New Seasons Market

Press Release February 7, 2008

PORTLAND, Ore.––With Valentine’s Day celebrations on the horizon, locally owned and operated New Seasons Market announced today a partnership with TransFair USA––the only United States third-party certifier of Fair Trade products––to make Fair Trade Certified roses available to Portland-area shoppers. The partnership will enable New Seasons Market to offer customers roses that are guaranteed to have been grown with progressive social and environmental standards. The Fair Trade certified roses are now available at all stores. New Seasons Market will be one of the first retailers in the country and the first in the Pacific Northwest to sell these roses.

New Seasons Market’s floral departments are a destination for customers looking for high-quality flowers and plants. Whenever possible New Seasons Market offers sustainable and locally grown flowers, greens and plants, and now shoppers have the option of buying roses that are certified to have been grown in environmentally and socially responsible ways––by growers who receive fair wages, work in decent conditions, have access to good medical care and are given resources to help with community development.

“We have always taken seriously our responsibility to be thoughtful stewards of the Earth and compassionate partners with growers all over the world,” said Jeff Fairchild, Produce and Floral Buyer for New Seasons Market. “It’s not good enough to offer our customers beautiful flowers without asking how they were grown and what that might mean for the people growing them. Being a good neighbor means that we are committed to the welfare of our customers, our communities and our producers, whether they are here in the Pacific Northwest or thousands of miles away.”

TransFair USA began offering Fair Trade certification for floral products in 2007. Over the next several months, New Seasons Market will continue adding Fair Trade Certified floral options in its floral departments. Fair Trade flowers are among dozens of Fair Trade products sold at New Seasons Market stores including bananas, coffee, chocolate and gifts for the home.

“The Fair Trade Certified label offers an assurance that the flowers you are buying are of the highest quality, and have been grown in the most environmentally and socially responsible conditions,” said Paul Rice,
CEO of TransFair USA. “It's no surprise that New Seasons Market, a known leader in socially responsible business practices, is one of the first retailers in the country to offer Fair Trade Certified flowers to its customers.”

About New Seasons Market
Founded by three Portland area families, New Seasons Market continues to be locally owned and operated. It strives to combine the service and atmosphere of an old-fashioned neighborhood market with a selection of foods and other products for today’s lifestyle. New Seasons Market stores are located in the neighborhoods of Raleigh Hills, Sellwood, Concordia, Arbor Lodge, Lake Oswego’s Mountain Park, Beaverton’s Cedar Hills, Hillsboro’s Orenco Station, Happy Valley and the Seven Corners neighborhood of Southeast Portland. In 2007, New Seasons Market launched an online grocery shopping and delivery service. The company is set to open a store in the Progress Ridge neighborhood in Beaverton in 2009. For store locations, hours and general information, please visit www.newseasonsmarket.com.

About TransFair USA?
TransFair USA is the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade Certified products in the United States. TransFair USA audits and certifies transactions between U.S. companies offering Fair Trade Certified products and their international suppliers to guarantee that the farmers and workers producing Fair Trade Certified goods were paid fair prices and wages. TransFair USA certifies coffee, tea, herbs, vanilla, cocoa, chocolate, rice, sugar, bananas and flowers. For more information, visit www.transfairusa.org.