by Melissa Reiss, Product Department Assistant
October is Fair Trade Month, and while it’s easy to notice the callouts on packaged products, it can be a bit trickier to spot Fair Trade Certified products in the bulk aisle. Spoiler alert: there are many! Here’s some to look out for on your next trip to the Co-op.
Tierra Farm: Nuts, Seeds, Fruits, Chocolate Covered Snacks, Granola
Tierra Farm is a certified organic manufacturer and distributor of dried fruits and nuts, situated 20 miles south of Albany, New York. They are also certified Fair Trade according to the Fair Trade USA Standard, and you can see their certification on their website.
Lotus Foods Rice
Organic White Jasmine Rice is an aromatic long grain rice grown on family farms in Cambodia and Thailand. This premium variety of Jasmine rice is called Phka Malis, which in Khmer language means beautiful garland of flowers because of its delicate floral aroma. It has a soft, slightly sticky texture and fast cooking time.
This rice is grown using More Crop Per Drop® farming practices (SRI) so farmers harvest more rice using less water and no agrochemicals while reducing methane off-gassing and physical labor for women.
Frontier Co-op Ceylon Cinnamon
Frontier Co-op’s Organic Fair Trade Ceylon cinnamon comes from a small evergreen tree called Cinnamomum Zeylanicum that belongs to the Lauraceae family. It is native to Sri Lanka. Available ground or as sticks—perfect for warm fall drinks.
Equal Exchange: Nuts, Fruits, Cocoa, Chocolate
In 1986, the three founders of Equal Exchange started importing fairly traded coffee from Nicaragua, despite a U.S. embargo against the Sandinista government. Naturally doing business this way from the start—paying farmers fair prices for their goods—they have expanded their brand to include nuts, fruits, cocoa, and chocolate products. Their fresh bananas can be found in our Produce departments.
Equal Exchange’s mission is “to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.”
Coffee
Speaking of coffee, all of our bulk coffee is Fair Trade and organic certified! Whether it’s Equal Exchange, or locally roasted Just Coffee and Wonderstate Coffee. Know that your bulk coffee purchasing goes to support the communities that grow and harvest your daily cup.