Here We Go!

With the amount of blogs that I have already started it would seem almost foolhardy to start yet another...but I think this is a worth while and intriguing cause. The purpose of this blog is to delve into the world of healthy, ethical, and eco-friendly living. To be honest I feel like I should be way farther down the line than I am now, as I did my first report on fair-trade consumerism in Seminary, about four years ago. However, better late than never as they say.

I will be attempting to focus on at least one product/place of business/healthy recipe each entry that I myself have tried out and can vouch for honestly. I am also looking to bring up different subjects for conversation such as mico-loan companies and other related veins of though often grouped under the "Social Justice" mantel. I feel as though it can be overwhelming as you start to look into responsible buying practices and digging through a plethora of online articles about what to eat, what to wear etc. can wear one out rapidly. After a time of living as a half-way hippie, I feel that the time has come for me to pursue this whole-heartedly and I hope that I can provide some insight or at least a couple of laughs along the way.

Today's Product
Burt's Bees Improved Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion
Ingredients: : aqua (water, eau), decyl cocoate, glycerin, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d'abeille), parfum (fragrance)*, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, cetyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate citrate,, (rosemary) leaf extract, tocopherol, beta-carotene, xanthan gum, sucrose stearate, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de colza), lactic acid, citric acid, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium benzoate, magnesium aluminum silicate, phenoxyethanol, benzyl alcohol, benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, citral, coumarin, limonene *natural fragrance

I recently purchased this lotion in an attempt to slowly change over to more natural and responsible body-care products (reviews on fair-trade and organic shampoo and conditioner coming up).  I love the delicate smell and it manages to be long lasting without being oily.  The price is more than I am used to paying ($8 for a 6 oz. tube) but worth it in the long run.

Burt's Bees is a pretty common brand in the way of natural (not always organic) products.   They focus on recyclable, natural, animal-free testing production but did not have a seal from the Fair Trade Federation, so I did a little digging.  While addressing their dedication to fair trade ethics they gave this reason for the lack of fair trade certification:

...we’re committed to understanding how the sourcing of our raw materials impacts the environment and the people of the regions where those ingredients originate. For this reason, in collaboration with the Fair Trade Certified organization for over a year, we’ve made strides in supporting the formalization of the first certification standards for beeswax by the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO) in Brussels. At present, while FTC standards exist for honey production, standards for beeswax have not yet been established. Working collaboratively with our supplier and with the Fair Trade Certified organization, we hope to be able to facilitate and accelerate the process. We believe that Fair Trade Certification not only ensures a fair wage to small scale producers in the emerging world, but promotes environmentally restorative practices and sustainable community development. At the same time, the standards of Fair Trade Certified supports the establishment of democratically run producer cooperatives, all of which we believe can help to drive positive social and environmental change through our sourcing practices. To date, we’ve relied on detailed and transparent information from our beeswax supplier who visits the beeswax producers regularly, compensates with above market wages and helps advise on sustainable and environmental practices. Our supplier has joined us in the process of accelerating the establishment of Fair Trade Certification for beeswax as an added measure of assurance of environmentally and socially responsible practices, for his supply chain, for us at Burt’s Bees, and for our consumers. Our intent is to start transitioning our beeswax supply to Fair Trade Certified as it becomes available, by the end of 2011." For a full transcript please visit here.

Today's Place:

My Dog Joe, Hamilton - An Organic Fair Trade Coffee House

Hours:  Monday - Friday 7 a.m.to 10 p.m.

                 Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

                 1020 King Street West, Hamilton, Ontario
                 905 777 8100

I love this place! Most of the following is taken from their own "About" section and I think it accurately describes how committed they are to fair-trade, healthy and DELICIOUS (they don't always go hand in hand) food and drink, plus an amazing atmosphere complete with a rotating art display.  To top it all off, prices are still cheaper or comprable to other establishments that can't claim to do nearly as much good. 

"By selling only organic and fair-trade coffee, My Dog Joe could simultaneously help poor farmers, improve the environment, and educate people about the coffee issue. Incidentally, most organic coffee is also shade grown - (ours always is) - grown under the forest canopy or other planted trees. This provides a habitat for our local song birds that fly south for the winter...

All of our coffee beans are Fair Trade Certified which means that coffee bean farmers were paid a fair price for their beans. Who would argue with this? Yet, less than 1% of the world's coffee consumption today is Fair Trade. By supporting this certification, we help provide a just and sustainable life for coffee farmers in rural communities.

At My Dog Joe, we offer mostly local and/or organic food as well.  We spent many hours sourcing ingredients from local producers.  Supporting our local farmers and producers, and supporting organic/natural food suppliers is another part of our mandate.

Some other things that you may not know about the shop:

Almost every piece of equipment and all of the furniture is used.

Most of our packaging is biodegradeable (take-out cutlery is made of Potato starch, straws and coffee cup linings are made from Corn). We recycle. We compost. We try not to waste anything..."

Well folks, thats all for now!  Would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for topics that you would like me to research, recipes you are trying to find, etc.

Love you all.