When people think of Fair Trade, they might think of fair prices for farmers, better labor standards, or maybe even safe working conditions – but what people often forget about is that Fair Trade is equally invested in protecting the environment.  Fair Trade not only helps improve farmers’ living and working conditions, but also helps them become better stewards of the land.

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Dr. Bronner’s, like its founder, Emanuel Bronner, is a story of a company’s great highs and the lowest of lows.

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Starbucks recently released its 2011 Global Responsibility Report which highlights last year’s progress toward meeting its sustainability goals.

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For the natural foods connoisseur, the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim is a fascinating look at an industry that has soared from fringe to mainstream.

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The global impact of boat based shipping is enormous, and largely unknown to the public. The New Dawn Traders are now on the maiden voyage of what they hope will be a burgeoning Slow Shipping movement: Using sail based or alternatively powered ships to move the worlds commercial cargo.

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Chinese exports of silicon solar panels surged in 2011, and they’re spiking higher yet following the filing of illegal dumping and subsidy petitions in the US, according to a study of US Customs and Border Protection Service data by CASM, which filed petitions with the US International Trade Commission and Commerce Dept. The brewing trade dispute is significant enough to have prompted Pres. Obama to announced the formation of a new Trade Enforcement Unit in his SOTU address Tuesday night.

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In recent months, Fair Trade USA has caused a ripple in the Fair Trade movement by boldly questioning the status quo and moving in a new direction to significantly increase the effectiveness and reach of the Fair Trade model. President and CEO Paul Rice explains his new strategic vision, Fair Trade for All, which aims to double the impact of Fair Trade by 2015 by innovating the model, strengthening farming communities and igniting consumer involvement.

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Source4Style is using the Internet to facilitate commerce between two groups that are disconnected in the global marketplace – the leading sustainable suppliers and the independent designers and apparel brands that are trying to find them.

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In a store in my hometown of Ahmedabad, India, I was immediately charmed by the colorful display of intricate handcrafted embroidery on pillow covers, decorative wall-hangings and silk kurtas. The needlework was simple, yet elegant, distinctive – and yes, expensive. At first I hesitated over whether to spend so much on an embroidered piece I really liked. Then I read the price tag a bit more carefully and noticed that 65 percent of the proceeds went directly to the artisans, and the store itself was affiliated with SEWA, the Self-Employed Women’s Association.

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One of the original innovators in responsible tourism, Global Exchange’s Reality Tours, runs customizable trips to over 40 locations around the world including many countries rarely visited by tourists such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Cuba, Palestine and North Korea. Reality Tours promote peace through citizen diplomacy delegations, which creates personal engagements while traveling – real people and their personal stories, not just statistics.

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Now we are in the early stages of the first-ever global revolution. It is not about seizing power in capital cities; it is a values revolution that is demanding a transition from the current system where money values rule over the life cycle, to a new system where life values will rule over the money cycle.

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A panel at the 2011 Net Impact Conference in Portland, OR featured professionals from the local beverage industry discussing ways they approach sustainability.

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A conversation with Fair Trade USA’s Paul Rice October is officially Fair Trade Month, and Fair Trade USA founder and CEO Paul Rice is both optimistic and realistic about the impact of Fair Trade certified products for lifting farmers and producers in poor, developing nations out of poverty. The concept of Fair Trade began in the 1940′s [...]

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What began as the quest for a fresh, juicy, flavorful tomato culminated in a landmark labor rights agreement which is transforming the lives of agricultural workers in the heart of Florida’s tomato land.  Along the way we can learn lessons in stakeholder engagement. I had the opportunity to speak privately with Cheryl Queen, VP of [...]

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The Hershey Company has been accused of using child labor before. It’s rather ironic for a candy company but after they issued their first ever CSR report last year, it looked like the company was trying to turn over a new leaf. However, a new report shows that Hershey is falling behind in upholding its commitment to protect [...]

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It’s a good time to be Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). Fair Trade USA, leading third-party certifier of fair trade products, named GMCR the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the world for 2010. GMCR purchased over 26 million pounds of Fair Trade Certified coffee last year. GMCR stocks hit a 52-week high [...]

