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TIP: If a story moves you, use the comment feature for that story to write a response. Dialogue is a key to growing the movement!
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Jeff
 by Jeff Goldman
There has been active debate for years about how to set minimum prices for Fair Trade Certified products, such as coffee, the dominant FT commodity. A recent article in Time magazine’s October 5 issue, titled “What Price for Good Coffee? Fair Trade practices were created to help small farmers. But they may have hit their limits”, is the latest example of high profile concern.
The current worldwide Fair Trade Certified price of nonorganic coffee, as set by the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO), is $1.35/lb., or 9 cents higher than the minimum price for the past few years. The current price is about 10% higher than the global market price.
Farmer advocates have urged FLO to raise prices to cover costs of production, or to a level that enables farmers to escape subsistence. The latter price would be around $2, according to researcher Christopher Bacon.
FLO and TransFair USA counter that a higher price would serve much fewer farmers, perhaps tens of thousands instead of millions as demand decreased. The labeling initiatives prefer to increase market share for more farmers rather than the returns for each farmer. Consumers, especially in an economic downturn, would be hesitant to pay even more for Fair Trade Certified products.
So, what minimum price strategies seem best to you for the short- and long-term for advancing Fair Trade Certified’s benefits to vulnerable farmers?
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Jeff
 By Ashley Symons, Equal Exchange
I went to elementary school in the Midwest in the early ’90s. Every fall, we entered the school gymnasium to get pumped up for our annual fundraiser. This kick-off event was meant to energize us to sell, with lures of all the prizes we could win if we sold the most candy bars, tubs of popcorn, or wrapping paper. The philosophy was, “the more you sell, the more you’ll win random stuff you really don’t need!” Never did we talk about how what we were selling might impact people or places. Just get the most money, and you too could win a neon-pink kazoo keychain. Woo-hoo!
Fifteen years later, I’m so pleased to be a worker-owner at Equal Exchange, where we offer schools a different kind of fundraising. My co-worker, Virginia Berman, started the Equal Exchange Fundraising Program after getting requests from teachers and parents who wanted an alternative fundraiser. After three years, we’ve partnered with over 300 groups. And the momentum continues to grow every day.
So, what’s special about this fundraiser? Well, for one it offers totally yummy fairly traded and organic coffee, tea, chocolate, nuts and dried fruit. It’s stuff that people already eat and drink, so it doesn’t feel wasteful like typical fundraisers. Plus, it’s fairly traded, so you can feel good knowing your fundraising dollars are supporting small-scale farmer co-ops and their communities. Additionally, the products are organic. The farmers use sustainable farming methods, without all those nasty pesticides and fertilizers. It’s better for them, it’s better for you and your kids, and it’s better for our earth.
Equal Exchange also developed a Fair Trade and co-op economics curriculum to accompany the Fundraising Program, to teach children that their everyday choices can make a difference in the lives of others (it’s free to download on our web site). We really believe that change is on the horizon - and we need the help of future generations to make sure we are supporting farmers internationally, while also making efforts toward greening this planet of ours.
The bottom line? Your school fundraiser can make a difference worldwide while raising money for your own community. Sounds way better than a neon-pink kazoo keychain, if you ask me.
To find out more about the Equal Exchange Fundraising Program, please visit www.equalexchange.coop/fundraiser
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Jeff
 (Artisans Amina Rajab and Dehiya Farash in Uganda - photo courtesy of SERRV )
by Jeff Goldman
With a main goal of empowering vulnerable artisans and farmers, and improving their quality of lives, Fair Trade has struggled for decades with how to include producers in movement planning. While the will may be strong for many Fair Trade leaders and organizations, the implementation is quite challenging. Barriers often include costly logistics (communications, visas), low capacity (skills and knowledge) and competing interests.
Some FT organizations have experimented with types of solutions. These have included producer ownership (Divine Chocolate), board representation (Fairtrade Labeling Organization), tours to network with industrialized country FT leaders (Green America and Partners for Just Trade), and other involvement. However, lots of Fair Traders argue this hasn’t been enough.
So, please suggest any creative and practical ways to include producers in appropriate levels of FT movement planning.
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Jeff
by Jeff Goldman
 For the most part, one Fair Trade product label is prominent in N. America, the one licensed by TransFair USA. Anytime we simplify complex issues into one brief message, lots of information gets lost in translation. In Fair Trade, the lost information includes the extent of a company’s commitment to Fair Trade. For example, Equal Exchange sells close to 100% of its products as FT, whereas Dunkin’ Donuts something less than 5%. Other lost information includes what exact standards of FT are practiced in producing the labeled good. For example, members of the Fair Trade Federation are required to be open to public accountability, whereas those using the Fair Trade Certified label are not. Would consumers care enough to get this kind of information from a product or company label or mark?
