Our Buying Policy
Crop Drop operates the following Buying Policy to ensure we're making the most sustainable, ethical choices when we're buying and selling produce:
- We only sell organic produce – mainly Soil Association certified, but we also buy from small urban growers who are working towards certification
- No air-freighted or hothouse produce
- We sell produce that is grown as locally as possible.
In practice what this means is we operate a hierarchy of purchasing:
- Our first priority is to obtain produce from our London growers when available and suitable for the bags.
- Our second priority is to buy direct from local and regional farmers for produce that can be grown in the UK
- When there's not enough available from our direct suppliers we buy UK-grown produce from our wholesalers.
- Then we source produce from Europe, either when UK crops are in short supply or for produce that cannot be grown in the UK at all (e.g. oranges, kiwis, avocados).
- We don't buy any produce from outside Europe except bananas – we consider these to be a staple item (it's one of the most popular items bought in supermarkets) that is extremely difficult to source within Europe. We therefore buy these from outside Europe from a certified Organic and Fairtrade source who transport the produce by ship.
This framework helps us towards our ultimate goal of supporting the development of a healthy, fair and resilient food system that will feed us long into the future. It also ensures we're getting the best quality and freshest produce available - the majority of the food we trade has travelled the shortest distance possible, is picked to order, harvested and delivered within two days.