The list has been updated with two new labels;
The Whole Trade Guarantee and Equitable-Trade. Learn more and see the rest of the labels by checking out this post! Show Me Your Label: A Guide To Fair Trade Labels.
This was supposed to the Valentines Day that I went all in with Fair Trade. I wanted to do something special and unique for my wife and I didn’t want to just go down to the store and get something. I wanted it all to be Fair Trade.
I located Organic Bouquet on the web and saw that they were having a special on “Fair Trade USA Certified” roses.Everything looked good! Lets remember however, that I am a man and I was doing this on Monday the 13th. So I called the company to see what the deadline was for getting the roses shipped out and delivered on Valentines Day. It was confirmed that if I placed the order by noon my time I would have it on my doorstep on Valentines Day. So I placed the order: $50 for 2 dozen assorted roses and almost $20 for the shipping. Continue reading
Have you ever wondered what exactly to look for when trying to buy Fair Trade? It can be a little confusing to decipher the labels or perceived rhetoric about “Fair Trade” and get down to finding the actual products available in the market. But once you know what to look for, it actually becomes quite easy.
Certified Fair Trade products are not available in every type of merchandise that we may think of. There is a small but comparable list of things available at this point and the best way to find those products is by looking for the “label”. The above photo is a collage of all the Certified Fair Trade and Fair Trade related logos that I am aware of. What is to follow is a listing of each logo and a brief description of what they mean and information about the parent organization. I hope you’ll find this helpful and that it may take some of the guesswork out of shopping Fair Trade.
See All Labels and Continue Reading Here!As for Oliver’s Market, it is one that seems to be concerned with high quality products and support of the local community. It boast a wide variety of Fair Trade products and a giant selection of local goods. The company website declares, “Our mission is to provide the communities we serve with the finest grocery store in the marketplace.To this end, we seek out our customers’ specific needs and tailor our products and services to meet those needs.We carry the largest possible selection of natural, conventional and gourmet products. We carry only the highest quality meat, produce and deli products, buying locally whenever possible.”
Here is a list of the Certified Fair Trade Products that I found… See All Products and Continue Reading Here!
Is Starbucks fair trade? If you ask this in a Starbucks store, many times you will get a “yes” from one of the barista’s. If you ask the average person on the street they may not know. And as for me, my answer is a little mixed. No, they are not a Fair Trade company. They do, however, carry a fair trade labeled coffee.
To get into the debate about whether or not Starbucks is good or evil is not what I want to do here. I know that many people choose Starbucks as there shop of choice and that many in the world of Fair Trade choose not to support Starbucks. My goal is to provide those who frequent Starbucks with knowledge and options and encourage a Fair Trade choice.
Starbucks does in fact carry a Fair Trade labeled coffee, although it can be hard to find and it has recently changed. If you are familiar with the coffee giant you may recognize their fair trade coffee as “Cafe Estima”. It was a multi-region, dark roast blend that was available on most of their coffee shop shelves. This line, however, has been discontinued in stores and is now only available on-line. Starbucks has recently introduced a whole new line of roasts and has added a new line of Fair Trade Certified coffee as well: the Italian Roast. The Italian roast, like the line it replaces, is a multi-region dark roast and should be available on most Starbucks store shelves. It may or may not make its way into a grocery store near you.
So just to be clear, the Italian Roast is the only line of Starbucks coffee that is Certified Fair Trade. From their website, Starbucks says, ”As one of the largest purchasers of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, Starbucks is committed to paying fair prices to help give farming families a better life and ensure coffee farms are protected for the future.” Because Starbucks is a giant corporation it is not hard to see that it does in fact buy a large amount of Fair Trade coffee but it only puts that coffee into one line that it sells in its stores.
The good news for Starbucks goers is that there is more than one way to get your hands on some Italian Roast Fair Trade coffee. 1) Consider substituting the Italian Roast for another Starbucks coffee that you purchase and make at home. Most stores should carry the 1lb bags of this roast on their shelves. 2) If not available at your local store, check out online. 3) If the store you frequent has a “Clover” machine, ask the barista to brew you a fresh cup with the Italian Roast. All stores should accommodate this request and I have had a “Clover” cup of the Italian Roast in the Healdsburg store. 4) If there is no Clover machine, ask them to brew you a french press cup with the Italian Roast instead. Again, most stores should be willing to accommodate your request and it is more common than you might think.
