Our Fair Trade Objectives

Our Fair Trade objectives are to increase profits for growers, and create financing for social programs. We work tirelessly to bring new growers and traders into the Fair Trade system and advocate the positive impact of purchasing in this manner. We review our performance by seeing higher and higher values of social premium payments to growers, through our increasing volumes, as well as offering growers the highest possible price.

Our Fair Trade relationships are planned to be maintained in perpetuity. There is not one Fair Trade smallholder organization that we have discontinued a business relationship with.

We also visit all of the cooperatives that we work with directly to assess the outcomes of the and social impact of Fair Trade purchases, including working conditions, living conditions and social programs including access to microfinance, technical improvements that improve their working conditions and safety, equality for women, child labour policy, health care, education, etc.

This policy was developed over a period of 4 years, enabling us to not only understand the direct impact of Fair Trade, but through frequent visits to many growers, to the year-over-year changes that have been accomplished.

Ejido Benito Juarez Leyes de Reforma

Through social uprisings and reforms in Mexico in the 19th century, communal lands, called Ejidos, were given back to the people by Mexico’s first indigenous...

Farmer Direct Co-operative

Farmer Direct is a co-operative of 60 organic family farms on the Canadian Prairies and the first organization to be domestic fair trade certified. Their...

Read more about Farmer Direct Co-operative

Tahoma Farms

Tahoma Farms was established in 2009 by first generation farmers, Kim and Dan Hulse. The 40-acre former dairy is part of the 100-acre Orting Valley Farms – 3...

Domestic Fair Trade

Increasingly, people are becoming more aware of the Fair Trade Movement which insures fair wages, living conditions, and rights of producers abroad - but what about our farmers here at home? Discovery Organics believes that these rights need to be guaranteed for all farmers, whether in our backyard or South America.

+Read More+

Fair Trade Social Premiums

On top of ensuring a Fair Price for producers, Fair Trade also generates funds for social projects and community development through Fair Trade Social premiums. For every case of bananas or sac of Quinoa that we buy, we pay an additional amount to the producers as a Fair Trade social premium which is used exclusively for development projects. All growers and workers are involved in this process to collectively address the most critical needs in the area.

Fair Trade Labels

For a product to be recognized as Fair Trade, it needs to be certified. With the continuing growth of Fair Trade, there are a number of certifying bodies and labels, but the two most well known are the Institute for Marketecology (IMO) and the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO), each having their own certification process and label.

+Read More+