Category: Ethical shopping guide

The Rainforest Alliance logo is shown. It's a circular logo consisting of a green frog drawing in the center, surrounded by the words: Rainforest Alliance, People & Nature.
Ethical shopping guide, Social and environmental issues

Is Rainforest Alliance an effective certification?

The level of shade cover is one of the best ways to determine if forest habitats are being maintained. The good news is that shade-tolerant crops such as cacao can tolerate over 30% shade cover with no reduction in crop yield. The bad news is that the Rainforest Alliance standards on shade cover have weakened over the years – 15% cover is now considered adequate. This begs the question: Is the Rainforest Alliance worthy of your support? Continue reading Is Rainforest Alliance an effective certification?

Unknown's avatarjkaybay9 Comments
Three different Fairtrade International logos are shown on the left (explained in the caption) while three other program logos are shown on the right. They are, Fair For Life, the World Fair Trade Organization, and Fair Trade USA.
Ethical shopping guide, Social and environmental issues

Should you support fair trade?

Third-party certifications provide one of the more accessible ways to practice ethical consumption. They provide a means of communicating to the consumer that a corporate supply chain maintains certain social or environmental standards. This topic is highly relevant right now because of the systematic undermining of regulations, environmental protections, human rights, and corporate oversight that is taking place in America. Continue reading Should you support fair trade?

Unknown's avatarjkaybay4 Comments
Dave's Killer Bread logo is pictured. This comprises a drawing of a man with long hair and mustache in a red T-shirt playing an electric guitar. Over this are the words Dave's Killer Bread. Dave's Killer Bread second chances program.
Ethical shopping guide, Social and environmental issues

Second Chances – Dave’s Killer Bread

I was not aware of the story behind Dave’s Killer Bread until I researched the brand, last week. All I knew was that Dave was a long-haired dude who played guitar and was now making a range of healthy, organic breads. Before joining his family’s bakery to form the brand Dave’s Killer Bread, Dave spent 15 years of his life in prison. Continue reading Second Chances – Dave’s Killer Bread

Unknown's avatarjkaybay3 Comments
Ethical shopping guide, How to measure social and environmental impact

Paul McCartney protests plant-based milk charges at Peet’s

Paul McCartney is asking Peet’s Coffee & Tea to drop its charges for plant-based milks. This made my happy for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it’s good to see someone, especially someone as famous as (Sir) Paul McCartney, focusing on the details. Continue reading Paul McCartney protests plant-based milk charges at Peet’s

Unknown's avatarjkaybay8 Comments
A world map published by the AWARE model (2018) ranks water scarcity on a scale of 0.1 to 100. Regions are colored various shades of blue, cream, and red depending on the level of water scarcity.
Ethical shopping guide, Social and environmental issues

The best way to reduce your water footprint

When it comes to water usage, there are several different angles to consider: blue water, green water, and water scarcity, for example. There are also significant differences in the reported water footprints of various consumer goods. There is, however, fairly universal agreement on the best way to reduce our water footprint. Continue reading The best way to reduce your water footprint

Unknown's avatarjkaybay3 Comments
Various diets combined with organic agriculture - feasibility without deforestation. The image shows three scenarios. In the first, the rich diet (5.5. lbs. of meat per week) and organic food is not feasible without deforestation in any scenario. In the second, a global average diet (1.8 lbs. of meat per week) is feasible but only with cropland expansion. In the third, vegetarian and vegan diets and organic food are feasible without deforestation.
Ethical shopping guide, Social and environmental issues

How to feed the world without further deforestation

A key research paper investigated whether we will be able to feed the human population in 2050 without further deforestation. The researchers examined 500 scenarios of food production (high-yield intensive agriculture versus lower-yielding organic) and consumption (various diets) to find out which scenarios do not require additional encroachment on forests. The details of which scenarios work and which don’t provide crucial guidance on our food shopping habits. Continue reading How to feed the world without further deforestation

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Comparing the land footprint of 1 kg beef to eggs, bread, tofu, and split peas. For 1 kg of beef, you could have 52 kg of eggs (1000 eggs), 86 kg of bread, 94 kg of tofu, or 45 kg of split peas for the same land footprint.
Ethical shopping guide

The environmental footprints of meat and other foods

As you probably know by now, the kind of food we choose to eat has a major impact on climate change, deforestation, pollution, biodiversity losses, water use, and food security. But the extent to which our various food options impact these environmental and social issues has, surprisingly, not been well-covered by the media. These details are obviously important for people who want to reduce their impact on the planet, but can’t immediately switch to a vegan diet (which includes most people). Continue reading The environmental footprints of meat and other foods

Unknown's avatarjkaybay2 Comments
The image on the left shows Taylor Swift dressed in a Starbucks apron, ready to write on a cup. The text around that image reads, "I've got a blank space baby... and I'll write your name." On the right is a photo of Stephen Merchant, holding a coffee cup in a scene from The Good Place. The text around this image reads, "Actually, I brought my own mug!" Starbucks Lovers: Bring your own darn mug!
Ethical shopping guide, How to measure social and environmental impact, Social and environmental issues

Starbucks Lovers: Bring your own darn mug! PS: Free coffee!

In this post I’m going to outline a game plan to incentivize all the lonely Starbucks lovers to finally start bringing their own reusable cups! The bonus stars that you earn by bringing a personal cup will score you a free bag of coffee beans in no time. If you select organic beans, this will put a little extra pressure on Starbucks to source ethically. Continue reading Starbucks Lovers: Bring your own darn mug! PS: Free coffee!

Unknown's avatarjkaybay7 Comments