisation may be granted the right to display the eb™ symbol (a trademark of EBF) and the process of securing eb™ Certification for your brand.
This Agreement
Our Non-Starter Policy, Data Privacy Policy and Terms of Use all form part of this Agreement with you. In the event of any clause contained in any of the above conflicting with a clause contained in this document, this document shall prevail. From time to time certain terms of this Agreement may be amended, corrected and you will always be notified of any material changes.
Background
Many organisations have ‐ for a very long time ‐ enjoyed the competitive advantages of implying, suggesting or otherwise claiming to be so‐called "ethical brands". However, many of these claims are not authentic, because the "good" they claim to be doing in one area (even if it is actually delivered) is often offset by policies and practices they employ in other areas. Our research is focused on supporting brands that genuinely respect the legitimate needs, interests and concerns of all their stakeholder communities ‐ be they customers, employees or partners and shareholders. The eb™ was established so that genuine "ethical brands" can quickly and easily be identified in any marketplace.
Methodology
All rights to display the eb™ logo are underpinned by our proprietary licensing framework, research and certification methodology: a combination of processes and systems, designed and developed during many years of research in the field of ethical branding. This provides us with the insights and confidence needed to entrust the integrity of our trademark identity to member organisations. While statements made by organisations concerning their social, environmental and commercial policies are an important reference point in our research, we do not rely entirely on this information to authenticate ethical brands. Each ethical brand we license to display the eb™ is authenticated on the basis of evidence gathered through our research. In the first instance, this generates an eb™ Rating for your brand, which is then maintained through the life of your membership. All of our authentication methods and processes are transparent to Certified Members.
The right to display the eb™ logo represents strong evidence that the organisation is deeply invested in a direction that is evidently responsive to the legitimate needs, interests and concerns of all their stakeholder communities. Our overall aim is to enable genuine ethical brands to enhance their visibility in their chosen markets and address the commercial potential of growing public demand for goods and services that are not only sensitive to their own interests, needs and concerns, but also those of the wider world ‐ from basic standards of product and service quality to social, environmental and economic impact.
Philosophy
Our philosophy underpins the methods and technology we use to qualify, validate and authenticate genuine ethical brands. We recognise all stakeholders as having joint and several accountabilities for the social, environmental and economic outcomes associated with the brands they choose to support. We have invested in the means to identify and distinguish authentic ethical brands from all others so that everyone can make better brand choices. Our approach has been tested and proven on every continent since 2013. Genuine ethical brands are not perfect, because they are not only run by humans but typically, they are also at the forefront of innovation where things do not always go according to plan all the time. Nevertheless, they always end up doing the right thing ‐ irrespective of their nature, size or location.
Genuine ethical brands demonstrate key behaviours: listening, learning and responding. Evidence of these behaviours, or the absence thereof, provides some of the most reliable and compelling evidence that an organisation is culturally sensitive to the interests, needs and concerns of their stakeholders. Genuine ethical brands foster distinctive cultures that demonstrate consistency with the values that polite, just, decent and fair societies expect and deserve.
Sponsorship
When you, as an individual, register an ethical brand, we refer to you as the Sponsor. By Sponsoring an ethical brand, you are asserting that you have the authority to do so as well as the ability to influence the behaviour of the organisation you represent. Whilst you may assign responsibility for receiving reports, data and feedback from us concerning the performance of your organisation, you accept responsibility for ensuring that your organisation remains compliant with the terms of this Agreement.
Membership, Certification & Licensing
We offer various types of membership. This Agreement concerns Commercial Membership which provides for your organisation to access our services. Certification reflects that fact that an organisation has achieved a certain threshold of environmental, social, economic and commercial integrity (eb™ Rating), which we then use as the basis for granting certain rights to display the eb™ trademark, under the terms of a Limited License, Standard License and or an Extended License, with the latter being subject to further agreement.
All certifications are subjected to precisely the same qualifying process ‐ irrespective of the nature or location of the organisation. This commences with the submission of your Application for Commercial Membership. Your organisation is then likely be granted a Limited License for an initial assessment period of 30 days, which creates a window of opportunity for us to get to know your brand and understand your circumstances and needs, and to generate an eb™ Rating for your brand, which remains confidential to you. If your eb™ Rating achieves the required threshold for certification, your Limited License will be upgraded to the less restrictive Standard License, which carries expanded rights to display the eb™ logo in any setting ‐ with the exception on a product or service label. A Standard License suits the purposes of most organisations.
For the duration of your license, the eb™ logo must be visibly present on the homepage of your website and link directly to your listing in the eb™ Directory (www.directory.ethicalbrand.com). Your directory entry provides evidence of your status as a registered de-facto "ethical brand" and enables the validation, collection and analysis of quality feedback from your stakeholders, which is an important element of the multi‐faceted research we continuously conduct as part of our standardised certification methodology.
