Happy Christmas & thanks from El Guabo…

24 December 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers, General

It’s been an epic year, and we couldn’t have done it without support from you.

So give yourself another pat on the back.

For the second year running you’ve helped 430 Family farms in El Guabo, Ecuador to earn a fair price for their crop. Kiwis have eaten over 12 million Fairtrade bananas generating $170,000 in Fairtrade premium. And over $1.6 million has gone back to the families growing All Good bananas.

The Fairtrade premium is also supporting 17 schools, 900 children, a special needs school and a medical centre.

Thanks for joining the good guys and thanks for fostering a peaceful world that’s free and fair for everyone.

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A little something for Santa’s Sack…

16 December 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers

Just in the St Nick of time, our online shop is up and running.

Our fans have been asking how they can get their mitts on our Fairtrade sweat-shop-free t-shirts, so we’ve made it easy – just click on our shop tab to view and buy. If you’re stuck for Christmas pressie ideas, don’t fear, if you place an order before midday on Wednesday 21st December, we promise to deliver in time to make it into Santa’s sack.

Plus you can WIN WIN WIN… If you buy a t-shirt from the online shop before the end of December, you’ll go in the draw to win another ALL GOOD t-shirt. A gift for a friend, and a little gift for you too.

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Summer starts now…

23 November 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers

All Good kicked-off summer banana-styles last weekend. We got well and truly stuck in at Auckland’s Grey Lynn festival on Saturday, and then cheered till we could shout no more at the Westmere Kids Tryathlon on Sunday.

Always up for a party, Grey Lynn didn’t let us down. Heck even the weather was celebrating. Gorilla introduced his new buddy banana-man, and got cuddly with Grandma Organic.

Sunday brought more sunshine and the Westmere Kids Tryathlon. John Key was there to start the race, but the All Good Gorilla proved more popular, got mobbed and upstaged the PM (sorry John – Gorilla for Prime Minister anyone??).

Once the race got underway, the Tryathletes first ran, then burnt round the track on bikes, and finally slid their way to glory across the finish line. Some epic slip’n’slide action from all, rewarded with an All Good banana from Gorilla.

If you want to see more pics from the weekend check out Grey Lynn Festival pics riiight here, and Westmere action here.

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Where the extra dollar goes…

09 November 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers, Growers

When you buy All Good Bananas, you are not only ensuring that a fair price is paid to the grower, but you are also contributing to the Fairtrade Premium.

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This Premium goes back to the growing co-operative (in the case of All Good Bananas, El Guabo), but who decides how this money is spent? And where?

Hear directly from the growers just how they, their families and their communities benefit from, and decide what to do with, the money they earn. Simply clickety-click here or on the image above.

And if you want to know more about how Fairtrade certification works, then watch this video of Harriet Lamb explaining exactly what stands behind the Fairtrade certification mark.

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Banana Brokers

31 October 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers

Photo: Duncan Innes, Words: Catherine McGregor

Looking for a great new cafe to frequent? Well this month’s edition of Metro magazine will sort you Aucklanders out with its feature on the city’s top 50 cafes. Whilst you’re planning which one to visit for a Fairtrade coffee, flip the page and you’ll see a few familiar faces… and some friendly bananas

(Don’t worry though, no bananas were injured during the taking of this photo… and their growers are doing alright too).

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Samoan super bananas…

27 October 2011 | Posted by julia in Banana lovers, Growers, Samoa

Our dried banana chunks video gives a great overview, but there’s soooo much more to the story. Namely the journey to get them here, who was involved and what’s actually in them.

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Alright yes, gold-star to you, they are in fact just dried bananas, but there is a lot more to these juicy little fellas than meets the eye.

To get them here to New Zealand, we started working with Oxfam and Samoa’s Women in Business Development Incorporated (a not-for-profit organisation working with over 250 small-scale farmers). Organically certified by NASAA, WIBDI has been working with Samoan farmers to export organically certified Misiluki bananas to NZ since 2008. By partnering closely with Oxfam and WIBDI, we’ve been able to provide these Samoan farmers with a market for a product that currently has almost no economic value locally.

As well as being good for the growers, and in turn Samoa, there are plenty of documented health benefits for eating All Good’s organic dried banana chunks too.

