Posts tagged Fair Trade

Guayakí is so good

November 2, 2010 · Filed under Environmental Justice, Green Products, Organic Produce · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

By Julio A. Cruz

Like most of you, I did not know what was Guayakí Yerba Mate Organic until I saw its Fair Trade table at the Fair Trade Futures Conference in Quincy, Mass. early September.

Guayakí Yerba Mate logo. Photo Courtesy: University of San Diego Student Radio.

Guayakí isn’t only Fair Trade but certified organic, too. I’ve only tried a couple of drinks, including the 16 oz. non-carbonated organic yerba mate Lemon Elation which comes in a can.

Some might ask, what is a yerba mate? I had that same question, and found that it’s:

Yerba mate is the legendary infusion from South America that is luring people away from their daily coffee fix.  Yerba mate first caught the attention of world-class athletes and health-conscious people, but now mate is becoming a favorite healthful daily ritual for all people taking their well-being seriously. Grown in the sub-tropical rainforests of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, yerba mate has long been revered as the “drink of the gods”.

So as you can see, it’s healthy, good for us. It’s also Kosher certified.

In its packaging process, starting from the start in growing the yerba mate to processing it, to packaging to transporting it to having it in your hands, Guayakí products takes out carbon from the environment.

Even the pamphlet, which all its info is on, the paper used is from 50% Post-Consumer Waste paper, it’s processed with free of Chlorine, uses vegetable based inks,  and it’s Green-e certified.

They even plant native trees in South American forests.

So get out, check out Whole Foods Market, for example, and choose any of its six stimulants, like yerba mate, coffee, tea, kola nut, cocoa or guarana.

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Honest Tea is going Fair Trade

October 28, 2010 · Filed under Environmental Justice, Environmental Movement, Organic Produce · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

By Julio A. Cruz

Triple Pundit reports that Honest Tea will be Fair Trade Certified by the end of the 2011 first quarter.

Variety of drinks from Honest Tea. Photo Credit: FreeMania!

This makes them much better in its social and environmental practices plus places them even higher in the beverage category. It comes to no surprise they announce this during Fair Trade month.

It’s probably been a couple years since I started consuming Honest Tea. The green tea with honey grabbed my attention. Now I have about three of their 28 different flavors.

I enjoy the drink because it taste good, it’s healthy, certified organic, light, and very environmentally-friendly.

They do have some drinks in glass containers, which are usually found in Whole Foods Market, but for the most part the drinks are on plastic #1 containers, being 22 percent less plastic than regular bottles, BPA-free while saving world resources.

The drinks are tasteful, especially the ones from the  pomegranate and blueberries to the one with goji berries, where most of its fruits come from the eastern part of the world.

I’m going be even more satisfied when I drink, let’s say the new lemon tulsi as I see the Fair Trade Certified label on the bottle.

Some of its drinks come in packages of 12 and can be found in a Smart&Final.

What this does now is have Honest Tea officially meet Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) and Fair Trade USA standards that better tea farmers’ quality of life.  Meaning, that workers gain a fair portion of profits, have fair working conditions, freedom of association, minimum wage, and that they work under environmentally sustainable agricultural practices.

Hones Tea are ahead of the pack now and people are supporting it, like the President and CEO of Fair Trade USA Paul Rice who said:

“Honest Tea is once again raising the bar for the entire industry. Honest Tea has been a pioneer in social responsibility from the beginning…and that they care about the workers who harvest their tea and the future of their communities.”

Enjoy!

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Who Knows Where the Stuff Goes?

October 20, 2010 · Filed under Environmental Justice, Environmental Movement, Green Living, Green Products, Recycling · Tagged , , , , ,

by Karoline Steavenson

If you have not watched the 20 minute video called “The Story of Stuff” by now please take a break and watch it as soon as you can. It was created by Annie Leonard.

The Story of Stuff

The message of “The Story of Stuff” is that our whole world is based on a linear model of consumption. The wealthy people of the world, and that’s most Americans, Europeans and other members of developed societies, buy things. Lots of things. Some of these things they need, but some they don’t need.

When citizens of wealthy nations finish using their stuff, or when they simply get bored with it and long for a change, they throw it out. A small percentage of it gets recycled. Most of it winds up in landfills or in the oceans.

Since most of it is not recycled what we have is a linear system that ends with billions of piles of toxic chemicals encased in trash, or billions of pounds of toxic gases released when the trash is incinerated. Leonard points out that each of us who consumes stuff has a responsibility and opportunity to end this wasteful, linear system every time we recycle.

Here are some creative ways businesses, non-profits and individuals are recycling our stuff:

Trashy Bags – The sight of tens of thousands of plastic water and ice cream bags in Ghana inspired Stuart Gold to start a business in which he and his employees fuse the bags together and sew them into handbags, backpacks, and other types of satchels.

Clothes Made From Scrap – Clothes made from recycled fabric.

Patagonia Recycled Fleece – Patagonia sells a line of clothing made from recycled plastic bottles.

Clothing Swaps – Let’s face it ladies, from a young age we have been taught to love new clothes. While we could give our old, gently worn items to thrift stores, charities, friends or family members, there is another way. MeetUp.com has several local clothing swap clubs listed on their website or you could plan a clothing swap of your own. Give away some clothes and take some clothes new to you and every one leaves happy! Beside the satisfaction of knowing you gave new life to some perfectly good clothes, you can also experience the thrill of shopping for free.

