We started Canopy Bridge because we believe that origins matter. That where a product comes from, how it’s made, the people behind it – in short, its roots – are stories worth knowing.
More and more consumers and businesses are asking these questions, because their business and buying decisions impact not only them but other players all along the supply chain. Probably nowhere is this more evident than for the natural products cultivated on farms or harvested from the wild which nourish us, heal us and improve our lives. And in the process can improve the lives and health of the families, fields and forests where they originate. When this commerce works right, there is a virtuous circle of great products, improved incomes and healthy ecologies, around the world.
Standards and certification – from organic to fair trade to a host of others – help fuel this virtuous circle. They are powerful semaphores for consumers overwhelmed by choices, but with the conviction that those choices should help make a difference, or at the least do no harm. And there are many more producers and startups around the world working for sustainability without a formal certification.
Behind each of these sustainable products is a story of businesses and people trying to do the right thing often in extraordinary settings and in the face of profound challenges:
- Alpaca wool ranching in highland Ecuador is striking a delicate balance between healthy herds of alpaca, and healthy wild populations of spectacular Andean bears and mountain lions,
- Organic coffee produced by a farmers’ cooperative provides a pathway out of violence in the Congo, or a way to restore native forest when grown in the company of endemic scalesia trees and giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands,
- Sustainably wild-harvested honey comes from the world’s largest honeybee in Indonesia.
- And the bounty from the Amazon includes Brazil nuts from the forests of the Kayapó, wild cocoa from Bolivia, and a host of natural body care and medicinal products.
We want to see products and producers like these thrive. And thousands of others. Canopy Bridge was created to be able to share these stories and give businesses and consumers a better understanding of their sourcing decisions. And to make it easier for suppliers and buyers with a shared commitment to sustainability and innovative products to find each other.
We hope that Canopy Bridge will help businesses, farmers, grassroots organizations and consumers wanting to make a difference to grow and thrive, to find each other and discover new products. There is truly no other space out there like this – with a focus on sharing the incredible stories, making connections and providing transparent information on sustainability. We invite you to join the Canopy Bridge community and tell others aiming to grow sustainably.
The Canopy Bridge Team […]
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