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What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade certification is an extraordinary concept that allows consumers
to purchase products that help poor communities to get paid a fair market price for their goods, it keeps the production of
these goods sustainable and improves the healthcare, education and the quality of the lives of the people who produce
them. Buy consuming Fair Trade goods, we can make a difference in the world that we live in and leave a healthier
planet for our future generations.
Recently a close friend of mine asked me to give her more details about
how Fair Trade products are produced. When I asked her what had sparked her curiosity, she said that a friend of hers
had warned her not to purchase Fair Trade coffee because it might be tainted and harmful to drink! Why on earth would she think that, I wondered. Well, her friend believed
that since the coffee was harvested by native people, that somehow it wasn't factory regulated or safe to consume.
This fear is not uncommon, and in the past there
has been media hype and confusing information given to the public about organically produced food and perhaps even FairTrade
practices. It seems that somehow people have developed such a disassociation around where their food
and goods come from that they don't realize that people still touch, grow, harvest and produce goods no matter how neatly
they are packaged!
All Fair Trade,
organic and conventionally produced consumables that are sold in the United States are inspected and have to pass
strict safety regulations. Organically produced goods have much stricter criteria to follow than conventional goods and
are "safer" in the sense that they aren't genetically modified and they do not carry the level of pesticides
that conventional goods do. Fair Trade goods are often organic and the people who produce them are treated with respect. What
a winning combination!
This page is designed to give the reader some basic information and provide an opportunity
to delve deeper into the subject of Fair Trade. Anyone interested in learning more about Fair Trade can utilize
our related links that connect directly to the Fair Trade Federation and to other web sites that provide research and information
about Fair Trade.
Our company carries Fairly Traded goods from around the world in order to help foster
a healthy and sustainable global community. Our goods allow the consumer to feel good about what they have purchased and
offer the opportunity to practice conscious consumption. The items that we sell are beautifully crafted and
harvested with care. We are proud to offer them to our community.
Please feel free to browse our products
online or stop by the Awakenings Natural Healing Center in Simsbury, CT, where you can feast on organic and locally made
salads, macrobiotic and raw foods, breads, cookies, gourmet foods, honeys, coffee, teas, and chocolate. We
also have a unique selection of jewelry, crystals, hand crafted gifts, artwork and chemically free self-care items.
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