How We Do Organic

ORGANIC MATTERS TO US

The term "organic" gets tossed around quite a bit*. Perhaps you try to buy USDA Organic because you know it will be healthier and free of pesticides. Most likely you trust the USDA Organic symbol on your products. That's GREAT! But what does Organic mean for Dignity Coconut Oil? It means a lot to us.

Get the best coconuts

First, we harvest our coconuts from the pristine coastline of the Philippines. This is an area largely untouched by industry and chemicals. It's a great start for each tree. Warm, sandy beaches. It's like they are on vacation.

Benefit the farmers

Second, we contact and train each farmer who has trees they want to give us coconuts from. We teach EACH one of them how to use best practices to ensure Organic Certification. The training is a big undertaking, but it is so worth the time. The farmers directly benefit.

Dignity coconut farmer

Certify every tree

Third, we number EACH tree. That's right. We have individually numbered 54,514 coconut trees. They are all approved as Organic. We can even trace your jar of coconut oil back to one of the exact trees it came from.

Farmer woman holds coconuts

Break cycles of poverty

Finally, Organic certifying the coconuts means the farmers benefit. Their coconuts can be sold for a higher price when they are Organic. Farmers are often stuck in what is called "copra slavery" meaning they are constantly in debt and forced to keep farming without ever getting out of poverty. We are directly breaking those cycles.

Organic Training Back in 2012!

*The word "organic" with a little "o" is not the same as "Organic" with the big "O". The big "O" means certified. An independent entity checks out the ENTIRE process from seed to product to make sure each step meets certain criteria, creating a USDA organic certified product.