Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in growing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. Members of the fair trade movement add the payment of higher prices to exporters, as well as improved social and environmental standards. The movement focuses in particular on commodities, or products that are typically exported from developing countries to developed countries, but is also used in domestic markets, most notably for handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, wine, sugar, fruit, flowers, and gold. The movement seeks to promote greater equity in international trading partnerships through dialogue, transparency, and respect. It promotes sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers in developing countries. Fair trade is grounded in three core beliefs; first, producers have the power to express unity with consumers. Secondly, the world trade practices that currently exist promote the unequal distribution of wealth between nations. Lastly, buying products from producers in developing countries at a fair price is a more efficient way of promoting sustainable development than traditional charity and aid.
Organic farming is an agricultural system which originated early in the 20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices. Certified organic agriculture accounts for 70 million hectares globally, with over half of that total in Australia. Organic farming continues to be developed by various organizations today. It is defined by the use of fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting. Biological pest control, mixed cropping and the fostering of insect predators are encouraged. Organic standards are designed to allow the use of naturally occurring substances while prohibiting or strictly limiting synthetic substances. For instance, naturally occurring pesticides such as pyrethrin and rotenone are permitted, while synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are generally prohibited. Synthetic substances that are allowed include, for example, copper sulfate, elemental sulfur and Ivermectin. Genetically modified organisms, nanomaterials, human sewage sludge, plant growth regulators, hormones, and antibiotic use in livestock husbandry are prohibited. Organic farming advocates claim advantages in sustainability, openness, self-sufficiency, autonomy/independence, health, food security, and food safety.
Ethical consumerism is a type of consumer activism based on the concept of dollar voting. It is practiced through the buying of ethically made products that support small-scale manufacturers or local artisans and protect animals and the environment while boycotting products that exploit children as workers, are tested on animals, or damage the environment.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. is an American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA Certified Organic grocer in the United States, the chain is popularly known for its organic selections. Whole Foods has 500 stores in North America and seven in the United Kingdom as of March 4, 2019.
Eco-capitalism, also known as environmental capitalism or (sometimes) green capitalism, is the view that capital exists in nature as "natural capital" on which all wealth depends. Therefore, governments should use market-based policy-instruments to resolve environmental problems.
Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes, are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that claim reduced, minimal, or no harm upon ecosystems or the environment. Companies use these ambiguous terms to promote goods and services, sometimes with additional, more specific certifications, such as ecolabels. Their overuse can be referred to as greenwashing. To ensure the successful meeting of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) companies are advised to employ environmental friendly processes in their production. Specifically, Sustainable Development Goal 12 measures 11 targets and 13 indicators "to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns".
Green brands are those brands that consumers associate with environmental conservation and sustainable business practices.
The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) based in New York City and Amsterdam, with operations in more than 60 countries. It was founded in 1987 by Daniel Katz, an American environmental activist, who serves as the Chair of the board of directors. Its main work is the provision of an environmental certification for sustainability in forestry, agriculture, and tourism. Its certificate seal gives information to consumers about business practices, based on certain standards they set.
Dean Foods is an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy subsidiary company in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company maintains plants and distributors in the United States. Dean Foods has 66 manufacturing facilities in 32 U.S. states and distributes its products across all 50. Its 58 brands include DairyPure, Land O'Lakes (Licensed), TruMoo, Friendly's, Mayfield, Dean's, Meadow Gold, Tuscan, T.G.Lee and Alta Dena. In November 2019, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing the decline in consumption of cow's milk and the growth in demand of plant milk.
Wild Oats Marketplace is a producer of natural and organic food distributed through partnerships in the United States.
The New Lawn is a football stadium in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. It has been the home stadium of League Two club Forest Green Rovers since 2006. During the 2007–08 season the stadium was shared with Gloucester City. The stadium has a capacity of 5,147, of which 2,000 is seated. It replaced The Lawn Ground as Forest Green Rovers' home stadium and is expected to be replaced by a new stadium development located near the M5 motorway. In 2020 the ground was renamed The innocent New Lawn Stadium due to a sponsorship deal with Innocent Drinks.
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., formerly Keurig Green Mountain (2014–2018) and originally Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (1981–2014), is a publicly traded American beverage and beverage-maker conglomerate with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts. Its east-coast division sells coffee and other beverages, and Keurig brewers. As of July 2018, the newly merged conglomerate also sells sodas, juices, and other soft drinks via its Dr Pepper Snapple division based in Texas.
Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) is a demographic defining a particular market segment related to sustainable living, "green" ecological initiatives, and generally composed of a relatively upscale and well-educated population segment. The author Paul H. Ray, who coined the term Cultural Creatives in his book by the same name, explains that "What you're seeing is a demand for products of equal quality that are also virtuous." Included in the cultural creative demographic are consumers of New Age goods and services.
Sustainable packaging is the development and use of packaging which results in improved sustainability. This involves increased use of life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle assessment (LCA) to help guide the use of packaging which reduces the environmental impact and ecological footprint. It includes a look at the whole of the supply chain: from basic function, to marketing, and then through to end of life (LCA) and rebirth. Additionally, an eco-cost to value ratio can be useful The goals are to improve the long term viability and quality of life for humans and the longevity of natural ecosystems. Sustainable packaging must meet the functional and economic needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability is not necessarily an end state but is a continuing process of improvement.
The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, includes all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth.
Frontier Co-op is a cooperatively owned wholesaler of natural and organic products, founded in 1976 and based in Norway, Iowa. It sells products under the Frontier Co-op, Simply Organic and Aura Cacia brands. Products include culinary herbs, spices and baking flavors; bulk herbs and spices; and natural and organic aromatherapy products. Frontier Co-op manufactures and distributes products throughout the United States and Canada.
Sunflower Farmers Market was an American chain of full-service grocery stores headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, which emphasized value-priced natural and organic products. Sunflower opened its first store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2002. In June 2013, Sunflower Farmers Market was operating 38 grocery stores located in eight Southwestern states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma and Texas. In June 2012, Sunflower merged with Sprouts Farmers Markets.
Sustainable products are those products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and environment over their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials until the final disposal.
Green consumption is closely related to the notions of sustainable development or sustainable consumer behaviour. It is a form of consumption that is compatible with the safeguard of the environment for the present and for the next generations. It is a concept which ascribes to consumers responsibility or co-responsibility for addressing environmental problems through the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors, such as the use of organic products, clean and renewable energy and the research of goods produced by companies with zero, or almost zero, impact.
Organic food culture refers to a recent social and cultural trend in which there has been an increased interest in organic food due to the rise of media coverage on health, food safety, and environmental dangers of pesticides. This attitude considers food a central requirement for health, but it does not neglect the aesthetic or hedonistic (pleasurable) aspects of food consumption.
