Ethical Vending At SnackTime
At SnackTime we encourage the sale and consumption of ethical products in our vending machines. Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance products are featured as key lines in our vending machines. We work closely with our partners Kenco, Mars, Walkers, Britvic and GSK to be educated in and promote new and existing products which are either Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance associated.
What is Fairtrade?
The Fairtrade logo is an independent consumer label which appears on products as a guarantee that producers are getting a better deal. It guarantees farmers in developing countries a fair and stable price for their produce, which covers the costs of sustainable production.
SnackTime’s hot drinks range, Café Joe, is a range of Fairtrade coffee, tea, hot chocolate and sugar, whereby the raw products, such as cocoa and coffee beans, are from sustainable sources where the producers in the developing world get a fair price for their crops.
In addition, Fairtrade Standards support the social, economic and environmental development of small-scale farmers and their workers. These include paying workers decent wages, guaranteeing the right to join a trade union, freedom from discrimination, health and safety standards and the provision of adequate housing and other social provisions.
Fairtrade Standards also ensure that producer organisations make environmental protection an integral part of farm management. This includes minimising the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides and their gradual replacement with natural alternatives, protection of water, soil structure and other natural resources, and the responsible disposal of waste.
Using Fairtrade certified products changes the lives of millions of people worldwide and shows how trade can be made to work in favour of poorer people and the environment. Fairtrade is not a brand but an independent stamp of approval.
What is Rainforest Alliance?
Rainforest Alliance certification stands for a sustainable future for tea and coffee farming and is an independent guarantee that high social, economic and environmental standards are being met, without damaging their environment and without depleting vital natural resources.
Coffee and Tea produced in line with the ideals of sustainability conserve wildlife, protects farm workers and helps farmers improve their incomes and their quality of life. Products from Rainforest Alliance sustainable sources carry the distinctive Rainforest Alliance 'tree frog' logo.
What Have We Done At SnackTime?
We are always reassessing how we can make our business more environmentally friendly and how we can improve our sustainability, whilst ensuring our vending machine customers continue to receive a premium quality vending service with the best products
1. We have employed a Buying Director whose key focus is to improve our environmental impact by selecting products and suppliers who are committed to the environment.
2. We commit to meet all environmental legislation and we are regularly reviewing our environmental and sustainability processes.
3. We have recently changed our paper cup supplier to Benders Paper Cup Company which is Fairtrade and ethically aware. They use compostable packaging and ethically sourced raw materials from sustainable, managed forests, and is also a member of the Paper Cup Recovery and Recycling Group. We have also expanded our distribution of recyclable paper cups to across the UK instead of just London and the South East.
4. We now actively promote our own Fairtrade coffee range Cafe Joe across the country, instead of just in London.
5. We have recently become a Kenco 'Proud Partner' which produces Rainforest Alliance Coffee.
6. Our Hot Chocolate is from Fairtrade cocoa which is sourced through a group of 42 farmers who are part of the Conacado cooperative in the Dominican Republic. Conacado sells part of its crop to the Fairtrade market, for this a bonus is paid to be spent on community projects. Conacado also helps struggling farmers with interest-free loans, fertilisers and new young cocoa plants.
7. Fresh Kenyan lead tea. By using our Kenyan leaf tea, our vending customers are supporting the Ethical Tea Partnership. This is a long-term initiative, which aims to understand how tea is sourced, and to validate conditions on estates and factories by credible, independent monitoring.