All the products in our ethical gift hampers

are ethically produced and sourced.

Either from a credible source or accrediated by a professional body, they help sustain trading standards for producers and are less harmful to the environment.

Below you will find a breakdown of the types of ethics involved.

Quick Links

Fairtrade

Organic

The Soil Association

Recycle

The Forest Stewardship Council

Energy Saving

Fairtrade

This international ethical label found of an array of products ranging from clothing to chocolate guarantees minimum standards for the producers or farmers. The standards are:

A minimum price is set so the producers can, at least, cover the costs of sustainable production: the Fairtrade minimum price.
Pay a premium price to producers, which can be invested in development: the Fairtrade Premium.
Partially pay in advance, when producers require it.
Contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices.
Auditing and transparency; traceability systems and record keeping systems.
Subcontractors' compliance with the relevant requirements.

The Fairtrade Foundation, along with WFTO -World Fair Trade Organization (formerly IFAT) and the British Association for Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS) have been working together for years to improve ethical standards across 18 product categories where working conditions are notoriously poor and producers have been exploited.

Organic

Although there is no primary organisation or body (Soil Association a bit..) governing organic farming it is one of the largest and well known ethical credentials.

The characteristics of organic foodstuff is either grown or raised without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides or hormones, usually replaced with a fertilizer that is derived from animal or vegetable matter. Simple and healthful and close to nature; also known as 'an organic lifestyle'.

The Soil Association

The Soil Association is a charity campaigning for food and farming that is planet-friendly. They work at all levels of government and community to develop and promote their campaigns and policy work.

Their main objective is to lobby for the United Kingdom to be 100% organic by 2050.

Their campaigning priorities are:

Promoting the advantages of organic food and farming
It is better for the environment, for wildlife and has the highest standards of animal welfare in the United Kingdom. Organic farming techniques include using crop rotations to improve the fertility of the soil. Promoting the multiple benefits of organic production is core to the Soil Association's mission.

Food security

With fluctuating oil prices, diminishing water supplies and a growing global population to feed, food security is back on the political agenda. The Soil Association is campaigning for a transition from our current oil and chemical-based food and farming methods, to more resilient, local and organic production.

Food for Life

Led by the Soil Association, the Food for Life Partnership includes the Focus on Food Campaign, Garden Organic and the Health Education Trust. Together they are working to revolutionise school meals by educating children through growing and cooking food, and visiting organic farms.

GM, antibiotics and pesticides

Campaigning against genetic modification (GM), and the misuse of antibiotics in livestock production, which has led to a government ban on seven growth promoting hormones, and pesticides.

Pesticides have a devastating effect on the environment and there are uncertainties about the effectiveness of their official safety regulation, as well as the unknown impact on human health.

Recycle

There are endless materials that can be recyled and reused from paper to various metals. It is an extremely well known and established ethical credential. Below are a few websites where you can find more information of recycling:

www.recyclenow.com

www.recycling-guide.org.uk

www.recyclezone.org.uk

www.recycle.co.uk

The Forest Stewardship Council

FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world's forests.

10 reasons to opt for FSC products

Buying wood products, from all types of forest, with a clear conscience when you see the FSC logo. FSC certified forests are managed with consideration for people, wildlife and the environment.
The FSC label guarantees that the trees that are harvested are replaced.
Areas of forests are protected entirely, in order to protect endangered animals and plants.
FSC protects the rights of indigenous people to use the forest for sacred reasons.
The forest owner must employ local workers to maintain the forest, and provide training, safety equipment and a sustainable salary.
FSC is an initiative that also ensures better conditions for the forest and the people whose livelihoods depend on it.
FSC gives an assurance that future generations will be able to enjoy the benefits of woodlands and forests.
All the wood is tracked from harvest to the end product sale. Every link between the forest and the consumer is certified to make it clearly identifiable which wood is FSC certified.
FSC is the only wood certification scheme endorsed by the major environmental charities, including WWF, Greenpeace and The Woodland Trust
The FSC label covers all wood based products such as furniture, floors, decking, paper, printed matter, charcoal and kitchen utensils.

Energy Saving

Being energy efficient not only helps the environment but saves you money on your utility bills. It's a hot topic in the press at the moment, with the concerns on global warming becoming a priority for most governments around the world. Saving energy can take many forms from a lower watt light bulb to useing re-newable energy such as wind or tidal power.