We only accept feedback from individuals that have a de‐facto stakeholder relationship with your organisation and only through dedicated channels requiring the submitter to register. We never accept anonymous feedback. All feedback is thoroughly validated, qualified, held in strict confidence and only ever used by us to determine your eb™ Rating. We share this as well as all relevant research directly with you (and others you may nominate), to provide you with timely insights into the performance and perceptions of your brand, so that you can determine what action, if any, needs to be taken.
Where appropriate we may monitor the outcome of certain feedback submissions we receive. Under certain conditions we may withold the identify of any person submitting feedback. We will not intervene in any dispute between your organisation and a stakeholder unless both parties requests our intervention.
License Types
Limited License
Following our receipt and acceptance of your application for membership you will be issued a Limited License, authorising your organisation to display the eb™ symbol on your website and required to pay your Annual Subscription. At the end of an initial 30 day qualifying period we provide you with a confidential report, including your initial eb™ Rating and the underlying data. If your eb™ Rating meets the required threshold your organisation will be eb™ Certified and your Limited License to display the eb™ symbol will be upgraded to a Standard License. If your organisation does not achieve the required threshold for eb™ Certification we may extend your Limited License for a maximum period of 6 months ‐ provided we believe the issues inhibiting your certification can be remedied within this time.
Standard License
Authorises you to display the eb™ logo on your website(s) as well as in other settings including stationery, signage, advertising and marketing collateral ‐ anywhere except to name or label a product or service as these options require an Extended License.
Extended License
This extends your right to display the eb™ symbol to naming and or labelling of specified products and or services. Unlike the Standard License, Extended Licenses are not automatically granted following a period of assessment. You may apply for an Extended License once your organisation has been granted a Standard License by submitting a written proposal to us. All proposals are considered on a case by case basis. However, to be seriously considered, your proposal should consider the following. For example, suppliers representing a threshold of at least 5% of your input costs will themselves be required to secure Commercial Membership and we have special pricing and support services for sponsored suppliers, which your organisation may also choose to fund. A variety of setup, configuration and implementation options are available, under the terms of the Extended License agreement.
Suspension & Cancellation
We take our responsibility to ensure that only genuine ethical brands are authorised to display the eb™ logo, very seriously. All licensing decisions are carefully considered using the best available information and in the interests of our brand as well as those of our members, licensees, partners and anyone who relies on the eb™ to make better choices. If we have serious concerns about continuing to license your organisation to display the eb™ symbol we will invite you to respond to these concerns, within 30 days. We may also suspend all support services provided to your organisation until our concerns have been addressed. In any event, if we are in receipt of compelling evidence that continuing to allow your organisation to display the eb™ logo would be detrimental to the interests of the member community, we may suspend, withdraw or cancel your membership, certification and any license(s) issued to your organisation, in which case you will be notified in writing. You hereby agree to be bound by any decisions we make based on your eb™ Rating.
Refunds
Application fees are not generally refunded, with the exception of de‐factio not‐for‐profit organisations which will have the Application fee deducted from their first Annual Subscription. During the initial 30 day assessment period, if you choose to cancel your membership, or if we withdraw or cancel your membership and or license, 50% of your subscription fee will be refunded ‐ provided we determine that your application for membership was entirely thruthful and not a willful violation of any of this Agreement. No refunds will be issued if your license is withdrawn or cancelled at any time after the initial 30 day assessment period.
Indemnity & Dispute Resolution
Under no circumstances will we be held responsible for any costs or inconvenience incurred by you and or your organisation regarding any decision to suspend, withdraw or cancel your membership, certification and or license to display the eb™ symbol. By applying for commercial membership, you the Sponsor hereby agree, on behalf of your organisation, to indemnify EBF as well as its subsidiaries, employees, directors, partners, members, contractors, agents, affiliates, licensees and associates of any responsibility whatsoever relating to any consequences of any nature arising from this Agreement.
In the event of any dispute arising between the parties to this Agreement, which they are unable to resolve through mutual co‐operation, both parties agree to forego any right of legal action in favour of a negotiated settlement through independent arbitration conducted under the auspices of the UK Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (http://www.ciarb.org). Either Party may contract the services of a member of the institute (at their own expense and risk) to resolve any dispute between them and the decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on both parties.
Conclusion
By applying for commercial membership you are asserting that you are acting in good faith and that you have the authority to enter into this Agreement. You also acknowledge that you have read, understood and accepted all of the relevant terms of this Agreement.
Last Updated: Tuesday, 05 August 2025