If you have some old clothes that none of your friends want, charities don’t need, or are too worn out for anyone, take them to The Goodwill or The Salvation Army. They specialize in sorting clothing. They send the rag clothing off to be recycled.

Leonard has made a few other videos entitled “The Story of Bottled Water”, “The Story of Cosmetics” and coming soon, “The Story of Electronics”.

The media often confronts us with the fact that we are all part of a global economy now. We are part of a global trash problem too.

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Getting involved in helping others and yourself

October 1, 2010 · Filed under Environmental Justice, Environmental Movement · Tagged , , , , , , ,

By Julio A. Cruz

We live in a country where consumers are the ones that hold control in what products come in and where the money being spent on those products go. It isn’t all up to corporations because in reality, they would not exist if it wasn’t for consumers.

It isn’t only about buying what is seen on billboards or TV.

Fair Trade flowers at Agrogana Farm in Ecuador. Photo Credit: TransFair USA

Consumers’ knowledge is growing but it needs to grow rapidly. That’s because it is vital to understand how we, the consumers, are affecting everyone else with the money we use to spend money, that may be in dealing with human rights, economic equity and environmental sustainability.

A few things we can do to move this along is shopping on a conscious level. That could be through Fair Trade.

Continue to learn more about what is happening outside of our circumference; spread the word about cheap labor; or even work or volunteer within organizations that work around making the lives of producers a better one.

It goes even as far, in products that is, as when purchasing flowers. For example, flowers from Agrogana Farm in Ecuador produces Fair Trade flowers, and I fell on this information just from looking through a pamphlet.

So if you see any information out there that seems to lead in to this way of living, check it out and even do your own homework to make sure that it is legit. Always double or triple check.

Don’t forget, it’s Fair Trade month.

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Getting to know your ‘green’ community businesses

September 20, 2010 · Filed under Environmental Justice, Environmental Movement, Green Economy, Green Living, Green Products · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

By Julio A. Cruz

This past Sunday, the Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce held its first Sustainability Summit, providing several topics on going, being and moving to a ‘green’ lifestyle, but only as consumers but as a community.

One thing is for sure when it comes to sustainable businesses. It is about the 3Ps – people, planet and profits.

Fair Trade is a perfect example in dealing with the right people in honest ways. Some businesses might not be Fair Trade but they are socially responsible and even active when it comes to dealing with human rights, education, creating access (e.g. food) health, and community impact (the most important).

Dealing with the planet is obvious. It is all about climate change, improving it that is, working appropriately with waste, toxins and ensuring safe ways that impact our environment.

Profits are important because face it, money needs to be made to only survive but to continue practicing sustainable habits. Practicing ethics, fair wages to employees, and the people that make the products is very important.

Look for your community businesses to be transparent, some even have their info online, which they should, and others in their stores and the rest have its employees informed of what they do in case you ask them.

As consumers, we have to make sure our local stores that say they are ‘green’ to truly be green.

If you see a store stating they are Fair Trade, organic, ethical, locally made, etc., double check.

For those that are not sustainable and you would really like them to be, talk to them.

As a consumer it is your right to do so and find out what is going on in you community. It is a conscious way of living.

Check out CERES, a network of environmental organizations and businesses, where you can see the measures that business should follow.

For example, one of the speakers, Randi Ragan, spoke on how she follows those measures for her GreenBliss EcoSpa.

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Striving for 100% sustainability in shoes and our lifestyle

September 9, 2010 · Filed under Green Living, Organic Produce, Recycling · Tagged , , , , ,

By Julio A. Cruz

When most people think about eco-friendly apparel they think that it isn’t fashionable or they just don’t know how the clothes are actually made.

Vegan-friendly shoes from Simple. Photo Credit: Julio A. Cruz

A couple months ago I was in San Luis Obispo with my family in our annual mini summer vacation and came across a small store, Hemp Shak that has all that plus bags, accessories and more.

I’d been wanting some walking shoes and I had been thinking of purchasing some eco-friendly ones, as well, to test them out and see how they look and feel.

I came across a brand that I’m familiar with, Simple, and the shoes that grabbed my attention where literately some “simple” carport elastic ones which happen to be vegan friendly.

My 11-year-old nephew didn’t understand the concept and difference from these shoes in his Vans.

It’s pretty simple, again, “simple.”

The clothing in the store is all natural. No chemicals or dyes. Some are made from either recycled materials or organic cotton.

Most of their shoes are made from recycled car tires. According to Simple, 6 pairs of men’s size 9 shoes can be made from a single tire.

Yes, this is a great sustainable way to wear shoes but the best feeling wasn’t only that I was walking on some eco-friendly shoes or that they actually felt comfortable, and still do to this day, but that I introduced my nephew to a different side of how and why things are made.

As I was paying he saw a bracelet made out of white beads and he got pretty excited about it after reading the tag because is stated that it was made by women in Uganda which are paid reasonably, hence a Fair Trade product.

So we left the store talking about Fair Trade, he with his bracelet, which was a gift for his mom, and I with my sustainable shoes.

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