Happy Green Friday!

Why Does SEM Support Green Friday?

Sustainability, ethical business practice, treading lightly and care for Mother Earth are all pillars for us at SEM. So we are happy to be taking part in the Green Friday incentive as we endeavour to do our part, encouraging sustainability, earth honouring and responsible consumption.

For us at Sacred Earth Medicine, it’s also an opportunity to pause and truly honour the Earth, acknowledging the sacred reciprocity that exists between people and nature. By embracing the movement, we encourage people to make mindful, sustainable and intentional choices when they consume - not just today but every day!

It’s not only a reminder to bring more awareness to our shopping choices and the impact they may have on our precious planet, but also an invitation to slow down, reconnect with nature and give back.

In the video below, SEM co-founder Shaa Taylor shares more about our cacao and why it aligns so well with Green Friday..

Hey everyone, happy Green Friday from everyone here at Sacred Earth Medicine. We celebrate Green Friday because we really value sustainability, honouring the earth, giving back and reciprocity and really slowing down and consuming consciously not just today but every day. Traditional and sustainable farming practices are really at the heart of the quality of our ceremonial cacao. In the region where we source our cacao from, none of the farmers use chemicals. They understand that the chemicals damage not only their land but everybody else's land. We source them over ninety different farms and all the farmers have very similar values. They all farm biodynamically which means all of the waste products from the harvest go back into the system to form compost and this compost regenerates the earth. It attracts the right insects for composting and pollination. It ensures that the pH of the soil and the minerals of the soil are the perfect conditions so very little heavy metals are actually uptaken by the cacao plant. The farmers actually prune and shape the cacao trees to make hand harvesting easier so the pods are lower to the ground so there's no need for the farmers to climb and potentially damage the trees. All of our cacao is hand harvested, there's no machinery involved. Beans are hand selected so the farmers will take the pods, they'll crack them open, have a look at the cacao beans and all the good ones go to ceremonial cacao productions and all the substandard ones get sold to the co ops for regular chocolate production. Today I really want to honor our farmers. They're our Peruvian family. We love them. We know them personally. We've been to the farms. They've shown us how they grow their cacao. One thing I really love is just their commitment to quality, their meticulous practices and their innovation, innovation of the farming processes so they can produce the highest quality, best tasting cacao for you. Happy Green Friday everyone, see you.

Ways That You Can Support Green Friday

Shop at sustainable and ethical businesses (like ours!)
Shop Local
Gift someone something homemade
Give someone an experience instead of another ‘thing’
Perhaps avoid buying at all!

So, What is Green Friday Anyway?

Starting back in 2015, Green Friday was born as a response to what is commonly referred to as Black Friday (which has a long history itself, mostly negative, dating back perhaps to the 1800’s!).

Each year, Black Friday falls the day after Thanksgiving in the US & is synonymous with huge sales. This has now spilled over to Australia and is fast becoming a similar retail tradition.

Unfortunately, not much consideration is given to the ethical or potentially harmful environmental impacts these bargains have on our beautiful Earth.

Many industries have joined the Black Friday bandwagon, and it’s considered one of the biggest shopping days in the lead up to Christmas – but at what cost?

Some of the major retailers that take part in the sales often have a large carbon footprint. Many deals promote fast fashion, throw away items, single use plastic and quick fixes – all which sadly contribute to more waste and landfill.