Holiday tree at the Global Exchange Fair Trade store in San Francisco

I walked into the Global Exchange Fair Trade store in San Francisco last week to cross off the last of the names on my gift list. This holiday season I made a promise to myself; to only give socially responsible gifts. I made some, I purchased some from local artists and craftspeople, and I purchased Fair Trade gifts.

For many years now, I’ve purchased some of my holiday gifts from our San Francisco store. It is one my holiday traditions. I love seeing the giant tree with Fair Trade ornaments from around the world hanging proudly.

Jocelyn, Kara and Alex from the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store in San Francisco

The staff are always welcoming and friendly. Festive even! When I tell them who is left on my holiday gift list, they are always eager to suggest gift ideas. And when I leave, I feel good about my purchases. Because I know my gifts are great AND that my money was well spent because Fair Trade purchases help support hard-working artisans from around the world.

For those who are curious, here are a few of the holiday gift finds I’ve purchased from our San Francisco store:

• Set of vetiver placemats– (which smell great and come rolled up for easy shipping.) Surprisingly they are machine washable which is great, because my brother is a messy eater!
• Cruelty-free leather bracelets–These multi-strand leather band bracelets are really hip looking. Jewelry can be hard to pick out for someone else, but not these bracelets. Rockers, fashionistas, even hippies…they work for lots of styles. I’ve gotten a few of these for both friends and family. (Ok, and one for me too, I couldn’t help it!)
• 

  Tunisian pottery

  Tunisian pottery–there are lots of pieces in the collection, and they’re gorgeous! If you have a small budget, there are smaller pieces under $20. Even the larger pieces are responsibly priced.

• Soapstone heart-shaped rocks–you have to see these to appreciate their beauty. Amazingly, they are made without the use of any electricity. The artisans use only human-power to create these one-of-a-kind stones. They are super smooth, some are red, black, with various designs. Giving someone a smooth heart stone just feels right. I’ve given the same person one of these stones two years in a row, because you can’t have enough love in your life.
• Winter wear–Uber hip fingerless gloves, matching scarves and hats, there’s lots to choose from, and they’ve got sizes for kids and adults.
• Chocolate–You can never go wrong with Fair Trade chocolate bars, unless of course your gift recipient is a dog, since chocolate is not good for them:) I grab bars and attach them to the outside of some of my presents for that extra pop. I also help Santa out by putting some in stockings.
• Journals–This is an easy gift to give someone, because having a fresh new book to write in is never a bad thing.
• What About Peace? gift card sets–this is the first year Global Exchange put these out, and I love them. They feature artwork from our What About Peace? youth art contest. Call me old-school, but I still believe a nice hand written note beats email any day.
  

  What About Peace gift card set

• Stocking stuffers galore–our stores have tons of stocking stuffers under $10, too many to name! One of my faves is the little organza baggies filled with Equal Exchange chocolate minis.

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That’s just a few of the many gifts I’ve scored at our San Francisco Fair Trade store!

So if you live near one of our Fair Trade stores, (Berkeley, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Virginia) I encourage you to stop by and say hello, and find gifts for those still on YOUR list. You won’t regret it!

Whether you celebrate Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or none of the above, the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store Holiday Parties are a great time for socially responsible shoppers to come together and celebrate. And they’re coming up fast!

This year, all of our Fair Trade store locations will be celebrating on the same evening; Thursday, December 6th. (See below for more details.)

Party highlights:

• Enjoy some holiday cheer and find gifts for your loved ones, while creating a more sustainable and just world.
• FREE Fair Trade mug hand-painted in Tunisia FULL of steaming Fair Trade hot chocolate! *First 25 people to spend $25 or more
• Mix and mingle with new friends and old
• One-Night! 20% OFF Storewide for Global Exchange Members Only (Click here to become a member now). *Please bring your Global Exchange membership card to receive your discount.

RSVP On Facebook:

• Berkeley Store:  2840 College Ave (at Russell) Berkeley, CA 94705 510-548-0370
• San Francisco Store: 4018 24th Street (near Noe) San Francisco, CA 94114 415-648-8068
• Virginia Store (inside Busboys & Poets): Shirlington Village 4251 South Campbell Avenue Arlington VA 22206 703-379-9756
• Washington, DC Store (inside Busboys & Poets): 5 & K 1025 5th Street NW Washington, DC 20001 202-842-4525

 I seriously don’t think I’ve missed a single Global Exchange Fair Trade Store holiday party since I started working here waaaay back when. It’s such a fun night. I’ll be at the San Francisco party this year, hope to meet some of you there!

