Follow The Frog For Forest Friendly Foods & Drinks

If you’ve been following my blog for any time then you’ll probably know that I like to show people simple actions that they can take to both reduce their carbon footprint and prevent the destruction and degradation of important wild spaces around the world and what is simpler than looking for a logo on the foods and drinks you buy?

Well last night I went along to a blogger event at the Rainforest Alliance HQ in London where I learned a bit more about how they work and what they are doing to make it that bit easier for consumers, like you, to make choices that benefit the planet.

This week is their Follow The Frog Week (FTFW) and it aims to spread awareness of their Green Frog seal of approval that you can find on things such as tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas and pineapples among others (it’s not just food and drink – flowers and wood products too). It is also the time when the Rainforest Alliance re-launch their Frog Blog with a fresh new look so be sure to check it out.

Here’s a video they’ve made to accompany this year’s FTFW:

I wanted to find out what products I could buy that bear the Frog seal and just as I was going to email the team from last night I realised they were well ahead of me…turns out they have this handy tool where you can find brands that use Rainforest Alliance certified raw materials (I believe the minimum for things like tea, coffee and chocolate is 30% certified):

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/green-living/shopthefrog?country=94

Now I don’t drink tea or coffee which make up quite a significant chunk of the products on offer (as you’d expect) but I do sometimes eat chocolate so I was glad to see that Galaxy was on the list as it is one of my favourites.

What’s great about logos like the Rainforest Alliance Frog is that they require very little work on the part of the shopper – you are probably used to scanning the shelves for prices and special offers and spotting which products help prevent deforestation and preserve important habitats for countless species of animals, insects and birds is just the natural progression of this.

I would guess that in the UK it is the Fair Trade logo that is best known and while they do fantastic work to ensure that farmers get paid a fair living wage, they are not necessarily focused on sustainability quite like the Rainforest Alliance are. So if you have a choice between the two, I would choose the Frog every time.

What’s great is that they don’t just claim to be doing good for the planet, they actually show real results on their website – here’s the main page which then links through to their impact on biodiversity, wildlife, local people, economies etc.

Finally, if you want to keep abreast of the latest Follow The Frog chat then Twitter is the place to be. Here are the latest tweets containing #followthefrog:

P.S. remember to share the video above to your own followers and friends on social media – the more people we reach, the happier the planet will be.

P.P.S. I have started a board on Pinterest for pictures of deforestation to highlight the issues with unsustainable forestry and agriculture so be sure to follow me there too.

Steve (156 Posts)

I am chief writer and editor on Green Steve. Blogging since 2011, I like to delve into a wide number of topics to help people reduce their carbon footprint. You should follow me on Twitter here. And add me to your Google+ circles here.

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