For some environmentalists, this could be the most politically correct sugar. It comes from a bitter foe of South Floridas sugar industry. 

The industry argues the product is a threat to sugar farming.

Mary Barley is the genius behind this, said Mike Scott, president of Apura Everglades Inc., also known as Save Our Everglades Sugar.

Barley heads The Everglades Foundation, which will be the sole beneficiary of profits from sales of the new sugar, Scott said.

Barley realized theres a market for sugar that does not pollute the Everglades, said Scott, a friend of Barley and her late husband, Orlando developer George Barley Jr.

It would be nice if any profit would be used to fund Everglades restoration, said Judy Sanchez, a spokeswoman for Clewiston-based U.S. Sugar Corp. In reality, it will be used to fund that organizations efforts to destroy sugar farming in South Florida.

Barley could not be reached for comment, despite several calls and e-mails to the foundation over the past 10 days.

Scientists say phosphorus runoff from fertilizer chokes the Everglades with cattails and spawns algae blooms in Florida Bay. Barley has put most of the blame on the sugar industry.

Growers have reduced the amount of phosphorus pollution in the Everglades for the sixth consecutive year, officials said Tuesday.

The past years reduction exceeded state laws and was the highest in six years, but environmentalists and state officials said water flowing into the Everglades still was not clean enough.

In 1996, the foundation spent $14 million promoting a ballot issue that would tax sugar growers a penny per pound to help clean up the Everglades. The sugar industry countered with a $24 million campaign, and the tax was defeated. It was the most expensive campaign in state history.

The sugar is derived from cane; however, it will live up to its promise of not polluting the Everglades because its grown in Texas and Louisiana, Scott said, declining to be more specific.

Neither of the locations where its grown have ever had complaints about pollution, Scott said, when asked whether the venture might harm other environments.

Theres nothing as fragile as the Everglades, Scott said, adding that were not anti-farmer. Were not anti-sugar. ... Were against agriculture that pollutes the Everglades.

The company talks about its cause on its Web site www.apuraeverglades.com. It also can be reached from the foundations site: www.saveoureverglades.org.

Save Our Everglades sugar is being distributed to Albertsons, Publix and Winn-Dixie stores and a few other chains in the southeastern United States.

A 3.5-pound bag is selling for $2.19 at area Publix supermarkets. Thats significantly costlier than plain, brown-bag varieties with sugar at 45 cents per pound or lower.

The target market is women age 24 to 55, the consumer who wants to feel theyre doing something to help the Everglades, Scott said.

This breaks new ground in cause-related product marketing, Scott believes.

Its not like Newmans Own salad dressings because its not like (actor Paul Newman) is saying the makers of other salad dressings have done something bad, Scott said.

Dolphin-safe tuna is marketed by people already in the business, Scott noted.

In 1960s California, Cesar Chavez led a boycott of grape growers, while bringing farm workers into the ranks of a union.

If Chavez had bottled his own wine, that would be a closer analogy to what we are doing, Scott said.