Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with a population of 44,000, is the 32nd city in the US to be named a Fair Trade Town, and the 3rd in Wisconsin. More at Fond du Lac Event post
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Fairtrade America Names First CEO – Hans Theyer May 14, 2013 -
Originally from Chile, Hans holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from London Business School. He has nearly 20 years of experience in business including sales, marketing and business development positions with Microsoft and leading international banking institutions. More at Fairtrade America post Prize Drawing Organized by Fairtrade America for WFTD May 10, 2013 -
Small Producer Symbol Shares New Developments May 6, 2013 -
The Small Producer Symbol (SPP), a certification and labeling system created and run by small Fair Trade producers in Latin America, reports that now 33 small producer organizations are certified under the system and another 16 are in process of getting certified. 11 others have applied for certification. Also, a new Canadian importer, N. J. Douek & Sons, has joined the list of registered companies and a German buyer is in process of registration. The system welcomed its sixth certification body, the Colombian certifier Biotrópico. Fair Trade pioneer Equal Exchange recently made its SPP coffee purchases public, which will enable Equal Exchange to launch eight Latin American coffees under the SPP in the course of 2013. More at Small Producer Symbol New Book Examines Direction, Messages & Tensions in Fair Trade May 1, 2013 -
More at FTRN review of “Fair Trade, Sustainability and Social Change” Enter Prize Drawing for WFTD to Win 20 lbs. of Wholesome Sweeteners Products April 22, 2013 -
Enter Prize Drawing1 winner, to be randomly selected on May 20, 2013, will receive a basket with these products: Enter Prize Drawing“Fair Trade Beyond 2015″ Campaign Seeks for Fair Trade to Influence UN’s Next Framework After Millenium Development Goals April 19, 2013 -
“Fair Trade Beyond 2015″ campaign seeks to speak with a strong voice for Fair Trade in the global sustainable development framework when the current United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) come to an end. More at Fair Trade Beyond 2015 campaign Mother’s Day Campaign Launched by FTUSA April 19, 2013 -
Fair Trade USA has launched a campaign to highlight Fair Trade Certified during Mother’s Day, with producer stories, recipes, coupons on Fair Trade products, and downloadable images and social media messages. The campaign is also part of World Fair Trade Day outreach in N. America. More at http://fairtradeusa.org/moms Campaign organizers can find downloadable materials and suggested social media posts at: http://fairtradeusa.org/resources/campaigns/mothers-day-2013 Africa Cotton Producers Form New Cotton Network Within Fairtrade Africa April 18, 2013 -
(Note – this post was corrected on 4-22-13 to report that the new cotton network operates within Fairtrade Africa, not as a 4th regional producer network in the FLO system) A new producer network, within Fairtrade Africa, has been created by cotton producers from Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. They met in Dakar to set up a network which will represent the voice of cotton farmers in the Fairtrade system. Currently cotton producers in Africa are already being represented by AproCar, the African Cotton Producer Association. The new network will partner with the existing organization, complementing rather than duplicating its efforts to uplift the situation of African cotton farmers. More at Fairtrade Africa post Hershey to Source Some Fair Trade Cocoa – “Raise the Bar, Hershey!” Campaign Has Advocated for Years March 25, 2013 -
When Hershey announced in October 2012 that it would source only certified cocoa by 2020, the company remained vague on which certifications, and on their timeline/benchmarks for achieving this. Now Hershey has published an update, which mentions: “Hershey has already committed to source cocoa through three of the world’s most recognized cocoa certifying organizations: UTZ, Fair Trade USA and Rainforest Alliance.” The update also states that: “The company has committed to scaling its certified cocoa purchases at the following rate:
“Raise the Bar, Hershey!” campaign partner Global Exchange blog update |
Fairtrade America, the new organization representing the Fairtrade International (FLO) system in the U.S., today announced the appointment of Hans P. Theyer as its executive director. Prior to joining Fairtrade America, Hans helped create and run a consulting practice specializing in developing social impact strategies for businesses. He previously served as Executive Director of Agros International, a non-profit organization dedicated to rural poverty alleviation throughout Central America and Mexico. Hans was a leader in Microsoft’s Rural Computing effort, an initiative to empower emerging markets throughout the rural, developing world with access to information and communications technology.