Some people would argue that it gets too confusing, in an already crowded market of socially responsible labels. Others would argue that any group of labels would still leave out other important information. Another group would say that there are just too many ways to measure the benefits of Fair Trade to neatly identify high, medium and lower standards. Any gold standard, and regular standard, would have lots of different definitions.
So, how do we balance the benefits of distinguishing between good, better and best with the desire for efficiency, simplicity and practicality of Fair Trade choices and labels?
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Jeff
As the cost of producing bananas rises, many farmers in Dominica are turning away from Fair Trade as they are failing to earn high enough profits. Last year, there were over six hundred farmers selling Fair Trade bananas, but now that number has decreased to three hundred and fifty farmers. Many feel the drop in farmers is the result of the global market and not the fault of the National Fairtrade Organization. The farmers are in need of greater support and assistance to reduce costs and increase prices. See the full story in Dominica News Online.
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Jeff
Canada, Australia and New Zealand commit to certifying Cadbury Dairy Milk as Fairtrade by early 2010
Combined with Britain and Ireland, the five markets will quadruple Fairtrade benefits for cocoa farmers under Fairtrade terms
Today, Cadbury extends its commitment to Fairtrade by confirming that three more markets are to receive Fairtrade certification for the flagship Cadbury Dairy Milk brand by early 2010. This move in Canada, Australia and New Zealand will bring the independent FAIRTRADE Mark into millions more homes in five of Cadbury’s key chocolate markets.
Read Cadbury’s full press release.
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Jeff
In the September 7, 2009, issue of Forbes Magazine, FT pioneer Ten Thousand Villages and its store in Center City Philadelphia are reported on. The article says that “Ten Thousand Villages has mastered the art of nurturing affluent customers as well as impoverished craftsmen.” Check out the full story at: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0907/creative-giving-ten-thousand-villages-grows-with-fair-trade.html
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Jeff
 We, on the Fair Trade Calendar Committee are pleased to announce the winners of the first annual Fair Trade Photo Competition conducted by Fair Trade Federation and Fair Trade Resource Network. From the 60+ photos submitted and the thousands of votes cast on Competico.com, producer groups, student activists, and a wide array of fair trade supporters participated over the three week competition. While anyone could vote, photo entries were restricted to students, activists, wholesalers, retailers and others who had a direct affiliation with FTF, FTRN TransFair or WFTO.
The 12 photos with the most votes will each appear as a monthly photo in the inaugural edition of the Fair Trade Calendar, and smaller versions of other photo contest submissions will also appear throughout the calendar. The 2010 Fair Trade Calendar will be printed on environmentally friendly New Leaf paper by Consolidated Printing and designed by worker-owned collective Design Action.
And…without further adieu, the winners are…(drum roll please…)
1. “Beads to Bricks” Bead for Life
2. “Weaver” Equal Exchange
3. “Ghanaian Seamstresses” Village Exchange International
4. ‘Intense Focus” Indego Africa
5. “Hands of “Indego Africa
6.”Master Trainer of Poda Pakistan” Global Goods Partners
7. “Yauli Knitter” Partners for Justice
8. “Beautiful Hands in Guatemala” Shanti Boutique
9. “Coffee Producer” Equal Exchange
10. “Two Women Beading Necklaces” Dunitz Co
11. “Beading at Lake Atitlan” Dunitz Co
12. “Pierre Youpa With His Papaya Tree” Partners for Just Trade
View the photos on Facebook.
Calendars will be available for sale at retail and wholesale rates on http://www.fairtraderesource.org/learn-up/buy-ftrn-publications/ in early September.
To place an ad or sponsor the calendar, contact FTRN before September 8.
For further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact any one of us on the calendar committee:
Fair Trade Calendar Committee
Tex Dworkin (tex@globalexchange.org) or Cecilia Dinio Durkin (admin@womensworkbw.com)
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Marin Independent-Journal, CA Nancy Isles Nation
Hillary Sciarillo is a young San Rafael mother whose business is making a difference in the lives of hundreds of women on the other side of the globe.
Her three-year-old enterprise, Yellow Label Kids, is a line of toys, clothing, accessories and party supplies that has been growing quickly with sales of as much as $200,000 anticipated for 2008.
All of the items she sells - in retail stores, online and by catalog - are made by women from two collectives in Bangladesh. Sciarillo designs all of the concepts and has patterns made and sent to the organizations. (more…)
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Petaluma Argus Courier, CA Cheyenne Kent
In Lebanon, Noelle Marshall says people are warm and giving, that front doors are always open and children can go off on their own for several towns over. She takes these childhood principles and pours it into her new store, Petaluma’s first exclusively fair trade establishment. (more…)
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