Harmless Harvest Takes ‘Constructive Capitalism’ Approach

Harmless Harvest, a coconut water producer in San Francisco, believes in creating social welfare and ecological benefit through its business, which it refers to as "constructive capitalism." Through every step of the process—from seed to shelf—it thinks about how to improve its product, and help people and the planet. For this reason, it was recently recognized by CircleUp25 as one of the most innovative consumer brands of 2016.

As such, the company is taking an ecosystem-based approach to business by actively thinking about how to make things better for people and the environment. Some key points include:

• Fair-For-Life Certification. Harmless Harvest is the first coconut water brand to achieve this distinction for social responsibility and reinvestment in the local communities that grow its coconuts. (It's even more stringent than fair trade certification!)
• Sustainable Farming Practices from Seed to Shelf. Harmless Harvest uses traditional cultivation methods to farm organic Thai coconuts, and trains its workers on organic practices that help them develop sustainable revenue.
• Living Wages and Wellbeing for Workers. Harmless Harvest pays fair wages to its farmers and employees, and works in collaboration with local leadership to ensure access to healthcare (a mobile healthcare unit has provided care for close to 80% of the people in this community) and education.
• Environmentally-Friendly Technology and Innovation. Harmless Harvest was the first coconut water to use High-Pressure Processing (HPP) to avoid heat pasteurization. In 2016, they went a step further and pioneered a Multi-Step Micro-Filtration Process—the safest, most consistent, most environmentally friendly way to bottle coconut water.