Happy Thanksgiving week everybody! In this Fair Trade Roundup, we’ve got a slightly new format aimed to provide you with more Fair Trade news and info. Each Fair Trade Roundup is now arranged into three sections:

1. Featured Update
2. Global Exchange Fair Trade Updates
3. Fair Trade News to Peruse
   

We’d love to hear what you think in the Comment section!

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FEATURED UPDATE: Two Ways to Shop Ethically this Holiday Season

There are many ways to shop ethically this holiday season; here are two:

1. Shop from the Fair Trade Federation’s 2012 Fair Trade Holiday Gift Guide.

From the Fair Trade Federation:

FTF is thrilled to bring you a collection of gifts for everyone on your holiday shopping list! All of the gifts in this guide are sold by members of the Fair Trade Federation– businesses and organizations that are fully committed to fair trade and follow the Fair Trade Principles in every one of their business decisions. Shop with confidence, knowing that your purchases make a positive impact on farmers and artisans around the world. Click here to browse the gift guide.

2. Take part in #FairTuesday.

From #FairTuesday founders Global Goods, a New York-based nonprofit, fair trade organization:

Fair Tuesday (hashtag #FairTuesday) is a fair trade initiative created in response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The goal of #FairTuesday is to inspire conscious consumerism and show how an everyday purchase can change lives in a whole community. We are featuring fair trade and eco-friendly brands and inviting other businesses to take a step towards sustainability.

You can read more about how to participate in this blog post.

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GLOBAL EXCHANGE FAIR TRADE UPDATES: Give the Gift of Membership AND You’re Invited to Attend Our Fair Trade Store Holiday Parties!

One of Global Exchange’s Gift Membership Packages

Give the Gift of Membership

There are six gifts to choose from, including “Support a Farmer” and “Stand for Human Rights.” You pick the gift and we’ll take care of the rest. We’ll send out the membership card and gift package, plus keep your recipient in the loop about Global Exchange programs and events with our newsletter and e-mail action alerts.

All Global Exchange Gift Membership Packages include:

• One-Year Membership to Global Exchange;
• Special Gift Certificate;
• Fair Trade Gift(s) that represent Global Exchange’s work towards a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world.

Grab yours today, while supplies last.

FREE mugs some will receive at our holiday parties

Global Exchange Fair Trade Store Holiday Parties

Every year our Fair Trade store extended community gets together to celebrate the holidays. We shop, sip, nibble and socialize with each other while celebrating the holiday season. This year all four Fair Trade stores will be celebrating on the same night, so if you live near one of our stores we hope you’ll be able to join us!   

Early attendees will receive a FREE Fair Trade mug hand-painted in Tunisia FULL of steaming Fair Trade hot chocolate! *First 25 people to spend $25 or more

One-Night! 20% OFF Storewide for Global Exchange Members Only (Become a Member Today).

Come enjoy some holiday cheer and find gifts for your loved ones, while creating a more sustainable and just world. You can RSVP on Facebook.

*Please bring your Global Exchange membership card for your discount.

“Shop for a Cause” Nights Support Bay Area Organizations

This year Global Exchange is partnering with FOUR inspiring organizations to host “Shop for a Cause” nights at our Fair Trade stores in the Bay Area. Our goal is simple and speaks to our vision for a better global economic system: give back to our communities while giving back to artisans around the world through Fair Trade.

During these special event evenings, you can shop for your friends and family and 20% of your purchase will go to the featured local Bay Area organization to help support their social justice work.

Find out which organizations we’re partnering with in this post.

