Celebrate Fair Trade Month with These Thoughtfully Sourced Products

October is Fair Trade Month, which is the perfect time to get to know the supply chains behind all the products you purchase, from their environmental impact to how they treat their farmers. If you don’t currently shop by our Certified Fairly Traded value certification, now is a great time to start.

What is Fair Trade? 

While there is no single organization that defines the term “fair trade”, fair trade certification generally ensures that a product comes from a supply chain that does not harm the environment or the people involved in its production. There are quite a few organizations doing the work to ensure that companies adhere to a strict set of fair trade standards, including two of the largest, Fair Trade USA and Fair Trade International.

These standards vary from industry to industry (for example, agriculture production standards are different from capture fisheries standards), but at their core, all fair trade standards are set in place to uphold the same basic principles: things like safe working conditions, ethical wages, preventing forced or child labor, and ensuring that no harmful chemicals that may harm the environment are used in production. The hope is that holding companies, farms, and facilities accountable will build stronger communities and help workers to increase their income (and, in turn, their quality of life).

Seeing a fair trade emblem on a package is a great way to know which products uphold your own values—a useful tool for times when it may feel impossible to vet each and every product you buy. 

Shop Certified Fairly Traded Products at Thrive Market 

At Thrive Market, our Certified Fairly Traded value is defined as: 

A product that carries the Fair Trade USA, Fair Trade International, Fair For Life, or Rainforest Alliance certification. 

This means that the products within the category meet the standards of one or more of these fair trade organizations, so you can be sure that they’re truly prioritizing the people within their supply chains and their environmental impact.

One of the best ways to celebrate Fair Trade Month is by supporting businesses working to uphold these standards, so we’ve rounded up some of our favorite fair trade products at Thrive Market. 

Fair Trade Groceries & Pantry Goods

Thrive Market Organic Light Brown Sugar
Our brown sugar is sourced from a fair trade farm, so you can feel good each time you break it out for baked goods.

Dr. Bronner’s Regenerative Organic Coconut Oil
This quality coconut oil is sourced from farmers in the heart of Sri Lanka’s Coconut Triangle. 

Thrive Market Organic Light Blue Agave Nectar 
This fair trade agave nectar is produced in Mexico by a vertically integrated purveyor that pays their employees with a living wage. 

Navitas Organics Organic Cacao Powder 
Baking some brownies? Swap your usual cocoa powder for this fair trade, raw cacao powder. 

Fair Trade Snacks

Larabar Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
With just four ingredients—Fair Trade Certified chocolate chips, dates, peanuts, and sea salt—these handy bars are as wholesome as it gets. 

Mavuno Harvest Organic Dried Mango 
Mavuno Harvest uses only fair trade, organically grown, non-GMO mango sourced from family farmers in Africa for this sweet and chewy snack.

Jovial Organic Checkerboard Einkorn Cookies 
Made of ancient einkorn wheat and Fair Trade Certified cacao, these cookies are an ethically sourced, gluten-free treat. 

Fair Trade Coffee  

Kicking Horse Kick Ass Ground Coffee, Dark Roast 
Using only organic and fair trade beans from some of the best coffee producers in the world, this dark roast features notes of sweet tobacco, stone fruit, and cocoa.

Thrive Market Organic Instant Coffee, Single Serve
A convenient instant coffee that’s also ethically sourced? This one from Thrive Market is just that. 

Four Sigmatic Mushroom Ground Coffee Mix
This fair trade coffee is blended with superfood mushrooms like lion’s mane and chaga, giving your mornings a caffeinated, adaptogenic boost.

Fair Trade Tea 

Organic India Tulsi Original Tea
This potent tea is made with three fair trade varieties of tulsi, an ancient herb also known as “holy basil”. 

Thrive Market Fair Trade Chai Tea
Spicy and aromatic, this chai tea is made with a blend of fair trade, organic black tea, and spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves.

Guayaki Traditional Yerba Mate Tea Bags
Sourced from regeneratively grown holly trees native to the South American Atlantic rainforest, this yerba mate is a great caffeine alternative to coffee.

Fair Trade Chocolate 

Alter Eco Organic Dark Mint Crème Truffles 
These decadent truffles are made with Fair Trade Certified Ecuadorian cacao and a crème filling made of peppermint oil, coconut oil, and raw cane sugar.

Toney’s Chocolonely 42% Milk Chocolate Pretzel Toffee Bar 
Ethically sourced chocolate doesn’t have to be boring—just ask the folks at Toney’s Chocolonely. 

Lily’s Sweets Original Dark Chocolate Bar 
This keto chocolate bar is made with Fair Trade Certified chocolate and sweetened with stevia. 

Fair Trade Skincare & Bath Products 

 

Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap 
This tried-and-true, multipurpose soap has had a cult following for decades, and the fact that it’s fairly traded only adds to the appeal.   

Alaffia Everyday Shea Kids Bubble Bath
This calming, lavender-scented bubble bath is made with fair trade shea butter for soft, soothed skin. 

Dr. Bronner’s Hand Sanitizer Spray 
Kill germs on the go with this fresh-smelling, chemical-free hand sanitizer spray.