Equifruit: Canada’s Leading Fairtrade Banana Importer

“Equifruit is a group of diehard believers in ethical fruit sourcing. Especially when it comes to bananas. We’re righting the wrongs of banana business history by making it fair from the start, especially for farmers.”
Equifruit

Before I begin to discuss Equifruit further, I would like to make sure we start off on the right fruit- I mean, foot. Throughout this article, you may see the term “Fairtrade”. Let’s all get on the same page when it comes to what this term refers to.

“Fairtrade “, according to Oxford Languages, “is trade between companies in developed countries and producers in developing countries in which fair prices are paid to the producers.” If you’re interested in knowing more, you can continue reading this informative article by Forbes.

In this day and age, one can only hope that the food we purchase from stores is brought to us through ethical and fair ways. Perhaps, this is something many of us take for granted. Or, perhaps many of us simply, and sometimes unknowingly, remain ignorant.

Since it is such a vast topic, and it involves many different factors, I will be focusing on only one business today. It is a company I recently discovered while doing research to feed my own curiosity. This company, is called Equifruit.

About Equifruit

“Being 100% Fairtrade certified allows us to know exactly where our bananas come from, the names of farmers who picked them, even the date they did it. This level of detail is the secret to seeing commodities as communities — Full of people worth going to bat for. Every year, we visit the co-ops, farms and workers that make our Fairtrade bananas possible and we can’t stop bragging about their stories.”
Kim Chackal, Director, Sales and Marketing

Established in 2006, Equifruit is Canada’s leading Fairtrade-certified banana importer. They currently have distribution in Quebec and Ontario. However, North America is just the beginning. Determinedly, Equifruit is hoping for “global Fairtrade banana domination” in the years to come.

Equifruit- The only banana you should buy™

As I was doing research for this article, I came across a post by The Globe and Mail that brought up a very good point. Bananas are some of the most inexpensive fruit! However, think of all the steps there are between growing them, and getting them into your home.

According to gardeningdream.com,

“A banana tree takes a good amount of time to grow from the time you plant to the time you harvest it.
It takes about 6 months to see the first flower emerge. Leave the leaves around the flower to protect it from sunburn.
The purple flower petals continue to grow and curls drop off to reveal a hand of bananas under each.
You may get about 4-12 or more full hands under each flower. There will be a petal that has tiny banana-like fruits which are male fingers. The male fingers just drop off and die leaving the stalk only.
The bananas take about 2 months to grow to maturity. It is best to support your banana tree to protect it from snapping off.
Bananas are ready to be picked when they are well rounded with ribs with the little flowers at the end are dry and fall off easily. You can pick them green or allow them to ripen.”

That is a lot of time, effort, patience, and care.

All of this is done, just for us to purchase them, eat them, and dispose of them without a second thought.

Thinking about it now, all I can focus on, is how mindlessly I purchase my fruit each time I do groceries. Of course, I check for sales and notice what is more in season. However, I know there is much more I can be doing to support not only the planet, but also, the people in it. Even so, I do like to think that I am mindful. That, I do enough things, both sporadically and continuously that add up to me helping the planet in some shape or form.

I know, I know; my very small actions are better than doing nothing at all. Still, I can’t help but feel like it’s not good enough. If anything, I hope this article creates a discussion. A discussion about the items and foods we purchase, where we purchase them, and how. Even if it’s a discussion between two people- I’ll take it!

Moving Forward…

If you have other resources that I should look at, please let me know in the comments. Or, tell me what YOU do to support a planet that has equal and ethical trade.

Once I finish this post, I am making my grocery list for the week. After learning more about Equifruit and Fairtrade, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make my list in the same way. If this post has the same effect on you, which I hope it does, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one being more conscientious.

Do you want to make sure that your next purchase is one that Equifruit would be proud of? Here is where you can find Equifruit near you. If you take a look at their official site, and still have some questions, you can get in touch with them here.