When I was in Brazil this past year for a food industry show, I met a brother and a sister who lived and worked on their family’s biodynamic aloe vera farm. I learned that on this farm the siblings made cleaning products from the aloe vera that they grew.

Their family, the Weltzien’s, founded EcoPath in 1981 in São Paulo, Brazil after relocating from Spain. The family business was the first company to introduce biodegradable, concentrated cleaning products to the Brazilian market. The products have improved along the years, eliminating all petrochemicals. Now, EcoPath has the first and only ready-to-use cleaning product line that is certified Natural by IBD (Biodynamic Institute), Rainforest Alliance Certified and part of the Whole Trade Guarantee program, all of which guarantee social and environmental responsibility.

All of EcoPath’s products are hand filled with labels that are applied by hand, thus providing jobs around their community. All of their product lines contain organic and biodynamic aloe vera grown on the family farm. The workers receive above standard salaries and are educated about recycling, organic agriculture and environmental protection. They also participate in neighborhood recycling programs to raise funds for public schools and other charitable entities. Today, the siblings — Falk, Thorsten, Becky, Folko and Klaus — are working hard to continue their father’s legacy and introduce these products to the world!

EcoPath Cleaning Product Listing:
• Eco Purpose All Purpose Cleaner
• Eco Purpose Dishwashing Liquid Lemon grass
• Eco Purpose Dishwashing Liquid no fragrance
• Eco Purpose Laundry Wash Liquid
• Eco Purpose Laundry Wash Powder fragrance free

I love working with family-owned businesses, especially those that truly believe in what they do. Maine Root Soda Company, based right here in Austin, TX, is one of those companies.

Brothers, Matt and Mark Seiler, started a company that not only provides great quality products, but it has a conscious too. Maine Root Soda Company uses ethically sourced sugar from Paraguay in all of their sodas. In fact, Maine Root Soda Company was the first soda company to use exclusively ethically-certified sugar. All of the sugar cane comes from a biodiverse farm co-op and is grown without the use of synthetic fertilizer. All weeding is done by hand, thereby eliminating the use of chemical herbicides.

It’s hot here in Austin, so a nice cold beverage is a must. I love their Root Beer and Ginger Beer Soda. The Ginger Beer is nice and spicy. So, grab a Maine Root Soda the next time you need a nice cold, refreshing soda, and be reassured that these brothers are doing the right thing! (Not everyone reading this will be able to find Maine Root Soda in their local Whole Foods Market but they are expanding. Look for them now throughout the Southwest, North Atlantic, Northeast, and South regions.)

Oh yeah, Maine Root Soda is part of our Whole Trade Guarantee program, so in addition to the great work that they do, we donate 1% of sales on their products to do more great work through our Whole Planet Foundation.

Check out the Maine Root website to learn more about Matt and Mark’s great story.

My name is Jessica and I am the Whole Trade Guarantee Specialist. In my role I have the opportunity to promote social responsibility through the ethical sale and trade of commodity products. We donate 1% of all Whole Trade Guarantee sales to the Whole Planet Foundation, which funds micro-credit loans to women all over the world to help end world poverty.

One of my favorite companies to work with is Alaffia Bodycare. The owner and founder Olowo-n’djo Tchala was born and grew up in Togo, Africa located on the West African coast. Times were extremely difficult growing up due to political unrest. Olowo-n’djo made a promise to himself he would do all he could to improve the lives of the women from the community he grew up in. Indigenous to the country of Togo, shea nuts are the main ingredient used in Alaffia’s Bodycare products, which provides ethical wages to the women in the community.

Olowo-n’djo explains:

Because I grew up in poverty in Togo, I feel morally responsible to dedicate my life to empowering our communities in Africa. Read the rest of this entry »