Rethos.com - rainforest_alliance's News Feed

Welcome to the Rainforest Alliance SmartHouse and TreeHouse!

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:34:13 -0400

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the Rainforest Alliance SmartHouse and TreeHouse, two new interactive tools designed to introduce Web site visitors to the people, places and processes that stand behind production of sustainable goods.

Our SmartHouse -- complete with kitchen, living room and backyard -- ...

Rainforest Alliance Announces 2008 Honorees to be Recognized for Leadership in Sustainability and Support of Conservation Work

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:34:39 -0400

The Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit conservation organization, is pleased to announce the 2008 honorees that will be recognized at its annual gala on May 15 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The annual gala recognizes companies and individuals for their work with the Rainforest Alliance on making sustainable supply chain decisions or for their longtime support of conservation work.

"We are proud to honor global leaders across sectors ranging from forest products to coffee to finance for big strides they have made in supporting sustainabil...

Beijing Must Curb Use of Illegally Logged Timber, Forestry Official Says

Fri, 02 May 2008 11:17:30 -0400

China's government must tighten its policies on buying illegally logged timber to set a good example for Chinese companies that largely use wood from unsustainable sources, a government forestry official said Wednesday.

Only 0.3 percent of Chinese forests, or about 1.48 million acres, are certified as sustainable according to international standards, said Lu Wenming, chief of international cooperation at the Chinese Academy of Forestry. Additionally, only 501 Chinese companies purchase their timber from internationally certified sources...

Merrill Lynch's Carbon Bet: Why a Wall Street Firm Wants to Save Forests in Sumatra

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:56:39 -0400

The business of "carbon farming" is growing fast -- and Merrill Lynch is the latest big company to bet that it will become profitable.

What's carbon farming, you ask? It's a business designed to recognize the value created when trees store carbon dioxide and prevent global warming. So people who plant new trees or prevent existing trees from destruction can get paid for doing so.

That doesn't mean that the tree in your backyard or mine will help pay college tuition or fund a 401(k). For now, the payments are going to villagers in the developing world who agree to protect ...

Rainforest Alliance Finds Sustainably Certified Forests Have Fewer Wildfires

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:42:18 -0400

We already knew that certifying forestry projects under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification standards was a good idea. Now a new study by the Rainforest Alliance in Guatemala tells us that forest concessions managed in compliance with FSC certification standards have seen f...

Elite Flowers: Growing a Better Bloom

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:42:18 -0400

Robert Goodier is a communications coordinator for the Rainforest Alliance, based in our Guatemala City office. In February 2008, he traveled to Facatativá, Colombia to visit Elite, a flower farm that was recently awarded Rainforest Alliance certification. Here, he recounts the experience.

Monkey gets big-screen tea break

Monkey, the star of the fondly-remembered ITV Digital ad campaigns and the current face of PG Tips, is to appear in a Michael Palin-esque cinema extravaganza this Easter.

In a film called ""A Tale of Two Continents"<...

Can You Picture Sustainability?

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:14:55 -0500

What comes to mind when you picture conservation? Migratory birds nesting in the shade canopy of a coffee farm? A red-eyed tree frog in the rainforest? The Rainforest Alliance invites shutterbugs to enter photos that are illustrative of our conservation work in agriculture, forestry and tourism in the first "Picture Sustainability" photo contest. One grand prize winner will receive a package including a seven-day trip to the Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, courtesy of Via Natura, Aer...

Tell us what you think about eco-tourism!

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:01:36 -0500

Please help the Rainforest Alliance promote sustainable tourism by taking a short survey on your travel habits. The data gathered from the questionnaire will be used to create awareness about eco-friendly travel.

Time to brew up a sustainable cuppa

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:26:08 -0500

Unilever, which buys 12 per cent of the world’s tea, is pioneering sustainable production in the face of falling prices.

By Karen Attwood

The world’s largest tea company, Unilever, which makes PG Tips and Lipton, is currently on a mission â€“ to transform the tea industry by making it sustainable, changing the lives of the workers for the better along the way.

The average Briton consumes 1,000 cups of tea a year, but how many of us give a thought to where it comes from? The global tea industry is beset with problems. While most commodities are so...

Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:04:44 -0400

An overview of the work of the Rainforest Alliance’s sustainable agriculture department.

Rainforest Alliance Overview

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:45:15 -0400

An overview of the work of the Rainforest Alliance. (more)

Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:37:04 -0400

An overview of the work of the Rainforest Alliance’s sustainable agriculture department.

Rainforest Alliance Overview

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:19:23 -0400

An overview of the work of the Rainforest Alliance.

New Menus, New Mission for Breakfast

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:57:18 -0400

September 17, 2007

PITY the executive whose life is filled with crammed planes, missed connections and a workday that begins early and lasts as long as the Internet connection holds up.

Against that backdrop, the food that starts a business travelerâ€™s day is particularly important. And the hotel industry is catching on, creating menus that emphasize health, renewal and, especially, a better grade of coffee.

Hotel cooks are brewing coffee from organic sources and preparing healthier so-called functional foods. And though no hotel w...

Rainforest Alliance & the Madison School

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:41:18 -0400

Members of the Rainforest Allianceâ€™s education department work with faculty members of the Madison Street School in Bridgeport, Connecticut to teach children about environmental conservation and involve them in it. Check out the video here!

Rainforest Alliance Certified Farms in Colombia

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:37:04 -0400

Tensie Whelan, executive director of the Rainforest Alliance, visits farms in Colombia that have been certified by the environmental organization. Watch the video!

Rainforest Alliance & the Quitman Street Community School

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:34:26 -0400

Members of the Rainforest Alliance’s education department work with faculty members of the Quitman Street Community School in Newark, NJ to teach children about environmental conservation and involve them in it. Check out the video here!