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FAIR TRADE NEWS TO PERUSE

• FairtradeInternational: Annual Report Reveals the Strength Behind the Sales
• Herald Online: Hershey Shareholders Allege Company Uses Cocoa Produced Through Unlawful Child Labor in Africa
• Fresh Fruit Portal: Fair trade transition picks up speed in the U.S.
  Raise the Bar Hershey! Breaking News: Hershey commits to certified cocoa
  
• New York Times: A Matchmaker Helps Artisans Find Luxury Jobs
• Crowdsourcing.org: Dr. Bronner’s Launches Crowdfunding Campaign and New Educational Video on Fair Trade Palm Oil
• CSR Europe: Nestlé UK & Ireland double commitment to FAIRTRADE as KitKat 2-fingers is certified
• Fair Trade Resource Network: Canadian Fair Trade Network Opens Membership & Conference Registration
  
• Chicago Fair Trade: African Fair Trade Convention to be Held in Ethiopia
• CRS Fair Trade: Time to Celebrate: Fair Trade Campaigning Together
• ABC News: Deepen the Holidays Through Fair Trade Gifting
• CBSNews: Palestinian farmers turn to organic farming
  
• GOOD: Want to Learn More About Fair Trade? Here’s a Primer
  
• Justmeans: Socially Responsible Food Is On the Rise in the U.S., New Report Says
  
• Fair Trade Colleges & Universities: Fair Trade Campaigns Conference
  
• The Packer: Organics marketing meshes well with Fair Trade-certified programs

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San Francisco Global Exchange Fair Trade Store

Election season may be over, but the holiday season is right around the corner–can you believe it?! And while some of you may be busily stocking up on Fair Trade ingredients for the big Thanksgiving meal (like Fair Trade spices for pumpkin pie), over at the Global Exchange Fair Trade stores we’re getting ready for some exciting events!

Here’s what we’ve got coming up:

1) We’re taking part in Fair Tuesday, a Fair Trade day of action;

2) We’ll be lending our support to a handful of local organizations by hosting “Shop for a Cause” nights in their honor.

Here’s more about both:

Image courtesy of Global Goods Partners

1) FAIR TUESDAY

Not sure when to kick off your holiday shopping? Avoid Black Friday blues by participating in Fair Tuesday on November 27th, an event spearheaded by Global Goods Partners, a New York-based nonprofit. Fair Tuesday is a Fair Trade initiative created in response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with the goal to inspire conscious consumerism and show how an everyday purchase can change lives in a whole community.

Here’s how to participate in Fair Tuesday:

Whether you are an individual, organization, or a member of the press, you can join Global Exchange in the #FairTuesday movement in two simple ways:

1) Buy a fair trade item on Tuesday November 27th at a Global Exchange Fair Trade store near you, or any other brick-and-mortar or online Fair Trade store—Check out this great list of Fair Tuesday partners for some good ideas, or let us know about your favorite store in the comments!

2) Help us spread the word about this movement on social media using hashtag #FairTuesday. Tell your family and friends that what you really want for the holidays is global economic justice.

Global Goods Partners is a fair trade organization that supports over 40 women-led artisan groups in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Their goal—and our challenge to you—is to galvanize the fair trade community around #FairTuesday and make this movement global!

2) “SHOP FOR A CAUSE” NIGHTS IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

This year we are partnering with FOUR inspiring organizations to host “Shop for a Cause” nights at our Fair Trade stores in the Bay Area. Our goal is simple and speaks to our vision for a better global economic system: give back to our communities while giving back to artisans around the world through Fair Trade.

During these special event evenings, you can shop for your friends and family and 20% of your purchase will go to the featured local Bay Area organization to help support their social justice work.

ONE: La Casa de las Madres
Where: San Francisco Store
When: Wednesday November 28th 4pm-7pm
Rsvp on Facebook here

La Casa de las Madres acts boldly to create a community where violence against women and children is not tolerated. They offer a continuum of comprehensive and empowering services to women, teens, and children exposed to and at risk of abuse. La Casa also provides access, tools and support—clinical and peer-based—that strengthen their ability to affect change and break the cycle of violence.

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TWO: Berkeley Student Food Collective
Where: Berkeley Store
When: Wednesday December 5th, 2pm-6pm
Rsvp on Facebook here

The Berkeley Student Food Collective is dedicated to providing fresh, local, healthy, environmentally sustainable and ethically produced food at affordable prices to the Berkeley campus and greater community. They seek to educate students about nutrition and food systems, empower new leaders, and train youth to work in and manage a sustainable business. Through inclusive, democratic decision-making, they operate a cooperative grocery market that promotes community-building and environmental stewardship.

