Fair Trade Certification: People, Planet, and Products

Every 13th of the month of May, we celebrate World Fair Trade Day. It’s a day worthy of recognition and one that celebrates a key component of our mission at ALOHA: putting people and the planet first. Just like you pay attention to the ingredients you put into your body, we pay attention to the ingredients we put into our products. 

What is Fair Trade Certification?

Fair Trade Certification is an international program that ensures that farmers and workers in developing countries are receiving fair wages and working in safe conditions. The Fair Trade Organization sets standards for businesses to ensure that they are providing their workers with a living wage, protecting the environment, and promoting sustainable practices. By buying Fair Trade products with the Fair Trade certification label, you can be sure that your purchase is helping to improve the lives of those who made it. All of our plant-based protein shakes at ALOHA are Fair Trade Certified™. Let's talk a bit more about what that means.

Fair Trade Products and Protecting Human Rights 

We often think about the foods we purchase in terms of taste, cost and nutritional value. What we don’t think about as often is the longer-term impacts that purchase may have on the production system, or the environment. Fair Trade is a system of production and trading that promotes the environment, human rights, and overall social justice, so every purchase counts.

Let’s break this Fair Trade thing down a bit more. Take a Fair Trade Coffee farmer for example. That farmer is part of a co-op of farmers who together will receive Fair Trade premium. This premium is money that as a co-op, they have the freedom to spend it on whatever they choose, such as purchasing new farm equipment, or even building a local hospital in their community. Essentially, it is putting more capital into the hands of the farmers and workers while protecting their livelihoods, ensuring decent working conditions, and banning discrimination, or forced labor and child labor. Fair Trade coffee and chocolate are two of the most popular items produced under the Fair Trade label. By purchasing Fair Trade coffee or chocolate, you can help support these farmers and contribute to a better future for everyone involved in the production process. 

Our team at ALOHA actively maintains our Fair Trade status for all of our plant-based protein shakes, coffee and chocolate flavors included. We choose to source our coconut milk from a small farm in the Philippines that grows coconuts via organic practices while ensuring the best interest of its workers. By doing so, we are supporting these small, often family-run farms, and providing them with opportunities to better their lives while bettering the planet through sustainable practices.

Along with the commitment to workers, Fair Trade also embraces low-carbon production, and a strong commitment to a net-zero carbon footprint.

Fair Trade Certification and the Environment

The Fair Trade Organization also helps the environment by promoting sustainable production methods that are more eco-friendly than conventional farming practices. Fair Trade organizations work with farmers and producers to develop environmentally conscious production methods, such as wind and solar power, and ensure that farmers have access to resources such as renewable energy, water conservation, soil conservation, and waste management. This helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, encourage soil health, and preserve natural resources for future generations, all while maintaining high product quality standards that Fair Trade ensures.

According to the Fair Trade International website, to display the Fair Trade seal requires specific standards be met in the categories of economic, social and environmental. It’s not just about selling a product and making a profit, it’s about giving back, providing for future generations, and protecting the rights and well-being of workers and the environment. That’s definitely something we can get behind.

The next time you are browsing the aisles at your local supermarket, take a moment to see if you can identify any Fair Trade products. The symbol may be small, but the impact matters.