BJ’s is the Only Retailer to Source Fair Trade Sugar

I love sharing these articles with you about BJ’s. Not only can we get amazing deals like this week Almay mascara for $0.49 but they are a company that cares about our environment and communities.

The following article was first published in the BJ’s CSR Report.

BJs Vision is to strive to offer our members high-quality, sustainably sourced products and Fair Trade USA-Certified items that ensure farmers and producers receive a fair living wage.

 Photo courtesy of Fair Trade USA

In developing countries, farmers and workers often don’t receive a fair wage for their labor and products. That’s why we source Fair Trade Certified ingredients for some of our most popular Wellsley Farms baked goods, to ensure the sugarcane farmers in Belize, who produce our sugar, are getting a fair price. In fact we’re leading the way among mainstream in-store bakeries as the only retailer to source Fair Trade Sugar.

Sugar is Belize’s fourth largest export and about 10% of the total population is dependent on the sugar industry to earn a livelihood. In the north, where sugar is grown, that number jumps to 85%. The majority of sugarcane farmers in Belize are represented by the Belize Cane Sugar Farmer’s Association, which joined Fair Trade in 2008. By concentrating BJ’s Fair Trade sugar purchases in this one region we’ve increased our impact on the lives of farmers, their communities and the environment.

There is an awesome Q&A with Scott Williams who is assistant Vice President of Quality Assurance and Environmental Stewardship published here on the Fair Trade USA Blog.