- http://rainforest-alliance.org/
What is the Rainforest Alliance?
Some us would recognize the little green frog on a label that says "Rainforest Alliance Certified". Since it sounds like a good thing, we just grab the product and go. But the Rainforest Alliance is about more than just stamping labels of cute little frogs on products. The organization operates in more than 50 countries and has a presence in products from coffee to lumber to bananas.
The goals of the Rainforest Alliance are, "environmental protection, social equity and economic viability." That means they encourage companies to produce products in a manner that will not jeopardize their ability to continue to produce them in the future and that will also fairly support the farmers.
The alliance works with both the consumers and the producers, encouraging both to think green and stick to eco-friendly, fair trade products. The short video that summarizes the purpose and background of the Rainforest Alliance can be viewed here.
This article appears in Jul 7-13, 2011.