Britta Wyss Bisang (Program Director, Utz certified):
Florentine is one of the most knowledgeable experts on standards and certification. Not only
does she have a long-standing experience as practitioner in the field, auditing against a wide
range of organic and social standards, she also played a crucial role in managing various
accreditation processes and developing new certification tools and standards. She has
brought her in-depth knowledge on smallholder farmer organisations, labour issues and fair
trading practices into the development of IMO’s Fair for Life standard – and the success and
acceptance of the standard certainly speaks for itself! And – equally important - Florentine is
a strong-minded and at the same time warm person whose drive and
energy is contagious!
Kerry Hughes (previous Director IMO-USA):
I only have the highest regard for Florentine. She is one of the most capable people I know.
She is not only super intelligent and good at whatever she tackles, but she has the highest
ethics. She was really the main brains and soul behind the development of the Fair for Life
Fair Trade certification of IMO, which is the best Fair Trade certification on the market. I really
think that she can change the world for the better through her work and dedication to finding
meaningful solutions to the problems we face.
Rudi Dalvai, President of the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO)
We have worked with Florentine in developing our new global Guarantee System and Fair Trade standard since 2011. We experienced her as a proactive, enthusiastic and extremely reliable person. Her outstanding expertise in Fair Trade, certification systems, internal monitoring systems and her ability to develop novel assurance approaches fine-tuned to our need as World Fair Trade Organisation were extremely valuable for designing and continuously improving our system.