Is Starbucks as a company Certified Fair Trade? No, but they do carry a Fair Trade Certified line of coffee and it’s possible for you get it in beans, grounds, or freshly brewed at your local store. It’s different than you may remember, no longer Cafe Estima, but rather Italian Roast. So if you are keen on trying new things, ask for a Clover or french press of this Fair Trade coffee next you visit a Starbucks. And if you were wondering why Starbucks no longer carried the Cafe Estima, now you know that they were not discontinuing all things Fair Trade, but rather changing to a different roast.
Only available on-line
I have realized a few things in the past few weeks not the least of which is that I am committed to discovering how I can be more conscientious about the way I spend my money. Just a few days ago, while I was in a Big Box store, I found myself thinking about “something that I needed”. It was really just something that I wanted and I found myself heading down the isle where this thing lived. As I made the turn a thought came to mind. I think it is a quote but I’m not sure who said it and I know it didn’t come from my own head. The realization was, “The more stuff we have the more clubs we need to defend it”. I didn’t need the thing anymore. For one, I didn’t have any room in my cart for clubs and for another, I have enough already. I turned my cart around and went in search of the necessities.
I have not posted anything in a while but I’ve been active in a process of discovery; mainly discovering just what Fair Trade goods are available in my area. It’s been fun to drop into a store that I’ve never been to and traverse the isles in search of “the labels”. Which, by the way, I realize that I need to post a list and description of these labels so others know that to look for.
These are not the only labels
I’ve discovered new stores carrying a wide range of Fair Trade products and I’ve met some great people curious about what I am doing and committed to Fair Trade as well. I tell them that I blog about Fair Trade and that I am trying to find what products are available in my area so I can let others know. This is leading me to another post about what specifically is available in the Sonoma County area – coming soon. Through this process I’ve photographed all the Fair Trade items in stores such as Surf Supermarket, Gualala Supermarket, Safeway, Shelton’s Market, Oliver’s Market, Harvest Market and Big John’s Market. I’m heading to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods next. I’ve also been into a toy store, a few cafe’s and some stores that sell mostly Fair Trade goods. When you know what you are looking for, it’s pretty easy to spot.
My family recently spent some time on the Mendocino Coast in Northern Ca. While I was there I took the time document what the area had to offer in the way of Fair Trade. It was a wonderful time of discovery and meeting new people. I visited the markets in the towns of Point Arena, Gualala, Mendocino and Fort Bragg. I visited the coffee shop in Mendocino owned by Thanksgiving Coffee and spoke to the Co-Founder and former president of Thanksgiving Coffee. She made me a mocha, by the way, that was simply amazing. I’ve put all the places on my map for you to find if you happen to be traveling in this area and want to know where to find Fair Trade products.
I’ve also been looking for other ways to be a more responsible shopper. I currently use the Free2Work app on my phone (which I’ll provide some more info on later) and I recently purchased “The Better World Shopping Guide” by Ellis Jones. I know that much of what I own is not Fair Trade Certified and I am discovering that much of it is not even ethically sourced. I’m not going to throw it all away and be wasteful but I am going to make sure that I replace it with goods made by companies whose business practices are ethical.
I’ve also discovered in the past few weeks how life can just get away from you. Getting back to work after the holidays takes a period of transition for some of us. There is so much going on and it’s easy to slip into routine and doing what is easiest. And as such, it’s been a few weeks since I have posted anything. But for me, the idea of Fair Trade is more than just a blog or feeling good about the chocolate that I am eating. It’s about living my life “Fairly”. And I want that way of living to permeate every aspect of my life. It’s a learning process and I have lots of room for growth but I’m moving in that direction.
It feels good to get these thoughts “down on paper” and to get the information about what I’ve found out to others. Mentioning that I’m going to post something soon helps keep me accountable to this process that I’ve said I’m committed to (I’m easily distracted). So until next time, Grace and Peace to you, let’s be fair.
