Our Green Rule .... Wholesome Sweeteners' ethos is shaped by a deep concern for the long-term health of the planet and all of its inhabitants. We believe in sustainability, traditionally made artisanal products and a very light footprint. It's a big job, but we're making progress. We use traditional methods ... From the seed stock to harvest, our sugar cane is cultivated by hand and grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides Wherever possible, we work with Fair Trade CertifiedTM farmers cooperatives  At the small mills, our products are made simply and the spent sugar cane or blue agave remnants, called bagasse, are recycled as fuel to generate electricity for the mill and nearby villages.     The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic logo is Wholesome's promise that we hold every product to a high environmental standard. Each product bearing the Organic logo has been grown and milled to the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) standards and without the aid of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or chemicals. Our suppliers are routinely inspected by Wholesome's operations team as well as inspectors from Quality Assurance International, a third-party certifier, to assure that we maintain USDA Organic Standards. Wholesome Sweeteners Approach Wholesome Sweeteners buys organic cane from independently certified farmers in Brazil, Costa Rica, Malawi and Paraguay. We guarantee that our organically certified sugars, syrups and nectars are cultivated without herbicides and pesticides. Rather than spread chemicals or burn the fields, Wholesome Sweeteners' farmers let nature support the crop's cultivation. Recycled chicken feed is used as occasional fertilizer. The cane's trimmed leaves and stalks are left in the fields, providing cover and forage for wildlife, then decomposing naturally, returning important nutrients to the soil, helping retain moisture and acting as a natural form of weed control.  Consumer support of organic sugar products has had a significant impact on the way farmers grow their cane: Between 2001 and 2007, there was a 10-fold increase in land dedicated to organic cane cultivation in Paraguay alone--from 10,000 acres to nearly 100,000 acres. And as more and more farmers convert to organic cultivation, they're joining Fair Trade Cooperatives as well. Wholesome Sweeteners' Fair Trade programs help small sugar farmers earn more so they can pay for organic certification and training in sustainable agriculture techniques as well as converting land to organic cultivation. Paraguay and Costa Rica grow organic Fair Trade Certified sugar cane.

Fostering Sustainability Raising Cane & Making Sugar The Honey Makers Hecho en Mexico: Organic Blue Agave Production & Processing

Fostering Sustainability Although the investment of Fair Trade premiums is determined by the co-op members themselves, far from any influence by Wholesome Sweeteners, we're happy to report that the co-ops are developing an ever-increasing number of environmentally oriented programs. q       In Malawi, women and children no longer have to walk miles from the village to the river to collect water; the Fair Trade premiums have been invested in a centrally located water well that beings safe water into the village. The farmers are replanting and improving the cane crop, as well as other traditional food crops. q       In Costa Rica on Fair Trade Certified and organic farms, reforestation projects have brought diversity back to ecosystems and the farmers have invested in improved organic furnaces that burn the crushed cane (called bagasse) after the cane juice has been collected. q       In Paraguay, the co-op has invested Fair Trade Certified premiums in orange and grapefruit trees and land for a small orchard. The citrus trees are intercropped with other trees to promote biodiversity, and the members have fresh fruit to eat at home and sell at the market. And as the traditional keepers of cures, the women of the coop have planted and tend a medicinal garden. It's a great opportunity to begin teaching the next generation about sustainability and stewardship.   NEW PRODUCT: Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Certified Organic Honeys q       In Mexico, the Fair Trade Certified beekeeper cooperatives tend hives deep in designated organic agricultural zones. The Fair Trade programs add a value to protecting habitat--it means the beekeepers can develop the quality of the hives and forage areas and build thriving communities. By protecting the hives and forage areas, Fair Trade encourages biodiversity and helps the forests thrive, too. q       Wholesome’s Fair Trade Certified Organic Honey beekeeper cooperatives recycle beeswax collected as part of the honey harvest to help bees build new combs in their hives.