Whole Story

If you aren’t on a vegan diet, chances are you didn’t know that all sugar isn’t considered vegan. It doesn’t come from an animal so what’s the issue? Bone char. Bet you didn’t know that many sugars are processed with bone char either. Bone char, usually made from the bones of cows, is used in the decolorization process for sugar – meaning it whitens the sugar through a filtration process. Standard sugar packages won't explain all of this, but the process is unacceptable to many vegans and they avoid sugar as a result. But that may be about to change when all the vegans out there find out about our 365 Everyday Value™ Vegan Cane Sugar (which retails for about $4 for a 4-pound bag). Our vegan sugar goes through a 100% animal-free carbon deactivation process to decolorize. This carbon is a mineral and therefore, a non-animal source. Great news, right?

And we didn’t stop there…our vegan sugar is also part of our Whole Trade Guarantee.  Read on to see why this sugar may be a perfect choice for non-vegans too! Any product with the Whole Trade Guarantee must meet all four of these criteria:

• Meet our high quality standards
• Provide more money to producers
• Ensure better wages and working conditions for workers
• Care for the environment

To sweeten the deal, we also donate 1% of all Whole Trade product sales to the Whole Planet Foundation, which funds micro-credit loans around the world with the mission to help end world poverty.

Our vegan sugar is grown and processed in Malawi and the communities there are directly impacted by the sale of this sugar. The Whole Trade premiums paid to Malawi sugar farmers have increased their income, which has allowed them to drill for water —providing safe access to clean drinking water. Previously, people carried water from the Shire River, where crocodiles have killed several water-gatherers, and the unsanitary water supply frequently caused diseases such as bilharzias, cholera and dysentery.

Additionally, the Whole Trade premiums have brought power to the village, which previously had no access to electricity. The Malawi sugar farmers have been able to improve their schools and build a new community clinic. They plan to build a school for children in remote villages and a secondary school near the co-op’s offices. So, the next time you buy sugar… think about the impact your $4 purchase can help make — even if you don't follow a vegan diet.