Smartsoil Directory
How the directory works
The directory exists to help people turn an interest in organic and regenerative living into everyday purchasing decisions: where to buy vegetables, who to get eggs from, which café to sit down in, where to mend a jacket. This page explains how a business gets in and what the labels on a listing mean.
Certification is one way to show good practice, not the price of entry
Certification costs money and takes time. Plenty of small producers do meaningful work without it, or are part way through transitioning. We include those businesses. What we ask in return is that every listing explains its specific reason for being here, in plain language, and never leans on a vague “green”, “ethical” or “sustainable” badge with nothing behind it.
We also do not score or rank businesses. A business with six tags is not “better” than one with two. The tags describe what a business does; you decide what matters to you.
Two things we keep separate
1. Practice tags
What a business does. “Uses some organic ingredients” or “Refill and reduced packaging”. Each tag has a definition, below.
2. Evidence labels
What supports it. Every tag on every listing carries one of three labels saying how we know. A tag is never shown without one.
The three evidence labels
- Business-reported
The business told us this, or says it publicly. We have not checked it beyond that.
- Supporting information reviewed by Smartsoil
We looked at supporting information such as the website, photos, market listings or a conversation with the owner. This is desk research, not a farm or supply-chain audit.
- Independently certified
A third-party certification covers this claim. The certificate's scope and dates are shown on the listing.
Evidence is attached to individual claims, not to a business as a whole. A café can have a certified supplier for its flour and a business-reported claim about its coffee, and the listing will say so. When we verify a certification we record the scheme, the certificate number where available, what it covers, and when we checked. A verified badge only appears when the evidence and its scope support it; a certification still under review stays labelled as pending.
What each practice tag means
The definitions below are what a tag does and does not imply. Where a tag is easy to over-read, the note underneath says what it does not mean.
Growing & production
Certified organic
Holds a current organic certification from a recognised scheme. The certificate's scope is shown on the listing — one certified product does not mean the whole business is certified.
Only shown as verified when we have seen the certificate or register entry and it covers what the listing says it covers.
Organic growing practices, not certified
Describes growing or producing without synthetic fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides, but is not certified. Certification costs money and time, and many small producers choose not to pursue it.
Not the same as certified organic. Usually business-reported.
Regenerative farming practices
Describes specific practices aimed at building soil health and biodiversity, such as cover cropping, rotational grazing, reduced tillage, multi-species pasture or biodiversity plantings. The listing names the practices.
'Regenerative' has no single certification. We distinguish documented practices from measured outcomes and only describe an outcome as measured when evidence shows it.
Biodynamic practices
Follows biodynamic methods. May or may not hold Demeter or another biodynamic certification — the evidence label says which.
Certification, if any, is recorded separately.
Pasture-raised
Animals live on pasture for most of their lives rather than in sheds or feedlots.
Does not by itself indicate organic feed or certification.
Sourcing
Uses some organic ingredients
Uses certified organic ingredients or inputs for part of what it makes or sells. Where we know which ingredients or suppliers, the listing says so.
A supplier's certification covers that supplier's product, not the café, shop or kitchen using it.
Sources from local growers
Buys a meaningful share of its produce or ingredients directly from growers in its region, and can say who they are.
Local does not mean organic. This tag says nothing about how the produce was grown.
Materials
Organic fibres
Products made from certified organic fibres such as GOTS-certified cotton or certified organic wool. The scope shows which products or ranges.
Natural or organic fibre says nothing on its own about how the garment was made or who made it.
Locally made
Makes its products in Western Australia (or the region shown on the listing).
Where the materials come from is a separate question.
People & supply chain
Transparent production and labour practices
Publishes where and by whom its products are made, and how workers are treated — for example named factories, audit results or a published supplier list.
We record what is published. Publishing is not the same as an independent audit.
Waste
Repair and reuse
Repairs, mends, refurbishes or resells goods so they stay in use longer.
Refill and reduced packaging
Sells refills, accepts your own containers, or has removed single-use packaging from a substantial part of its range.
Things we try never to imply
- That local means organic. They are different things.
- That a natural or organic fibre means the garment was made ethically.
- That a market's inclusion says anything about stalls that are not themselves listed.
- That a supplier's certification covers the café or shop that buys from them.
- That one certified product means the whole business is certified.
- That “regenerative” is independently certified, unless a certification record says so.
- That a farm gate or shop is open right now. We show schedules, not live opening status.
Locations and privacy
We only put a pin on the map for confirmed public-facing places: a farm gate that welcomes visitors, a shop, a café, a market or a collection point. A farm with no public entrance appears in the list with the markets it sells at and its delivery area, but its address is not shown. Where a position is approximate, the pin and the listing say so.
“Near me” only runs when you press the button. Your position is rounded to roughly a kilometre before it is used to sort results, it only ever lives in the address bar of the page you are looking at, and it is not stored by us.
Suggest a business, or a correction
Anyone can suggest a business, whether they run it or shop there. Suggestions go into a private review queue; they are not published automatically and a suggestion does not guarantee a listing. If something on a listing is out of date, use the “Suggest a correction” link on that page.