Fairtrade Fortnight has begun! That might not mean much to you if you live in the US, but for people in the UK it means two weeks of campaigning and awareness raising about fair trade. I was lucky enough to volunteer in 2008 for Fairtrade Fortnight and it was awe inspiring! The whole country gets to meet producers and learn first hand how fair trade can help small producers in the developing world.
For this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight the Fairtrade Foundation is asking all people in the UK to participate in The Big Swap. For two whole weeks they’re asking folks to swap their usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff. Their usual bananas for Fairtrade bananas, their usual cotton socks for Fairtrade cotton socks, and their usual cup of coffee or tea for a Fairtrade cup of coffee or tea. And, even though you might not live in the UK, you can still participate. Whenever you go to the shops to buy your usual brand, think again. You can use your wallet to make a stand and buy fair trade! When you swap from your regular brand to fair trade, that’s proof that you want producers in the developing world to get a fairer deal.
The Fairtrade Foundation’s goal is for a million people to make The Big Swap. As a sign of solidarity, I challenge each of you to make it even better…maybe two million??? You can find fair trade tea, coffee, chocolate, and fashion all on our website. So, whadda say??? Let’s do The Big Swap!
The founders of Ben and Jerry’s say they plan to make all the flavors of their ice cream in all of their markets into completely fair trade certified ingredients by 2013. Ben and Jerry’s began introducing some fair trade certified ingredients into their ice cream back in 2005.
This announcement comes ten years after the pair sold their Burlington, Vermont based company to corporate giant Unilever, prompting fears that the brand’s championing of social causes might be affected.
This announcement is important because of the “all or nothing” nature of the commitment. It’s the first 100% commitment from a mainstream brand, and, hopefully, this may prompt other mainstream brands to follow suit. It may also help to increase the visibility of the fair trade movement. More than two-thirds of US shoppers don’t really know what “fair trade” means. And only 29% of US consumers are familiar with the fair trade certification mark, compared to over 50% globally. As many as 16% of people in the US who are familiar with fair trade don’t see the certifications in the US as credible.
“Fair Trade is about making sure people get their fair share of the pie,” company co-founder Jerry Greenfield says in the company’s press release. “The whole concept of Fair Trade goes to the heart of our values and sense of right and wrong. Nobody wants to buy something that was made by exploiting somebody else.”
You may have heard of Fair Trade the White House, whose goal is to ask First Lady Michelle Obama to join the Fair Trade Movement by declaring the White House a fair trade home. This year you can declare your home a Fair Trade Home for Fair Trade Day, May 8, 2010. Of course, you [...]
Perhaps you haven’t seen the YouTube videos or other reports of the child slaves in the Ivory Coast harvesting cocoa beans (complete with beatings and inhumane conditions). Unfortunately, I have, and I can no longer look at my favorite chocolate bars in the same way — not with the Ivory Coast supplying 43 percent of [...]
While riding in my car doing the usual boring errands, I came across a radio show featuring a young, outspoken Kenyan named Binyavanga Wainaina speaking about his views on the “Ethics of Aid”. My ears perked up. What could this young Kenyan have to say about donor aid and where his country was headed?
All too [...]
At a time when farming has become less profitable and more difficult due to the scarcity of land and the Israeli Occupation, some Palestinian farmers are using fair trade practices to preserve centuries old farming traditions.
The southern West Bank is known for it’s grapes, which Palestinian farmers grow with little or no water on small [...]
At TransFair USA, they are extremely grateful to have so many friends, family, and supporters who are committed to making the world a better place. We have all been searching for ways to help with Tuesday’s catastrophic earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. While the full extent of the damage is still being assessed by NGOs [...]
As most of you know by now, Haiti experienced a 7.0 earthquake yesterday. Seventy-five percent of Port-au-Prince is in ruins and hundreds of thousands are missing or dead. The three hospitals that Doctors without Borders practiced from were devastated. Please click the button to your right and give as much as you can to help [...]