8th fair trade principle (capacity building) on the Rosette Network blog
Brand feature Fair trade education

The 8th fair trade principle: capacity building

Today we’re looking at the 8th fair trade principle as part of our countdown of the World Fair Trade Organization’s 10 Principles of Fair Trade. This is the third post in the series, so if you missed the others, you can start with the 10th principle: respecting the environment. Or if you caught that, but not the second post, last week we talked about the 9th principle: promoting fair trade. Then you’ll be all caught up for this post! So now that business is dealt with, let’s get into why…

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The 9th fair trade principle is the promotion of fair trade (Rosette Network blog)
Brand feature Fair trade education

The 9th fair trade principle: promoting fair trade

Today we’re talking about the 9th fair trade principle, which is promoting fair trade. It’s the second in our countdown series of deep dives into the 10 principles of fair trade, set forth by the World Fair Trade Organzation! (If you missed the first post in this countdown series, start with the deep dive into the 10th fair trade principle here!) The 9th fair trade principle (promoting fair trade) is one of my favourites because it’s something I do a lot as a fair trade business! So without further ado,…

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10th fair trade principle (respect for the environment) deep dive on Rosette Fair Trade
Brand feature Fair trade education

The 10th fair trade principle: respect for the environment

Welcome to the 10th fair trade principle, where we’ll kick off our series on all 10 of the principles of fair trade! This series will look at each of them in-depth. Today’s fair trade principle is respect for the environment, which is the 10th fair trade principle. In short, fair trade companies and producers must act responsibly towards the environment. How this looks will vary depending on the producer’s industry (for example, are they soap makers or cotton farmers?). But the principle requires that the producer consider the environment at…

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Fair trade fruit beyond bananas (assorted tropical fruit on a smoothie bowl)
Fair trade education Shopping guides

Fair trade fruit: beyond bananas!

When we think about fair trade fruit, often we do think of bananas. And there’s a good reason for that, which is that bananas are one of the original products that advocates were fighting for when the fair trade movement was still very young in Canada. Thankfully, now you can get Fairtrade Certified bananas from large grocery chains like Farm Boy (in Ontario) and IGA (in Quebec). I also hear that major groceries in BC are carrying them. (If I’m missing someone, apologies! Let me know where you get your…

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Ethical holiday shopping guide - gift ideas, shipping best practices and more on Rosette Fair Trade
Fair trade education Shopping guides

Ethical holiday shopping guide 2020: gift ideas, shipping best practices & more!

When I first sat down to write an ethical holiday shopping guide for 2020, I thought it’d be easy peasy. Just recommend great gifts, right? But the more I thought about it, the more I remembered that 2020 is a year like no other. And so much has changed with our shopping habits as well as our shipping habits. It seemed like I would be negligent not to talk about what ethical online shopping looked like in 2020. Ethical consumption in general, and fair trade products specifically, are ethical because…

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Fair trade coffee and why this classic still leads the way (featured)
Fair trade education

Fair trade coffee: why this classic still leads the way

Fair trade coffee is the best-known fair trade product out there. If you’ve ever mentioned fair trade to someone, there’s a good chance they responded with something like, “You mean like the coffee?” This well-known fair trade product is famous for a reason. This week we’ll talk about why drinking fair trade coffee makes such a huge difference, as well as how fair trade coffee has become the high-quality, delicious product it is! But first, this is the fourth post in a series about Fairtrade Month in Canada. If you…

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Fair trade tea - how is it made on the Rosette Network (featured)
Fair trade education

Fair trade tea: what’s behind your fave infusion?

Fair trade tea is a beautiful thing. It’s a good way to know how your favourite warm drink was produced, and feel even better about it. This is the third week of Fairtrade Month already! (Time flies when you’re trading fair!) Today I’m talking about fair trade tea. If you missed last week’s post on fair trade chocolate (cocoa), you can read that here: Fair trade chocolate: what it’s doing for women, children & the planet. And if you want to catch up on the week before that, where I…

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Fair trade chocolate - what it is doing for women children and the planet on Rosette Fair Trade
Fair trade education

Fair trade chocolate: what it’s doing for women, children & the planet

Fair trade chocolate may be a modern idea, but the growing and eating of cacao has enriched human lives for millennia. This week of Fairtrade Month, we’re looking at fair trade chocolate (cocoa). If you missed last week’s post on fair trade sugar, check it out here: Fair trade sugar makes Fairtrade Month extra sweet! It’ll give you a bit of extra background on sweet treats like chocolate. Today, I’m going to focus on chocolate, and there’s a reason for that. It’s that a lot of conventional cocoa production is…

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Fair trade education

Fair trade sugar makes Fairtrade Month extra sweet!

Fair trade sugar isn’t usually considered the star of the fair trade movement, but maybe it should be! There’s no comparison to the light caramel flavour of golden cane sugar in your coffee, baked goods or even your favourite fair trade chocolate. Those beautiful, golden crystals of sweetness put the whole cane sugar vs white sugar debate to bed in a heartbeat. (But we’ll still talk about it briefly below.) For those who don’t already obsess over fair trade (like I do), May is Fairtrade Month. And for 2020, Fairtrade…

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Working ethical trade into a vegan lifestyle guest post by EcoAnouk on Rosette Fair Trade
Fair trade education

Working ethical trade into a vegan lifestyle

The journey into veganism is a long and winding one – perhaps not for everyone, but it certainly has been for me. I’m still not completely settled into my vegan lifestyle and I definitely make mistakes every now and then. But that is expected, isn’t it? Lifestyle changes are hard. And an ethics-led lifestyle change may be more deliberate and abrupt, but it’s still not a walk in the park.  When you’re already focusing on living a vegan lifestyle, how can you add support for ethical practices into the mix…

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