Making Trade Fair

	Oxfam Fair Trade purchases its organic rice from people like this Thai farmer. Fair trade products like this are now available in Vernon at Nature’s Fare and Quality Greens.

A pair of local grocers are stocking several Oxfam Fair Trade products. Nature’s Fare on 30th Avenue has had them on the shelves for about a month, and Quality Greens on Anderson Way brought some in last week.

Nature’s Fare is carrying fair trade and organic cola, sparkling iced tea, jasmine rice and rice cakes with sea salt, and while they haven’t been flying off the shelf as of yet, grocery manager Daryl Leier says that’s to be expected with a new product line.

“Anything new we put on our shelf takes people a while to warm up to,” he said, adding the cola is already proving to be quite popular.

Quality Greens is stocking the cola, iced tea, brown rice, rice cakes and quinoa. They will also soon have mini rice cakes with chocolate topping, white jasmine rice, a selection of teas and non-organic orange juice.

“They’re (Oxfam products) very recognizable and they all have the Fair Trade logo,” said Flavia Aarden-Kilger, who owns Penticton-based Fair Trade Brokers and has the exclusive Canadian distribution rights for Oxfam Fair Trade product line.

After working for years in Europe where fair trade products are more prevalent, she wanted to bring it to her native Canada.

The idea behind fair trade products is that farmers are paid a fair wage for their crops, reflective of an equal global trade system.

“They get a fair price for the work they’ve done, and the also get a premium (for things like schools and medicine). So whatever their community needs, they can put it towards that,” said Aarden-Kilger.

She adds Oxfam will often travel to places where disaster (such as earthquakes and hurricanes) has struck to help get the economy rejuvinated.

“Once the relief work is done, Oxfam comes in with the commercial side and they help,” she said.

Quality Greens also has outlets in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Penticton. Nature’s Fare has branches in Kelowna (2), West Kelowna, Kamloops and Penticton.