Ethics
Sustainability
We are passionate in our belief that the human race must learn to live in a more sustainable way and try to make our activities as compatible with this thinking as possible. It is important to us that we respect the environment and we work hard to ensure that we minimize our impact on this. We are also keen that products are produced with due regard to human and animal rights issues.
To put this into perspective, we put to you the following Kenyan proverb:
Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it is loaned to you by your children
Organic Principles
We believe the principles of organic food and farming have served man and the environment well for generations. Problems encountered have been more about the greed of the developed world and a lack of will to solve distribution issues than a lack of food per se.
Organic food and farming:
- provide a healthy option as studies show that on average organic food contains higher levels of vitamins and minerals than non-organic
- avoid the use of artificial colourings, flavourings and preservatives
- do not permit the use of genetically modified foods, thereby avoiding potential health and environmental risks
- restrict the use of pesticides
- ban herbicides and growth promoting/controlling chemicals
- place emphasis on rotation of crops and biological control, encouraged by having a diverse local flora and fauna to provide predators for the pests
- eliminate routine use of antibiotics in animal rearing, reducing the risk of bacterial resistance to antibiotics in humans
- avoid hidden costs, e.g. for the removal of chemicals from drinking water
- provide a high level of care for animals - the Soil Association standards are held as some of the highest in the world
- benefit wildlife and the environment in the reduction of pollution from sprays
- produce less carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas
- less dangerous wastes produced
Environment
All our activities take heed of environmental issues.
We aim to:
- provide organic products wherever possible
- source locally as we are able. We source local, Hampshire or UK produce for preference. Beyond this, we select European over global and only stock, for example, US or Australian goods where we have been unable to find an alternative
- reduce our impact on the environment by minimising waste, e.g. our cardboard waste packaging is mostly returned to the wholesaler for re-use
- encourage members to re-use bags. Where necessary, we supply cardboard boxes (non-returnable) or paper bags
- evaluate suppliers and manufacturers for their environmental policies and their attitudes to workers’ rights
Quality
We passionately believe in the importance of quality in the products we sell and carefully evaluate new stock.
Our overriding principle is to source natural, unadulterated foods free from GM, hydrogenated fats, additives and artificial sweeteners. Products that are not certified organic are, as far as possible, produced traditionally ideally with organic guidelines in mind.
Also, while we ourselves are not committed vegetarians or vegans, we respect those who have chosen this route.
Bodycare and household goods are likewise selected to avoid substances harmful to humans and the environment. Hence all products are as natural as possible.
Cost
Are we expensive?
. . . As ever in this world, we tend to get what we pay for but, at Hook Buying Group, we work hard to keep prices competitive.
Our pricing policy is to maintain levels well below the recommended retail price.
Sourcing
We continually review product lines to ensure we have the best currently available to meet the needs of our discerning public.
We prefer to purchase from small, independent and family firms and from cooperatives with similar ethical standards to our own.
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