There are two areas of concern for Trade Aid in relation to the environment:

1. The first is in our behaviour as a trading partner and the impact our trade has on the environment outside New Zealand
2. The second is our own behaviour within New Zealand as an importer, distributor and retailer

1. Buying Trade Aid product - helps protect our global environment

Protecting the environment is a key principle of fair trading:  

"Fair trade actively encourages better environmental practices and the application of responsible methods of production" International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT)

Did you know that Trade Aid products have a very low carbon footprint? This is because Trade Aid artisans and producers:

• handcraft their products, instead of working on large machines
• work at home or in small workshops, not in large factories 
• have built in the environmental cost, into the cost of the product
• receive encouragement and support to monitor their environmental impact 
• live where they work, increasing the motivation to assess environmental impact 
• in the case of food products, are certified organic or are working towards organic certification 
• send their products to NZ by sea not by air, substantially reducing carbon emissions

Make a positive choice about what you use and consume - buy Trade Aid.

Learn more:

• Read Trade Aid's information about environmental justice, or pick up a brochure from a shop
• Read an article about environmental justice written for Fair Trade Fortnight 08
• Watch the 6 min DVD below with footage from Trade Aid's trading partners demonstrating their low carbon production:

2. Trade Aid in New Zealand - as an importer, distributor and retailer

Read Trade Aid's commitment to the environment - policy and practice.