This article is an exert from Co-Op America’s ‘Guide to Fair Trade’. Order or download the guide here.

WFTDay sponsors provide some great tools to help you host a fantastic house party. View your options on our WFTD Toolkit page. Or view Fair Trade Federation members who offer house party ideas.

House Parties

In celebration of World Fair Trade Day on May 12, 2007, April Tchikuga threw a Fair Trade house Party at her home in Indianapolis. Similar to a Tupperware party, a Fair Trade house party brings your guests together for a fun and educational experience, but instead of being wowed by the latest in plastic kitchenware, your guests learn about the benefits of Fair Trade. “The preparation work for the Fair Trade party began several weeks before the actual party date,” says April, describing her planning leading up to the event. “I contacted a variety of Fair Trade organizations to get pamphlets and products. Then I began looking for products to taste test at the party. I found chocolate bars and teas, and I included a sampling of Fair Trade dried fruit and Fair Trade sugar. I also served two brands of hot cocoa, a Fair Trade coffee soda called Java Pop available online, snackbars made with Fair Trade chocolate, and coffee.”

Educating your guests

April planned ahead to have plenty of information on Fair Trade for her guests to take home. “Transfair USA sent information about fruit, tea and coffee, activist cards, flyers, magnets, stickers, iron-ons, and two different DVDs about Fair Trade,” says April. “A Greater Gift sent magazines of their artisans’ products, Equal Exchange sent a Fair Trade house party kit, and Fair Trade Resource Network sent posters.”

Selling beautiful products for the home

In addition to having Fair Trade food items on hand for your guests to sample, two Fair Trade companies offer partnerships with party hosts for selling fairly traded craft items. One, A Greater Gift sells items on consignment at a ten-percent discount. The party host places an order for at least $300 in retail items and the products are shipped with brochures and educational materials. After the party, anything left unsold can be returned to A Greater Gift, and the host keeps the ten percent difference between the retail and consignment prices. Second, Pachamama World offers customers a “Fair Trade sample kit,” for which you pay a fee to show a selection of Pachamama’s items to your party guests alongside the Pachamama catalog. As a “Pachamama Fair Trade consultant,” you make a commission on the items you sell at your party.

You can also simply order catalogs from various Fair Trade organizations and companies. Guests can browse the catalogs and write down their orders, which you place for them. Veteran house party hosts suggest keeping all products covered and out of sight initially to prevent guests from deciding what they want to buy before hearing the whole story behind the product. Then, unveil one item at a time complete with the name of the craftsperson, the country in which it was made, and the positive effect Fair Trade has had on the producer’s life, personalizing each product for your guests.

–Kathryn Harrison

Article is an exert from Co-Op America’s ‘Guide to Fair Trade’. Order or download the guide here.

If you decide to throw a house party we would love to hear from you on how it went.

Email us at wftday@fairtraderesource.org