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Photo courtesy of Turning Heads & the Sweet Dreams Project

THREE: Turning Heads
Where: San Francisco Store
When: Wednesday, December 5th 4pm-7pm
Rsvp on Facebook here

Turning Heads Sewing and Fashion Design provides vocational arts education, entrepreneurship training, and develops young women leaders in San Francisco. They challenge race, class and gender stereotypes by believing that young women of color can work together and create a future that is personally, socially, academically and financially successful. Turning Heads Sewing and Fashion Design gives young women the opportunity to express their creativity, develop a sense of self-reliance, and follow their dreams.

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Photo courtesy of the OMI Family Resource Center

FOUR: OMI Family Resource Center–YMCA SF Urban Services
Where: San Francisco Store
When: Thursday, December 13th 4pm-7pm
Rsvp on Facebook here

The OMI Family Resource Center’s mission is to empower families living in the Oceanview, Merced and Ingleside neighborhoods through services aimed at strengthening relationships, building community and fostering healthy lifestyles. They offer a safe and welcoming environment and aim to engage families in services that build on current strengths and are respectful of each participant’s right to self-determination. All services are offered in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese.

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TAKE ACTION!

All in all, we have a great list of events coming up–we hope to see you. Visit our Facebook page to see the complete list of upcoming events, including our annual Fair Trade Store holiday parties. Stay tuned for more about those!

Jocelyn and weaving partners in Guatemala Photo Credit: Global Exchange, September 2012

Last month Jocelyn Boreta, Program Director of the Global Exchange Fair Trade stores, traveled to Guatemala to work with some of our producer partners. She shares highlights (and beautiful photos!) of the trip with us:

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Weaving Sustains Family During Harvest Time in the Mayan Highlands

The September sun sits low over the cornfields in the Mayan highlands. Hours on a dirt road outside Comalapa, Guatemala, Arcadia Jutzuy bends over her loom while her husband Jesus watches from the eaves of their family’s small home. I was on the road to meet the artisans we work with at Global Exchange, to support their work and carry their voices home with me.

Arcadia Jutzuy smiles from the loom

It’s harvest time in Guatemala, where 76% of the poor depend on subsistence crops for their livelihoods (USAID 2010). Jesus should be busy picking corn to fill the family’s winter storage and sell in the market. He anxiously explains that this year’s corn yield is much reduced from the last, as was the previous harvest and the one before that. He can no longer harvest enough corn to sustain the consumption of his family of six, let alone provide for additional income through its sales.

He explains that the soil has been depleted through the use of chemical fertilizers. All across the volcanic highlands, agro-chemicals marketed under appealing names such as Vista Volcanes, were introduced to immediately increase yields. But as chemically induced crops strip the soil of nutrients, farmers must add even more chemical fertilizers to sustain their crops the next season, creating a cycle of dependence on the agrochemical industry. Fluctuating chemical costs and deteriorated soil quality have left many families destitute.

Arcadia now weaves to provide her family with an income. She is the leader of a group of eight Mayan women weavers in the rural region outside of Comalapa who have partnered with MayaWorks, a Fair Trade non-profit organization that works with over 125 indigenous women throughout the highlands of Guatemala to support their families through their weaving.

Felecita Choguix working at the loom

One mile down the road, Felecita Choguix weaves to supplement her husband’s work in the fields, with the goal of sending their eight children to school. Her neighbor, Quina Colaj, weaves as the head of her family, supporting five children and her husband who cannot work due to an accident.

MayaWorks believes:

“The economic stability of women is the first step to securing safety, education, and productivity for indigenous Guatemalan communities.”

Towards this goal MayaWorks provides: 1) ongoing skill development and business trainings; 2) microloans for investment in equipment and small business; and 3) access to education through literacy workshops, scholarships and academic support for artisans’ children.

Global Exchange has partnered with MayaWorks to make an exclusive line of Fair Trade product available to you at our Fair Trade Stores.

