The power of the ethical pound - how supporting food brands doing good can create global change

Many of us can take a walk down our local high street and choose cuisine from anywhere in the world. Peruvian, Sri Lankan, Ethiopian. Not to mention the ‘usuals’: Chinese, Indian, American, Italian. We can also buy all kinds of new and inspiring ingredients from local shops and the supermarket. It’s wonderful. Sampling these delicious cuisines is a fortunate consequence of living in the West.

But what does all this choice mean? 

That, as consumers, we have power.

These delights wouldn’t exist if we didn’t demand them. But having whatever we want at our fingertips, at the price we want to pay, often means someone, or some place, has suffered in some way. We only need to think of the avocado farms run by Mexican cartels to realise that. 

But we can choose to use this power for the greater good. We can choose brands that are doing good, either for the planet, the growers and producers or our own health, to have a global impact. In other words, the food or ingredients we choose have the power to make a difference. 

What does ‘brands doing good’ mean, exactly?

Brands doing good are brands going out of their way to do things differently. They’re the opposite of for-profit brands, the stack-’em-high, sell-’em-cheap brigade. There’s no aggressive marketing, and certainly no underhand secret sponsorship deals. 

Instead, a brand doing good might decide to make organic sausages using meat from a sustainable farm. They have the wellbeing of the animals and the environment top of their list. Another brand doing good might source its ingredients from a Fairtrade plantation, placing the welfare of the farmers high in its priorities. Or, they might sweeten their product with dates or maple syrup, rather than using refined sugars, making it a healthier treat for us.

These so-called impact brands put sustainability, protecting the environment and looking after human and animal welfare, above profits. And I’m here for it. 

Fairtrade as a mark of sustainability

Sustainability extends further than shopping locally and seasonally. For example, for the most part, we don’t grow tea here in the UK. (Although Tregothnan tea does, on a beautiful estate in Cornwall.) So how do we make a difference if we’re drinking tea from far afield each morning?

By choosing Fairtrade tea brands. Clipper Teas was the first tea company to hold the Fairtrade mark in the UK. Now there are plenty to choose from, such as Taylors of Harrogate and Belfast-based Suki Tea. 

We can also opt for Fairtrade coffee, sugar, chocolate, bananas, grains, herbs and spices. Fairtrade means that the farmers, growers, pickers and producers have been paid a fair price for their goods. It means co-operatives and communities can thrive by employing sustainable business practices. Which in turn means even more sustainable choices for us. 

Ditching the palm oil

Brands using sustainable ingredients also make a difference, ecologically and sociologically. Palm oil is a big one. The use of palm oil contributes massively to deforestation in Asia, South America and Africa. This has caused climate change and the destruction of the habitats of many animals (mainly orangutans and other primate species, tigers and rhinos) on a devastating scale. 

Palm oil production has also led to abuses of the rights of the indigenous people living in these areas. It's such a problem because palm oil is so easy to grow, and cheap for food manufacturers to buy.

Thankfully, many companies are now choosing to ditch palm oil, and many are based in the UK. Island Bakery on the Isle of Mull make organic biscuits that are all free from palm oil. 

Pacari Chocolate ticks the no palm oil box, too. They work directly with their Ecuadorian farmers and pay them a fair price, supporting them, their local economy and the wider communities. They’re also organic, meaning their farmers don't use any harmful fertilisers or pesticides that pollute the earth. Plus, all of their packaging is 100% recyclable. 

Ditching the ditching of bycatch 

Fish4Ever is an example of another UK brand doing good. This time, by the sustainability of our seas. They support small-scale fishing and other sustainable fishing practices, including the use of small fishing boats and local fishing communities. 

Smaller boats don’t cause the damage to the ocean floor that industrial-scale fishing practices do. They also make sure they avoid bycatch - aquatic creatures unwittingly caught up in fishing nets, leading to their unnecessary death. 

Making considerate packaging choices 

Plus, of course, a large factor of sustainability is degradable or compostable packaging. Or at least, plastic-free packaging. 

Opting for brands using such packaging, or bulk shopping where no packaging is used at all, helps to reduce the millions of tonnes of plastic that’s produced each year. 

Social enterprises building communities and spirits

We can also choose to be part of local initiatives that support our own communities. At a time when many of us barely know our neighbours, it seems like a good idea to reach out and see what’s happening locally. Loneliness is a big deal for elderly people, stay-at-home parents and those without a social network. We can all suffer the effects of feeling alone, and community projects can help enormously. 

Incredible Edible is a UK network of more than 100 groups, all using food to build communities. Each group has three core values - growing edible produce for the community on spare land, training local people in cooking fresh produce and supporting local businesses. They fully embrace “the powder of small ideas”. 

The Abundance Network encourages neighbours to share harvests of fruit from trees that might otherwise be wasted. So not only do they save perfectly edible food, they promote a community spirit reminiscent of days gone by, when making an apple crumble and giving it to your neighbour was commonplace. They say that over 90% of the fruit we eat in the UK is imported. If we made use of all the apples and pears that are ripe for picking in October, we could be self-sufficient fruit-wise, as a nation, for the whole of that month. 

Brands donating to good causes

1% for the Planet is a fantastic initiative. Brands that sign up agree to donate 1% of their sales to support environmental and social projects. Pukka Herbs, which produces herbal teas and supplements, is one such member. 

They were empowered to join up after realising that only 3% of global charitable giving goes to environmental charities. Last year, Pukka Herbs donated £425k to environmental causes. This money helped support Tree Sisters, a charity that empowers women to replant trees and forests in tropical locations. These trees help restore soil, protect endangered species and liberate some of the poorest communities on the planet. 

Pukka Herbs also donated to the Soil Association, which launched a campaign to celebrate bees and encourage the planting of bee-friendly herbs all over the UK. By buying from Pukka Herbs, you’re directly supporting these kinds of initiatives. 

Mindful consumerism

We all need to buy food. Unless we’re completely self-sufficient, at some point in the week, we’re going to need to go food shopping. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be mindful about it. Where we choose to shop and what brands we choose to buy have an impact. The more we choose smaller brands doing good, the more the bigger brands will listen and be inspired to make a change. 

Don’t think that you alone can’t make a difference. A simple swap to Fairtrade tea or coffee means one less household supporting the potential exploitation of fellow humans. Talk to friends, use gentle persuasion and share your favourite brands on social media. Big brands make it all too easy for us to buy without thinking. We have the power to make more ethical shopping choices and have an impact on global change. So let’s all do our part for the sustainable food revolution!