Unlike banana chips, which are commonly deep fried, All Good’s banana chunks are naturally dried. Being made from the more sweeter-tasting Misiluki banana means that nothing else needs to be added; we’re talking no sugar, no sweetener, no preservative and no oil. The bananas are first peeled, then sliced and dried ripe.

If that wasn’t enough, dried bananas are a good source of carbohydrates, low in fats and have no cholesterol. Being low in sodium and high in potassium, they can help to maintain blood pressure and reduce the risk of hypertension, heart diseases and atherosclerosis. They are also a great source of magnesium (which helps to relieve fatigue, relax the muscles, nerves & blood vessels), copper (which can help to reduce the risk of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis) and manganese (which aids in the production of energy) as well as containing Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and B-group vitamins. Have a read about their benefits here (you don’t need to sign-in, just click ‘close’).

All in all making our organic dried banana chunks good for the growers’ futures, as well as a tasty healthy sweet treat for you too.

So, hungry to try them? Check out our list of stockists here.

And if you haven’t yet seen our clip, you can also watch it here.

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Small buying decisions, big difference…

18 October 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers, General

As part of 95bFM’s Conscious Consumers month, Chris got to chat to the lovely Charlotte from Morning Glory (despite post-rugby loss of voice).

Conscious Consumers month is all about knowing where your food is from, and the big, big difference you can make with small buying decisions (like buying Fairtrade for instance).

You can have a listen to what Chris had to say here.

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And marvel at the goodie pack one lucky listener got to win… <gasps-in-awe>

Aww next time eh? It’ll be you, promise…

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Yuuusss! We’re a Sustainable 60 finalist…

10 October 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers, Growers

…and for the environment category too, no less.

Bringing fresh produce from across the other side of the world doesn’t instantly seem to be the most sustainable option, but for a country that is literally bananas for the yellow fruit, importing is currently the only viable commercial option. So we say, why not do it in a way that limits the impact on the environment as much as possible?

From the methods & approaches our El Guabo growers use on their farms, to the way our bananas are packaged and shipped, sustainability is at the heart of what we do.

We’re super-proud of the work our growers do to ensure the environment (and their health) is looked after now and for future generations. As Angel says (pictured above with his daughter Daniella) “The important thing is to keep helping us by buying our Fairtrade bananas… If you don’t buy our fruit, we can’t look forward to better times and keep taking care of the environment”.

You can hear directly what else Angel and our other growers have to say about the difference Fairtrade has made to their lives, their communities & the environment under the growers’ stories tab.

Oh and keep your fingers crossed for us on the 30th Nov too eh, eh.

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Fairtrade certification – what it really means…

30 September 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers, Growers

Harriet Lamb from Fairtrade UK visited our shores in June. A gifted and passionate speaker, she spoke about the rigour and standards behind the Fairtrade mark and just exactly why it guarantees a better deal for Third World Producers. Click here or on the image above to see what she has to say.

You can also view a fuller video of her talk, where she speaks about the shocking difficulties our El Guabo farmers overcame in getting their Fairtrade bananas into supermarkets.

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Organic Dried Banana Stockists

27 September 2011 | Posted by julia in All Good News, Banana lovers, Samoa

So you’re thinking of trying out the Organic Dried Banana Chunks eh? But not sure where to find ‘em?

Use our handy little compendium of stockists below to make seeking out the ‘Healthy & Sweet As’ displays, easy as:

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Christchurch

• Piko Wholefoods, 248 Stanmore Road

Hamilton

• Farro Fresh, The Base, Te Rapa

Wellington

• Commonsense Organics, Wakefield St
• Commonsense Organics, Lower Hutt
• Commonsense Organics, Kilbirnie

Auckland

• Naturally Organic, Albany
• The Juicery, Auckland City
• Eastwest Organics, Glen Eden
• Harvest Wholefoods, Grey Lynn
• Little Grocer, Grey Lynn
• Ripe Deli, Grey Lynn
• Huckleberry Farms, Glen Innes
• Farro Fresh, Constellation Drive, Mairangi Bay
• Farro Fresh, Lunn Ave, Mt Wellington
• IE Produce, Takapuna

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