Small Kiwi Company named the world"s "fairest trader"

Small Kiwi Company named the world’s ‘fairest

trader’

Most Kiwis believe everyone deserves a

‘fair go’ and according to Pulitzer Prize-winning

American historian, author and scholar David Hackett

Fischer, “on the subject of fairness, no nation in the

world has more to teach than New Zealand.”

Now a small

Kiwi food drink company has been recognised as one of the

fairest in the world.

Fairtrade International, a global

not-for-profit organisation that oversees 27,000 products

that carry the Fairtrade mark in 120 countries, has named

New Zealand’s All Good Organics as the world’s

‘fairest trader.’

The accolade will be announced at

the International Fairtrade Awards, which take place as part

of Fairtrade International General Assembly in Bonn, Germany

on Friday June 13, at 4.30am (NZT). The Fairtrade

International Fairtrade Trader award recognises outstanding

and special efforts from traders worldwide, especially those

involved in innovative projects and programmes.

According

to International Fairtrade Awards judges, All Good

‘demonstrated a strong commitment to Fairtrade and

engagement with Fairtrade producers; for having created an

innovative Fairtrade product and for their significant

contributions to the growth of Fairtrade sales and awareness

in New Zealand.’

Kiwi owned and operated All Good are

known in New Zealand for Fairtrade Bananas helping small

banana farmers in Ecuador and Samoa and more recently with

Karma Cola, a soft drink that is helping people in Sierra

Leone rebuild their lives in the aftermath of war.

There’s a 1950’s song that goes, “if you want to be

the top banana you have to start at the bottom of the

bunch,” says All Good Director and Founder Simon Coley.

“It certainly applies to us. The banana industry is big,

its history isn’t pretty, it’s littered with failed

dreams and there have been many times we’ve wondered if

we’d bitten off more than we could chew. When we launched

New Zealand’s first Fairtrade bananas just over four years

ago we were told that no one would want to pay $1 more a

bunch. But we’ve shown Kiwis where their bananas come from

and why it’s a good idea to buy the ones that directly

support growers, their families and the environment – the

All Good ones.

“The international Fairtrade Trader award

is fantastic recognition for our team and the work we’ve

done to put All Good Fairtrade bananas on the map in New

Zealand. Kiwi consumers have rallied behind our truly

ethical fruit and we are now on sale in supermarkets

throughout the country.

“Support from conscious Kiwi

consumers gave us the confidence to create Karma Cola – to

do the same for soft drinks and give a face and a voice, for

the first time in the history of cola, to the people who

grow its naming ingredient in Sierra Leone.”

Simon

Coley, Chris Morrison founder of Phoenix Organics and his

brother Matt Morrison conceived the idea for All Good on a

West Auckland beach over 5 years ago. They started with

bananas because they are the most consumed supermarket

commodity and arguably one of the least ethical. In 2010

they began importing New Zealand’s first Fairtrade bananas

from the El Guabo Fairtrade cooperative of small banana

farmers in Ecuador.

In 2012, they launched Karma Cola to

address the injustice in the fact that every day the world

consumes more than 1.7 billion cola drinks, yet very few

contain real cola and the people who grow the name

ingredient don’t get a cent. Proceeds from the sale of

every bottle are going back to the Boma village in Sierra

Leone to help the people who grow the cola rebuild their

lives in the aftermath of war.

Four years on, All Good

bananas can be found in supermarkets throughout the country

and Karma Cola and its brother and sister drinks Lemmy and

Gingerella, are now on sale in cafes, restaurants and bars

throughout New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau and

Singapore, and as of last month London. An idea that came to

life in West Auckland is now benefitting people in West

Africa, Ecuador, Samoa, Sri Lanka and India.

All Good

Bananas are also on sale in New World, Pak’nSave and Four

Square, and independent grocers such as Moore Wilson, Farro

Fresh, Fruit World, Nosh and Huckleberry Farms.

Ends

© Scoop Media

Small Kiwi Company named the world"s "fairest trader"