As the Program Director of the Global Exchange Fair Trade stores, I am thankful for the amazing opportunity to be able to sit with Arcadia, Felecita and Quina and discuss the real challenges of raising a family and how they are empowered through their work. Arcadia describes her work as being critical to sustaining her family during the difficult failure of their milpa (cornfields). Hopefully through the reintegration of sustainable agriculture techniques, such as the use of nitrogen fixing green manures, organizations such as Semilla Nueva, can support small farmers in a transition back to healthy yields and food justice.

TAKE ACTION!

• Enjoy & share photos from the trip, which are now posted on our Facebook page.
• Support Guatemalan Producers: You can directly support the work of Arcadia, Felecita, Quina and many other women living in the Guatemalan highlands this harvest season by visiting the Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores where we carry brightly colored 100% cotton aprons & potholders, pouches, worry dolls, scarves & more!

Global Exchange Fair Trade Sales Associate- Part time

Do you or someone you know have retail experience and a passion for Fair Trade? Then check out this position that just opened up…

Washington DC/ Arlington, VA

Job Requirements:

• Excellent customer service skills, friendly and outgoing attitude
• 2 years of retail experience preferred
• Knowledge of book buying and sales
• Solid written and verbal communication skills
• Strong sense of design established through merchandizing
• Highly motivated and creative
• Organized and detail-oriented
• Ability to take initiative on projects; work independently as well as able to work as part of a team
• Flexibility; ability to work in a multi-cultural and diverse environment
• Demonstrated interest in human rights and social justice work
• Basic computer skills, knowledge of Quickbooks and Quickbooks Point of Sale a plus
• Ability to work weekends and commit to extra hours during the Christmas holiday
• Ability to arrive to work on-time and committed to getting daily tasks done

Responsibilities Include:

• Customer service and sales
• Knowledge of store product
• Understanding and commitment to Fair Trade
• Be on time, prepared, committed and engaged in your work
• Store opening and closing procedures
• Able to keep store tidy, clean, and organized
• Maintain a positive, helpful and appropriate attitude towards co-workers and clientele
• Create signage for store displays with direction from manager
• Use of Quickbooks Point of Sale and cash drawer
• Be able to participate in physical labor including lifting boxes, climbing on ladders, and
  moving furniture
• Share responsibility for store maintenance, including cleaning the store,
  the bathroom, and taking out recycling and trash
• Support the Store Manager in any additional tasks or responsibilities

This is a part time position. Must be able to work weekends. Salary negotiable based on experience.

To apply, please send cover letter, a full resume, two references, and one additional page concretely answering the following questions:

1. Please describe your commitment to Fair Trade.
2. Please explain how your job related skills lend themselves to this position. And/or how your life experience and life values can help you fill this position successfully. Please share any retail responsibilities you have had.
3. Briefly highlight any other aspects you would like to mention about your suitability for this position.

**Please email your resume to: ashleyf@globalexchange.org

***Please do not call about this position

Check out our website for the whole list of actions, or follow us @gxfairtrade or on Facebook where we will deliver your daily action each morning at #fairtrade31.

Fair Trade Successes in Rural India: From Cycles of Drought to Cycles of Reuse

There was no water filtration plant in Barmer, Rajasthan when the Austin-based Fair Trade business Handmade Expressions started in 2005, with the goal of improving the economic livelihoods and social standing of artisan communities in rural India. In fact, there was and still is very little water at all there.

Rich art traditions run deep in Rajasthan, unlike the wells, and access to capital for infrastructure and technology improvements is limited. Geographically isolated and characterized by a harsh, arid climate, many people in Rajasthan struggle to make more than $1 a day. But from the start, Manish Gupta, the founder of Handmade Expressions, was interested in doing more than simply getting local people to sell him their products at a better price—for him and the local NGOs he has partnered with, Fair Trade has always been about holistic development.

The traditional block-print fabric bags the artisans in Barmer began to produce for Handmade Expressions quickly became one of their best-selling items. However, hand block-printing requires an immense volume of water to dye and print the fabric. This issue of resource management in the face of environmental and economic adversity is one that many underprivileged communities face—use water to support an income generating project at the expense of other survival needs, or suffer economic hardship?

Instead of leaving this question alone, Handmade Expressions has sought to make it obsolete by paying attention to local practices and needs, and putting the increased income made possible by Fair Trade to task.

