Overseas organic vs locally sourced: Where to draw the ‘sustainable’ line? I James Denton, GoodFor

How we consume to alleviate the guilt of our individual impact on the planet is now a fixture of daily life for many conscious consumers. Whether it's calling out companies on the use of packaging for its single-use or the source of the product’s ingredients, it's each now etched into our psyche. 

But what about sustainability claims of sourcing 85% organic from overseas and planting native trees to offset carbon, means NZ growers are missing out on access to our premium consumers?

“If we had regular communication with the NZ grower connecting feedback on what we want, we won’t necessarily purchase organic from overseas if it fits our quality standards & consumers values,” explains James Denton, co-founder GoodFor.

One of this week’s Sarah’s Country’s Change Maker is James Denton, co-founder of GoodFor, a wholefood refillery chain growing in New Zealand who explains:

• GoodFor is a New Zealand owned, 100% plastic free pantry refillery in stores across the country and online.
• Less food waste and less packaging lead him and his partner, Georgie, to start their first store in Ponsonby and following a multi-million capital raise in June 2021 they are set to leverage their 14,000 customers to ripple their business ethos wider.
• They have a strict procurement process that starts with the quality of product first and foremost and then organic certification and welcomes the discussion with NZ growers as they ultimately influence up to 50 stores.
• They have been planting 87 native trees per week here in NZ through their own tree-planting platform as opposed to off-setting programmes overseas.

For information on GoodFor visit, https://goodfor.co.nz/