ftrn.org is an information hub designed to grow the fair trade movement. together, we can create a market that values the people who make the food we eat and the goods we use.
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!
In this section, find stories about folks around the world who’ve acted upon their belief that Fair Trade can change the world. TIP: These stories are great tools for teaching about Fair Trade.
Land and water conservation, environmental education and the common good of our community are values shared by residents of Amherst. We might add to that list social justice and economic well-being. These are topics that are spoken of in this newspaper, in Amherst’s Town Meeting, and not infrequently in the coffee shops and restaurants. Amherst residents care for the quality of life here, and Amherst is seen as a progressive community.
These same values of caring for the land and environment, for the common good and for each other, are shared in communities worldwide. Families and farmers living in developing countries, who provide us with some of our daily consumed items, share these ideals as well. However, because of social and economic injustice, many can’t send their children to school, have to work in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, and are not fairly compensated for their work. (more…)
“There are currently more than 2.5 million men, women and children who are forced, defrauded or coerced into various forms of labor or prostitution. Radiohead recommends checking out Amnesty International, Witness and The The Fair Trade Resource Network to learn more.” See the full article on“Look to the Stars”
Madison’s Fair Trade clothing company is feeling the economic pinch.
In an early April e-mail message to customers, Fair Indigo co-founder and CEO Bill Bass asked for help, saying the company’s bank is “looking for some reassurance.”
“We are a young company and with stories about the poor economy making headlines, our bank is looking for some reassurance that customers who have supported our fair trade mission for the past two years will continue to do so — that fair trade is not a passing fad,” wrote Bass in the message. (more…)
BALBOA PARK – Thousands of people saw varying shades of green at EarthFair yesterday at Balboa Park – and it seemed like all of them came in their cars.
On a cool, cloud-free day, the 19-year-old festival that organizers call the largest environmental fair in the world probably lived up to its billing. Traffic backed up for miles on state Route 163 before noon with visitors trying to reach the fair.
When people finally arrived, they found showcases for green technologies, artwork made from recycled materials, a children’s parade, live music and “The Cleaner Car Concourse,” featuring vehicles that run on alternative fuels. (more…)
Finding a politician with a clean conscious may be harder than finding a Brazilian who is bad at soccer.
However, at least six mayors in the U.S. can say they are doing an honest action just by sipping their coffee every morning.
They know the coffee they’re drinking comes from a non-exploitative factory and they are helping an underdeveloped country come out of poverty one cup at a time.
Northampon, Mass., became the sixth “Fair Trade Town” in the U.S. last Thursday. From now on, Northampon City Council will encourage residents to buy and sell products that come from labor and environmentally friendly practices, and are guaranteed a fair price for the costumer and the producer. (more…)
ANAHEIM – Anthony Marek sounded optimistic, but he had his reasons: 1.4 million of them.
“Fair-trade certification is the next value-add,” he said in fluent Marketese. “It is the future.”
Certification also ensures that crops are raised without pesticides or forced child labor; that workers are represented in democratically elected councils; and that these councils invest dividends in health clinics, wells, schools and other improvements. (more…)
Organic Fair Trade coffee roaster announces that their limited-edition Earthstock 2008 coffee blend is now being served at the Corner Cafe inside Tunxis Community College in Farmington, CT.
Old Fields, WV — True Blue Coffee Roasters, the Old Fields, West Virginia, Organic Fair Trade coffee roasting company, announced today that their coffee is now being served in the Corner Cafe at Tunxis Community College in Farmington, CT.
Students and faculty at the college now have the option of purchasing a cup of fresh-brewed Connecticut’s Earthstock 2008, True Blue Coffee Roaster’s new limited edition coffee blend, in the Corner Cafe at the college this month to show support of Earthstock 2008, an environmental awareness event held annually in Plainville, CT. (more…)
FORT COLLINS - Michael Conroy, a fair-trade expert and economist, and Mark Retzloff, chairman of Aurora Organic Dairy, will speak at Colorado State University this month as part of the Sustainable Enterprise Speaker Series sponsored by the College of Business.
Conroy, who serves on the board of several fair-trade certification organizations including TransFair USA, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, in Clark A207. He’ll talk about his new book, “Branded! How the Certification Revolution is Transforming Global Corporations” and discuss how the development of corporate, social and environmental certification systems have transformed the ways retailers conduct business. (more…)
For a week this summer, while her pupils relax at the beach and head to camp, Ellen Georgi will be traveling in Brazil.
Georgi, who teaches sixth- and seventh-grade social studies at Urbana Middle School, will head to South America with nine other U.S. teachers to study fair trade farming and its effect on the environment and the economy.
“They were so sweet, they broke into applause when I told them,” she said of her pupils.
The trip is part of a program sponsored by Sam’s Club, the nonprofit group TransFair USA and coffee roaster Cafe Bom Dia. (more…)
FRESNO, Calif. –For many folks, chocolate is a guilty pleasure. But for eighth-graders at Mountain Home Charter School in Oakhurst, Calif., a chocolate fundraiser inspired only guilt.
That’s because about 70 percent of the world’s cocoa - taken from the cacao tree to make chocolate - comes from West Africa, where reports of abusive child labor have circulated for years.
Alarmed by the evidence, eighth-grader Masha Bluestein hoped to change Mountain Home’s fundraiser for a class trip to Catalina Island. So she and her mother, Cordia Bluestein, pitched an idea to the other parents: Instead of selling any old chocolate, let’s choose chocolate that’s certified fair trade. (more…)