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Many consumers these days are in search of a way to not only support, but become more personally connected to a sustainable supply chain which provides them with products that do good. The Hoop Fund, recent winner of Hub Bay Area’s Venture funding, was formed with this type of conscious consumer in mind.

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By Larry Bohlen The newest Fair Trade standard, gold and associated precious metals, made its debut a little more than a year ago. It promises to improve social and environmental conditions for millions of small and artisanal gold miners around the world. Brilliant Earth, the California-based ethical jeweler was one of the first to offer [...]

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By Becky Eisen, MBA Student at the University of Maryland, Smith School of Business; President, Smith Net Impact Chapter As Leslie Lammers put the finishing touches on Organic Eggs Not Created Equal, Says New Scorecard, I spent the day at the Just Means Certification, Consumption and Change Conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC, listening [...]

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No one ever said green would be cheap or easy. The sad truth of the matter is the average consumer’s commitment to greenness is mostly tied paradoxically and perversely to the cost of a gallon of gas. So when pundits across the pond wonder whether Fair Trade is still a useful eco-brand, the question answers [...]

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With today’s launch of Starbucks’ tenth annual Global Responsibility Report for 2010, Ben Packard spoke with me about what the company has accomplished this year and what challenges lie ahead in achieving their environmental stewardship, community involvement and ethical sourcing targets. To view the interactive report, visit:  http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility Lesley Lammers: Thanks for taking the time [...]

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At the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim the exotic is now mainstream. Guatemalan hats, hippie skirts, and copper bracelets of yesteryear were replaced by business suits, briefcases, and blue tooth ear pieces. The Expo’s main hall were full of men and women yakking into smart phones while pulling sleek rollaway bags, and who would look more comfortable on Wall Street instead of Nature’s Path.

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Volatility in the chocolate market has increased the price of commodities, but has it increased the revenue of small-scale cocoa farmers as a result? The Ivory Coast is home to an estimated 7 million people dependent on the cocoa industry, yet political unrest in the region could leave them without income. Alassane Ouattara is the [...]

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Palo Alto-based Bon Appetit Management Company will soon introduce fair trade chocolate at over 400 kitchens at universities, corporate, and specialty cafes across the United States. The company that benefits is Cordillera of Medellin, Columbia, which harvests and processes two types of cocoa beans.

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When it comes to the subject of fair trade, folks might conjure up images of products like chocolate from Ghana, coffee from Guatemala, quinoa from Bolivia or tea from India.  Farmer Direct Cooperative (FDC) is trying to bring that kind of association of fair trade to North America, promoting what they call ‘domestic’ fair trade.  [...]

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Anvil Knitwear is known for their sustainable apparel which is made from a variety of fibers and blends such as certified organic cotton, transitional cotton, recycled cotton, and recycled PET bottles. The company announced a few days ago that it has joined the Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) initiative, becoming the first U.S.-based apparel manufacturer [...]

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Several sources recently reported that the British chocolate company, Green & Black’s wants to buy out of Kraft. Cadbury bought Green & Black’s in 2005 for an estimated $37.1 million. Kraft bought Cadbury last year. The Financial Times reported that Green & Black’s is “now considering a separate ownership structure, with a management buy-out, or [...]

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Maine Root has its origins in a pizza restaurant in Portland, Maine. Two brothers, Matthew and Mark Seiler, wanted to offer their customers a drink other than what large beverage companies provide. A fair trade certified soda is the result.

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Badger Balm has its origins in Bill and Katie Whyte’s New Hampshire home in 1995. Bill was a carpenter during the day and during his free time was a budding herbalist. Working outside, exposed to the harsh New England winters, Bill could not find a product to heal his hands after a day of hard work

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Advertising Age named sustainability one of the “jargoniest jargon” words of 2010 that they “wish you would stop saying,” right up there with monetize, choiceful, and the new normal, among others.  They explain their decision by describing sustainability as “a good concept gone bad by mis- and overuse. It’s come to be a squishy, feel-good [...]

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