As part of the Rainforest Alliance 20th Anniversary Gala celebration, we will be holding a silent auction. Find special deals on luxury items such as vacations, instruments and artwork while helping to support the Rainforest Alliance.
For the first time ever, this auction will be held online, accessible to everyone. View and bid on available items.
WHEN: Opens Friday, April 27, 2007 (9 AM EDT)
Closes Monday, May 14, 2007 (6 PM EDT)
We encourage you to spread the word about this auction to your friends and colleagues.
Rainforest Alliance and Whole Foods Join Forces
Responsible shoppers can now find their favorite Rainforest Alliance Certified products at Whole Foods Market stores. Whole Trade Guarantee is a new program, which ensures that agricultural products from developing countries come from socially and environmentally responsible farms and meet a set of criteria that ensure high quality, sustainable practices, more income for producers, and better wages and conditions for farm workers.
As part of the program, coffee, bananas and chocolate from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms will be sold at Whole Foods Market stores throughout the United States and Canada. The company will also offer a variety of other products, including tea, cocoa, mangoes, rice, sugar and vanilla that meet program requirements.
"The vision of the Whole Trade Guarantee complements the work the Rainforest Alliance has been doing for 20 years to promote the three pillars of sustainability -- environmental, social and economic -- in agricultural production," said Tensie Whelan, executive director of the Rainforest Alliance. "We are trying to change not only the way goods are produced but also the choices businesses make and the way consumers shop."
The Whole Trade program will both increase the availability of responsibly produced goods and empower consumers who want to support sustainable agriculture.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the JK Rowling series, will be published on environmentally-friendly, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. The Rainforest Alliance worked with Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, to develop its plan to buy FSC-certified paper and will continue helping the company refine its responsible paper procurement policies.
For the initial printing of 12 million copies in the United States, Scholastic has committed to making sure that 65 percent of the total paper used is FSC-certified, which means the paper comes from forestlands that are managed in a socially and environmentally responsible way. Totaling nearly 22 million pounds, this is the largest purchase of FSC-certified paper to be used in a single book printing to date.
The Rainforest Alliance is the world's leading certifier of forestlands to FSC standards. We have certified more than 100 million acres (40.7 million hectares) of forestland in 58 countries to date.
The area of FSC-certified forestlands has skyrocketed in recent years. More than 215 million acres (87 million hectares) globally are FSC-certified, up from more than 118 million acres (48 million hectares) in 2004. This increase has propelled rapid growth in the global supply of FSC-certified wood products including paper. Several hundred pulp providers, mills, merchants and printers globally have obtained FSC certification, which allows for increasing availability of certified products to consumers.
This festive evening will take place on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 in New York City. The Gala recognizes exceptional achievements made by individuals and companies in the areas of sustainable agriculture, forestry and tourism.
The Rainforest Alliance would like to thank the following individuals and companies for their outstanding commitment to conservation:
2007 Co-Chairs: |
Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
Kraft Foods Inc.
UCC Ueshima Coffee Company, LTD
David Refkin, Time Inc.
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2007 Honorees: |
Lifetime Achievement Awardee
R.E. Turner
Corporate Sustainable Standard-Setters
Asociación de Comunidades Forestales de Petén
Lapa Rios
Masisa
Potlatch Corporation
Corporate Green Globe Awardees
Caribou Coffee Company, Inc.
Innocent
Nestlé Nespresso SA
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2007 Underwriter: |
Gibson Foundation |
2007 Sponsors: |
Domtar and The New York Observer |
To learn more or receive a gala invitation, please contact Neda Arabshahi at (646) 452-1957 or narabshahi@ra.org.
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© 2007 Rainforest Alliance
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