This year, in partnership with a local NGO called SETU, the Society for Empowerment & Trade Uplift of Artisans, Handmade Expressions sponsored and helped install a water treatment plant in Barmer that allows for the recapture and reuse of the water used in block-printing and dyeing. The plant, inaugurated August 28^th, has the capacity to filter 2,000 liters of water each hour and each batch of water can be filtered and reused 15 times!

In addition, what is truly rewarding about this news is learning that Global Exchange has been able to have a direct impact on the success of Fair Trade and sustainable development in Rajasthan through our ongoing support of Handmade Expressions. Over the years, we have ordered hundreds of those very same block-print bags to give out to new members as our way of saying thank you. How inspiring then, for us at the Fair Trade stores to see the real changes we are supporting, and for our grassroots supporters to be able to look at the bag they got maybe even years ago, when they first became a member, and know they’ve been a part of such a successful movement for social and economic justice. It takes time and a lot of effort, but the accomplishments prove to us why we want to continue our work around Fair Trade—we all benefit and get to grow together, in solidarity.

TAKE ACTION!

Join Global Exchange for $35/year and we’ll send you a gorgeous customized Global Exchange tote bag from Handmade Expressions women’s cooperative in India, a No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy, Globalization or International Development and a bag of Equal Exchange chocolates!

Check out our website for the whole list of actions, or follow us @gxfairtrade or on Facebook where we will deliver your daily action each morning at #fairtrade31.

Today is Action #22…Build Your Own Fair Trade Day of the Dead Altar!

Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Meso-American holiday dedicated to the ancestors. Rather than mourning death as purely tragedy and loss, Dia de los Muertos honors both death and the cycle of life. The celebration acknowledges that we still have a relationship with our loved ones whom have passed away.

In Mexico, on Dia de los Muertos families and friends gather in local cemeteries to be with their loved ones and construct private altars, which contain everything from photos, favorite foods, and other memorabilia, in hopes that deceased souls will journey back for the Dia de los Muertos celebration.

Stop by your local Bay Area Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores for all you need to build your own Dia de los Muertos altar!

The San Francisco (map) and Berkeley (map) Global Exchange stores are stocked with everything from retablos to sugar skull molds and meringue power to paper marigolds. Be sure to check out our colorful collection of beautiful skeleton statues, hand-made in Mexico; we have Fridas, DJs, soccer players, CEOs, skateboarders, and more!

This year we have a beautiful selection of retablos, boxes or shrines with hand painted doors which open to hold hand carved figures in colorful scenes of daily life in Peru- such as markets, shops, harvests, weddings and other ceremonies.   Our retablos are made by internationally renowned retablos maker Claudio Jimenez Quispe. Originally from a family of retablos makers in Ayacucho, Peru, where he has trained large communities of retablos makers, he now works in Lima.  Come check out the work of one of the finest craftsmen in the world!

In San Francisco, Dia de los Muertos has been celebrated in the Mission district since the early 70s with art, music, performances and a walking procession, which help us contemplate our existence and mortality — a moment to remember deceased friends and family, and our connections beyond our immediate concerns. This years’ celebration will be held on Friday, November 2^nd. Find out more about the procession.

For those in the East Bay, the Fruitvale Dia de los Muertos celebration will be held on Sunday, October 28^th in the Fruitville Village. More information is available on their website.

TAKE ACTION!

Join Global Exchange for $35/year and we’ll send you a gorgeous customized Global Exchange tote bag from Handmade Expressions women’s cooperative in India, a No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy, Globalization or International Development and a bag of Equal Exchange chocolates!

Pullman strikers outside Arcade Building in Pullman, Chicago. Source: Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project.

The history of the labor movement in the United States is filled with ambitious, hard-working Americans planting the seeds of their dreams in hopes for a prosperous future. In 1894 in Pullman, IL the employees of the Pullman Company railroad car factory walked-out, marched and demanded access to decent living wages and safe working conditions all to no avail after their strike was declared a federal crime. But that didn’t stop protesters from taking an unpaid day off to promote the holiday and when President Cleveland gave into their demands, Labor Day was born!

But there is still a lot of work to be accomplished. For example, the 2011 struggle in Wisconsin for state worker’s bargaining rights is proof that we are far from actualizing labor justice.

