Its trade, not aid. Cooperatives decide how the money is invested; the only stipulation is that every member has a vote in how the inves™ent is made. Social Responsibility
The Fair Trade Certified™ logo represents Wholesome's commi™ent to consumers that a fair premium price is paid to the farmers cooperatives that supply Wholesomes Fair Trade products.
Since initiating the Fair Trade Certified program in 2005, Wholesome Sweeteners has paid more than $800,000 directly to Fair Trade cooperative partners in Costa Rica, Malawi, Mexico and Paraguay. Fair Trade means that farmers can send their kids to school, keep their land, develop the quality of their harvest and build thriving communities.
Beyond the parameters of Fair Trade Certification, Wholesome selects suppliers based on a demonstrated commi™ent to social responsibility and community outreach.
Environmental Responsibility
Wholesome Sweeteners' ethos is shaped by a deep concern for the long-term health of the planet and all of its inhabitants.
The USDA Organic logo is Wholesome's promise that we hold every product to the highest environmental standard. Each product bearing the USDA Organic logo has been grown and milled to USDA Organic standards, without the aid of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or chemicals.
Wholesome uses traditional methods:
- Fair Trade certification includes a commi™ent to sustainable agriculture. In recent years, unprecedented acreage has been converted from conventional agriculture to organic cultivation, reducing exposure to pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
- From the seed stock to harvest, our sugar cane is cultivated and harvested by hand and grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
- Wholesomes cane fields are never burned. During the harvest, trimmings are allowed to stay where they fall, decomposing naturally, returning nutrients to the soil, helping protect topsoil and ground water and providing habitat for wildlife.
- At the small mills in Costa Rica, Malawi and Paraguay, our sweeteners are made simply and the spent sugar cane, called bagasse, is often recycled as fuel to generate electricity for the mill and nearby villages.
- Deep in Southern Mexicos jungles, honeybees browse on lush wildflowers without exposure to antibiotics or chemicals.
