Why You Should Get Clean Green Certified for Cannabis

CULTA Clean green certifiedDid you know that 47% of household shoppers say they buy organic food for their home at least some of the time? As climate change continues to be a focal point for politicians and consumers around the world, an even greater focus will be placed on purchasing organic, healthy, and sustainably grown products that are good for humans, animals, and the environment. The cannabis industry is no different.

If you’re a cannabis cultivator that’s interested in giving your crop the organic seal of approval, it’s important to note that organic cannabis doesn’t exist (more on this later). With that in mind, if you want to grow and sell cannabis that’s grown using organic and sustainable methods, you’ll have to get Clean Green Certified.

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So, what’s Clean Green Certified mean, why is it beneficial for you and your customers, and what’s the process look like? CULTA, a vertically integrated producer of craft flower and extracts with cultivation facilities located in Cambridge, MD, has been Clean Green Certified for two years (and running), so we’ll shed some light on what you need to know about Clean Green certification.

First, What Does Clean Green Certified Mean?

As previously mentioned, Clean Green Certified is a special certification for cannabis companies that can demonstrate that their crops are organic and sustainable. Since the federal government doesn’t recognize cannabis production or consumption as legal, cannabis can’t technically earn organic certification from the USDA. Until 2004, which is when Chris Hook developed the Clean Green Certified program, there was no organic equivalent for cannabis.

Simply put, a Clean Green Certified designation is the closest thing to organic that cannabis can get. It’s the longest-running certification program of its kind in the world and the largest in the U.S.

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“As a cannabis cultivator, getting Clean Green Certified is the best way to show your patients that you care about producing a high-quality product that doesn’t contain harmful chemicals and is grown sustainably,” says Mackie Barch, co-founder and Chief Cannabis Officer at CULTA.

Why Get Certified?

There are multiple reasons to get Clean Green Certified. It’s good for the environment, good for your patients, and, ultimately, it could be really good for your bottom line. Consumers can be very discerning, particularly millennials and Gen Z, and, with health scares arising from toxic additives in cannabis (particularly in vapes), many cannabis consumers take how their cannabis is grown very seriously.

Clean Green certification not only provides consumers with peace of mind about how their cannabis is grown, but it can help you stand out in what’s quickly becoming a very crowded market. Clean Green maintains a business directory on its site which allows users to search and find certified products, dispensaries, and crop producers in their state. Plus, when full federal legalization occurs, Clean Green Certified may very well become the cannabis industry’s version of the USDA, so those who already have the designation will be one step ahead of everyone else.

What’s the Process Like?

The certification process is rigorous and includes the completion of an application and an intensive operation inspection but, in our opinion, it’s well worth the effort.

“The certification process isn’t for the faint of heart,” says Jay Bouton, Senior Director of Cultivation at CULTA. “But at the end of the day, it speaks volumes to our patients. We put so much effort into growing a high-quality, sustainable crop, and being Clean Green Certified means our patients know that our products can be trusted.”

The certification process focuses on the below areas:

  • Legal compliance – This phase of certification ensures that you’re legally compliant in the state in which you operate. Clean Green will perform a mock trace-back exercise that will prove your ability to keep track of Clean Green cannabis and protect it from contamination. You’ll know if you passed two to four weeks after the on-site inspection, and this certification is valid for one year.
  • Cultivation methods – Here, you’ll be asked questions about the source of your water and electricity, soil erosion protection, border areas, and pest/disease control. A crop inspection will determine if the methods you outline in the application match what’s being done on-site, and that it all conforms with the inputs allowed under the Clean Green Certified program.
  • Agricultural inspection – During this portion of the program, Clean Green will closely examine your plants and the growing area. Samples will be collected and sent to labs to test for pesticide residue and other contaminants, and they’ll look at your processing room since this is the area where contamination is most likely to occur.

In addition to the standard Clean Green Certification, Clean Green also certifies cannabis as being vegan. Cannabis with the Clean Green Certified Vegan label is grown and processed without animal-based fertilizers or pest controls. Cannabis with this designation does not use animal byproducts in any aspect of the growing, processing, or packaging phases of cannabis production.

At CULTA, we take sustainability in the cannabis industry seriously, as do all members of the Sustainable Cannabis Coalition. If you want to take your cannabis products to the next level and show your customers that sustainability and eco-friendliness are important to you, we invite you to get certified as well.

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