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6 Brands with A Fair Trade Story to Tell

July 29, 2019 By Anastasia Maher

If you’re looking to become a more conscientious consumer, specifically when it comes to fair trade products, you’re in luck: many of your favorite brands at the Co-op are already fair trade certified! What does this mean? Fair trade is when producers pay what is considered a “fair” price to the farmers they work with. This above and beyond amount, which is known as the “fair trade premium,” can then be used to improve the livelihood of the farmers–things like electricity, running water, and education suddenly become accessible. Fair Trade USA is one of the many organizations that certifies that a product can put a fair trade symbol on their packaging. Here are 6 brands sold at the Co-op with products certified by Fair Trade USA:

1. Annie’s

Read more about Annie’s mission to use sustainably sourced cocoa

 

2. Pacific Foods

Read how Pacific Foods is part of ethical supply chain

 

3. HiBall Energy

Watch and tag along with the founders of HiBall Energy on a trip to see where their fair trade sugar originates

 

4. Kashi

Learn more about how Kashi sources their cocoa responsibility

 

5. I Heart Keenwah

See what happened when the co-founder of I Heart Keenwah saw the effects of fair trade up close

 

6. Larabar

Read about Larabar’s trip that deepened their appreciation for fair trade practices

 

All of these brands use fair trade practices according to Fair Trade USA. To see the full list of products verified by Fair Trade USA, visit their website. 

Filed Under: Fair Trade, The Cooperative Times, Uncategorized Tagged With: buy local, ethical food systems, ethical supply chain, fair trade, fair trade chocolate, fair trade coffee, fair trade products, Fair Trade USA, littleton food coop, Littleton Food Cooperative, slave free, slave free cocoa, supply chain, sustainability

Sip on Fair Trade

July 22, 2019 By Anastasia Maher

Last week, we highlighted the prevalence of slave labor in the chocolate industry and some companies who are forging the path away from inhumane working conditions. While slavery in chocolate is perhaps the most famous un-just food system, similar hardships and ethical conundrums pop-up across food group lines. Luckily, there are similar companies using their buying power through fair trade to change human conditions around the world. This week, we take a look at beverages making a difference. 

To many American homes, coffee is a staple; however, a world of complexity lives behind the grounds. Coffee is an extremely volatile industry whose prices tend to slope down rather than up. Fairtrade organizations stepped in to ensure farmers “receive a fair and stable price for their coffee that covers average costs of sustainable production.” On the consumer side that might be hard to believe; however, most coffee farmers receive only 2% of their coffee’s retail price. A fair trade premium guarantees that coffee farmers will have an income regardless of the market, and can hopefully use that money for self-improvement. This phenomenon, the goods and the bads, occur across multiple industries that come together to make our favorite drinks. For companies who continue to use slave and child labor, “transparency alone doesn’t solve farmworker issues or issues of modern slavery, but it’s a necessary precondition for addressing these issues” according to the director of the CRS Coffeelands program Michael Sheridan. Another step in the right direction is engaging in fair trade. The following beverage companies have an independent fair trade verification and can be found at the Littleton Food Co-op: 

  • Honest Tea
  • Equal Exchange
  • SillyCow farms
  • Maine Root
  • The Republic of Tea (some varieties)
  • Santa Cruz Organics

*Similar to chocolate, we sadly can not guarantee that all the beverage options on this list are produced without slave or child labor. We know there are many smaller companies out there who choose not to become verified fair trade organizations even though their practices exceed the requirements. In addition, fair trade verification organizations themselves can be very laissez-faire in the enforcement of ethical farming practices, so many question the validity of a fair trade label. These conversations are leading us down the road towards more humanitarian production methods and trade deals for all industries. 

 

Resources: 

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/en/farmers-and-workers/coffee/about-coffee

https://medium.com/@MarinaTMartinez/coffee-slavery-destruction-and-shortage-c915d430390e

https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/13/in-brazils-coffee-industry-some-workers-face-conditions-analogous-to-slavery/

https://foodispower.org/our-food-choices/coffee/

Filed Under: Fair Trade, The Cooperative Times Tagged With: child labor, child labor in the coffee industry, equal exchange, ethical food systems, fair trade, fair trade cocoa, fair trade coffee, Fair Trade USA, fair trade verification, fairtrade, food systems, slave free coffee, slave labor

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Our 2022 Partners

January
North Country Beekeepers Association
February
Mt. Eustis Ski Hill
March
Women's Entrepreneurial Network (WREN)
& NH Farm to School
April
Littleton Area Senior Center
May
Adaptive Sports Partners of the North Country
June
Second Chance Animal Rescue
July
Boys & Girls Club of the North Country
August
Above the Notch Humane Society
September
The Colonial Theatre
October
Littleton Co-op Community Fund
November
Local Food Pantries
December
The Bancroft House



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43 Bethlehem Road· On the corner of Cottage St and Rte 302· Exit 41 off I-93· 603-444-2800
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