The Principles Guiding Our Organic Buying Practices



Front Door Organics Prioritizes Local Products and Transparent Labelling

Front Door Organics endeavours to provide local products over non-local products provided the local product is certified organic and is of comparable standard to a non-local product.

Front Door Organics clearly labels both Ontario (ON) and Canadian (CAN) grown produce. Transparent receiving and food handling practices are of the up-most importance to ensure consumer confidence in the products you are purchasing. At FDO the practice of labelling produce ON or CAN online and then the subsequent receiving of that product in our warehouse and ensuring that it is in fact the product advertised and purchased online, is stringent and thorough. In the event that we were expecting to receive an Ontario grown product but did not, we will always adjust the customer’s invoice to reflect the true origin.

We Purchase Only Certified Organic Fruits & Vegetables - Except In These Situations:

From time to time, Front Door Organics may purchase, "Certified Organic Transitional" fruits or vegetables to support the furtherance of organic agriculture. Wild products, meaning produce that is harvested from un-farmed land, may also be purchased occasionally. These products will only be purchased from an organic farmer or local forager we know to be knowledgeable and who uses sustainable practices. On a few occasions during the local harvest season, 'Reclaimed' fruit may be purchased by us and this is a non-certified item grown organically on fallow farmland. Otherwise, all fruits and vegetables we purchase are third-party certified organic and any item which is grown in any of the aforementioned ways is clearly labelled in our online store as either: 'Wild - not certified'; 'transitional - not certified' or 'reclaimed - not certified'.

We Are Actively Avoiding GMOs:

We recognize that consumers expect certified organic products to be free of GMOs, and FDO is endeavoring to meet that expectation to the best of our ability. Every manufacturer producing products containing GMO risk ingredients (corn, soy, canola, sugar, and their derivatives), has been contacted and urged to submit their product to the Non-GMO Project Verification program. Any product that is enrolled in this program is labelled 'Non-GMO Project Verified' in our online store. For those products that we carry that are not enrolled in the program, we have been satisfied by our own inquires that the manufacturer is practicing thorough GMO avoidance practices in their processing. For any inquiry that we make surrounding risk ingredients that we find to be unsatisfactory, that product will be de-listed or not listed at all. In lieu of mandatory GMO labelling in North America and in light of the contimanatory nature of GMO crops, the Non-GMO Project Verification protects the credibility of the manufacturer, the retailer, and the organic foods industry as a whole, and provides the consumer with the informed choice they deserve.

We Do Not Offer Air Freighted Produce

Because of the high carbon emissions and other environmental costs associated with air freighting highly perishable items like produce, FDO will not purchase any fruits or vegetables that travel by air at any point during their journey to our warehouse.

We Offer Fair Trade Products

Whenever possible, Front Door Organics purchases and supports Fair Trade products over and above other products, provided the Fair Trade products are certified organic.

Household and Personal Care Products

With household and personal care products, Front Door Organics looks for certified organic products. When we cannot find a certified organic product, we consider products based on the highest percentage of certified organic ingredients, where the product is produced and where the ingredients originate.

We Clearly Label Products In Our Online Store

Look for these labels when you are shopping in our online store:

'ON' - grown in Ontario
'CAN' - grown in another Canadian province
'Wild - not certified' - foraged Ontario wild edible plants
'Transitional - not certified' - harvested from farmland in the process of becoming certified organic
'Reclaimed - not certified' - grown organically and harvested from fallow farmland
'Fair Trade' - bought and sold within the guidelines outlined by FLO (Fairtrade International) including agreed environmental, labour and developmental standards.
'Non-GMO Project Verified' - the product has been produced according to consensus-based best practices for GMO avoidance as set out by the Non-GMO Projects Verification program.

We're Only Human

While we do our best to research thoroughly all the products that we carry and label them correctly, it is inevitable that exceptions to our buying practices will occur. Producers change their formulas and new products become available all the time. Please don’t hesitate to bring any product information changes to our attention.

We endeavour to provide as much product information as possible for customers so that customers can make personal and informed choices about the products we select.