Our Commitment to Fair Trade

We believe in direct relationships with growers, whether they are in our own backyard, or producer co-ops in South America and Mexico. We believe in paying a fair wage, and supporting communities. We are Transfair Canada licensees. We are also brandholders with Fair for Life, IMO’s Fair Trade certification program. We are also members of the DRC, Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation.

We have seen firsthand during numerous visits to farms in South America and Mexico, the transformative nature of fair international trade. Some of our long-term Fair Trade relationships include BOS, Planeta Verde, and Interrupcion. To learn more about these cooperatives or about Fair Trade in general, check out our blog and their grower profiles.

Awareness of Fair Trade is growing everyday. Many consumers are asking their neighbourhood store to carry fair trade products.

Fair Trade is an easy extension of the Discovery Organics buying philosophy; we believe in supporting small scale farmers, endeavoring to help them build a market for their crops, and make enough money to cover the cost of production plus a fair profit on the crops we buy. Those are the same goals we’ve had since the first day we opened our doors.

But there are elements to the Fair Trade concept that though not as well understood, we are just as excited about. Many consumers do not realize that in addition to being paid a fair price, Fair Trade producers also gain access to pre-harvest credit, long term contracts, and a social premium, which is an additional payment of 5-20% over the cost of the fruits or vegetables, used soley for community development, for example creating schools, composting facilities, or medical clinics. These social premiums ensure the entire community benefits from trade.