CafédirectEthical Lifestyle

Every step you take…

Posted by Cafédirect, February 27th, 2012, Comments (0)

Cafédirect is committed, not only to paying a fair price to smallholder growers, but to taking ‘Fairtrade’ principles even further by reinvesting at least a third of our profits back into the producers’ communities and businesses (we’ve re-invested around 50% to date). We believe that this results in sustainable livelihoods … Read more

A storm brewing in the world of “fair trade”

Posted by Whitney, December 2nd, 2011, Comments (0)

Division is no stranger to any social/political/environmental movement … and recently there’s been a major division in the fair trade movement. Fair Trade USA, the leading advocate in the United States, is splitting from Fairtrade International, the umbrella group that currently coordinates fair trade activities under a single … Read more

Perfect breakfast for you and ALL your neighbours!

Posted by Alex, March 11th, 2011, Comments (0)

We’ve teamed up with Dorset Cereal and the Fairtrade Foundation this Fairtrade Fortnight to give you the chance to enjoy the perfect breakfast for months, and share it with all you neighbours too. They’ll be queueing up to water your plants, feed your cat and definitely another reason to nip … Read more

Doing Business Differently – Fair Trade Revolution

Posted by Alex, March 1st, 2011, Comments (0)

Fairtrade Fortnight kicked off yesterday and over these two weeks we’ve got two big and exciting elements of our Fairtrade Fortnight campaign that I’ll be telling you about – the first is with some of our historic partner brands like Divine Chocolate, Equal Exchange and People Tree, and … Read more

The ultimate upcycled gifts…

Posted by Siobhan, December 14th, 2010, Comments (2)

As you probably know, we’re big fans of upcycling here at Cafédirect. We’ve upcycled chairs covered in coffee sacks, cake-stands from vintage crockery and recently used old tea sacks for gift wrapping. There are some things that we can’t (yet) do here though which is why we’ve enlisted the help … Read more

Pioneering Fair Trade in South Korea

Posted by Cafédirect, November 26th, 2010, Comments (0)

Today’s post comes from Wolfgang Weinmann, Head of Strategic Development…. “This week I have been in Seoul as a guest of Beautiful Store, a South Korean charity that also sells Fair Trade coffee, to speak at their International Fair Trade Conference 2010. I shared the experience of our business … Read more

Reap what you SEW!

Posted by Alex, November 9th, 2010, Comments (2)

During September we sent 3,000 old coffee sack kits to Women’s Institute groups up and down the country as part of our Sow Your Own campaign. The idea was to team up with likeminded people who share our values & passion for upcycling to give coffee sacks a new lease of life. … Read more

Andrew Ethuru's message to Fairtrade Supporters Conference

Posted by Alex, October 12th, 2010, Comments (6)

Last week was a busy one at Cafédirect HQ. We had Board meetings which meant our Producer Directors Andrew and Alvaro were in town. This also coincided with the Fairtrade Foundation’s Supporter Conference where Andrew spoke about his experiences of Fairtrade. He was in excellent company following Harriet Lamb the … Read more

Sow Your Own winner announced….

Posted by Siobhan, October 4th, 2010, Comments (4)

Thanks to everyone who got involved in our Sow Your Own campaign this summer, especially those of you who have taken the time to contribute to our blog or share your pics with us. We’ve really enjoyed seeing all of the unusual places you’ve been growing your herbs, fruit and … Read more

Ecover Chic at London Fashion Week

Posted by Alex, September 20th, 2010, Comments (2)

We were invited by our friends at Ecover to the Sustainable Fashion Show on Friday – as pioneers of ethical business in our respective fields we’ve know for a long time that quality and ethics go hand in hand – so it is great to see how the sustainable fashion … Read more

We're top of the ethical tables!

Posted by Siobhan, September 13th, 2010, Comments (2)

We’re really excited to announce that we’ve been ranked the No. 1 ethical tea and coffee brand in the Good Shopping Guide from the Ethical Company Organisation. Compiled from researching public records, campaign and government information, The Good Shopping Guide reports on and ranks the ethical scores of companies … Read more

Beetroot brownies for Zero Waste Week

Posted by Siobhan, September 10th, 2010, Comments (2)

Today it’s my turn to share my tips on avoiding food waste for Zero Waste Week, under the theme of ‘Cooking for Victory’, so I thought I’d share some of the ways that I’ve been getting creative in the kitchen to use up all my veg. It all started recently … Read more

Harriett's tips on reducing food waste

Posted by Cafédirect, September 9th, 2010, Comments (0)

I live in a household made up of two adults, two minis and a cat, and we’ve been trying to consistently reduce our waste every week. We’ve managed to reduce our rubbish in half in the last few years as we’ve become more aware of what can be recycled, or … Read more

Kev's tips to cut down on food waste and energy use

Posted by Cafédirect, September 8th, 2010, Comments (0)

Today it’s Kevin’s turn to give his take on cutting down waste in the home….. “I love to cook and do so mainly from scratch. When in the supermarket one can often think a ready meal or pre cooked or pre prepared food is more convenient when actually preparing food … Read more

Keep the lid on the Can of Worms!

Posted by Alex, September 7th, 2010, Comments (1)

Responsible consumerism and living in a sustainable way isn’t always easy living in London and working five days a week and that’s why initiatives like Zero Waste Week are so inspiring. Reading tips from other busy people on how they are reducing their waste is really useful and it’s also … Read more

Join us for a week of no waste, and save that fruit!

Posted by Whitney, September 6th, 2010, Comments (2)

If you’re into avoiding waste and trying out new ways of eco-living, you’ve probably heard of the popular website myzerowaste.com. We’ve previously appeared on their much loved pages to share tips on 11 uses for coffee grounds and up-cycling furniture, and now we’ve signed up to participate in … Read more

Sow Your Own on the radio!

Posted by Siobhan, August 26th, 2010, Comments (0)

If you’ve been listening to the radio recently you may have heard Tim Maddams, Head Chef at River Cottage Canteen, and our friend Rocket Rob talking about our Sow Your Own campaign. Rob and Tim have been busy entertaining listeners around the country with their stories and useful hints … Read more

Cafedirect Coffee Sack Challenge for the Women's Institute

Posted by Alex, August 24th, 2010, Comments (5)

We’ve teamed up with the Women’s Institute once again to create The Cafédirect Coffee Sack Challenge! Cafédirect goes beyond just Fairtrade, and we care about being a leading sustainable business and are working hard to minimise our environmental footprint. This summer we’ve teamed up with Vintage guru and … Read more

Reaping our rewards from the roof-garden

Posted by Siobhan, July 21st, 2010, Comments (0)

We’ve been busy working in the garden today doing some much needed tending to the vegetables before we got to the best part: harvesting! We’ll be busy cooking some tasty meals tonight so stay tuned for the recipes! Here are some photos of the pick of our crop and you … Read more

Grow it, Eat it!

Posted by Alex, June 23rd, 2010, Comments (1)

June has been a great month for our balcony garden – the sunshine and rain have accelerated the growth of our fruit and vegetables – so this month we’ve mainly been eating rocket (when we could pick it before it flowered!), basil, spinach, various types of lettuce, strawberries!), and … Read more

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