Additionally, international obstacles need to be addressed and overcome before everyone in the world can equally enjoy the recognition and fruits of their labor. As world trade crosses borders, the labor movement calls for recognition of labor standards around the world. In many places around the world, farmers and workers still struggle for living wages and hazard-free working conditions. One way to support those farmers and laborers is through Fair Trade —a pathway toward a more just labor system.

By purchasing Fair Trade products, consumers are participating in an alternative economic trading system that, according to Fair Trade USA, is oriented toward empowering farmers and workers everywhere. Today consumers have a choice that has the ability to stimulate the livelihoods of the individuals who toil for coffee, cocoa, vegetables or handmade crafts.

The women of Fair Trade artisan cooperative Maya Works in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Photo copyright by Global Exchange.

Products that are Fair Trade Certified are guaranteed to support safe working conditions, access to health care and sustainable incomes. These wages allow producers, especially women artisans,  to save money and keep their children in school. Some Fair Trade cooperatives in various countries specifically support education-related developments, such as building schools, financing uniforms and tuitions or providing healthy meals for students.

For example, according to Equal Exchange, The National Confederation of Dominican Cocoa Producers, an organization in the Dominican Republic, is able to use its premiums for community development projects. Members distribute their income to purchase school supplies, build wells for community water and obtain the appropriate medicine for their health clinics.

Another tremendous benefit of Fair Trade is that it is not simply charity. Small producers gain autonomy by developing long-term trading relationships and no longer have to rely on international aid efforts, which can be inconsistent and scarce due to the vulnerability of the fluctuating global market.

Check out this great infographic from Fair World Project about global labor struggles. More at http://fairworldproject.org/justeconomy

Therefore Fair Trade is a crucial component to the labor struggle. By supporting Fair Trade, consumers are agreeing to advocate and demand opportunities for those living in poverty—dispersing wealth to those at the bottom of the pyramid—the 99%. In doing so, lives are positively transformed and connected to the global market, ultimately working toward the intended goal—to alleviate poverty.

This Labor Day season you can show your support for hard working individuals everywhere by shopping Fair Trade. Check out Global Exchange’s Labor Day Sale at a store near you.

Whether just one piece or in a set, Le Souk Ceramique tableware is a beautiful and meaningful gift for any couple.

Looking for the perfect wedding gift for your favorite newly hitched couple? In a global economy on overload from excessive, cookie cutter, sweatshop production, it can be hard to find something unique and functional for your friends, a gift that holds a story of partnership, community, and cultural heritage to celebrate the union of two people in love.

But it’s not hard at Global Exchange Fair Trade stores. As a non-profit  business rooted in the values of economic and social justice, we are just as excited as you are to share beautiful gifts with the ones we love. This wedding season we’re excited to feature  our best selling ceramic line from Le Souk Ceramique as that special gift to last a lifetime.

Le Souk artisans Marwa and Safa busy painting. Photo courtesy of Le Souk Ceramique.

Le Souk Ceramique produces all its ceramics at a small studio located in Nabeul, Tunisia, just a couple of kilometers from the Mediterranean coast.  All production is done by hand at the studio.  In both the shaping and painting of the ceramic artisans use no machinery, nor any decals or stencils.  Each piece is painted freehand with only food safe paints and glazes for the safety of consumers as well as that of employees. (See video of the artisans in action below.)

As the business explains on its website, the name “Le Souk Ceramique” is a combination of Arabic and French,  “souk” meaning  “marketplace” in Arabic.  In every town and city across Tunisia and North Africa, you will find a souk with items of traditional artistry–Nabeul is known for ceramics in particular.  Not unlike Global Exchange, souks are filled with color and texture and make for hours of adventure just wandering around!

So come wander into one of Global Exchange’s Fair Trade stores in San Francisco, Berkeley, Virginia or Washington D.C. to find the best wedding gift for your friends and loved ones.

Are you or someone you know getting hitched? In case you didn’t know, Global Exchange stores in San Francisco and Berkeley do gift registries!  Finally you can get all those amazing Fair Trade products you’ve been wanting all these years… and celebrate your union in solidarity with artisans around the globe! Just ask us at the store or give us a call and we’ll set you up!

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Video Bonus: Check out how Le Souk artisans make ceramics from start to finish.