I also share his love for information in print. Like him, I end most days away from the neon computer screen, curled up flipping pages. But with my work in Fair Trade and studies in Anthropology, our interests don’t always line up, nor do our reading topics.

I usually don’t find my dad deep in his reading about cultural heritage and weaving in the highlands of Peru. And he probably won’t read this blog.  But where we do come together is in the celebration of craftsmanship, resourcefulness, and ingenuity in design.

So when I told him about a group of artisans in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam who are making beautiful, functional housewares out of recycled magazines similar to those he has stacked around his apartment, he wanted to know more.

We print lovers know paper can really pile up. And the thought of newspapers and magazines being printed on fresh paper everyday is disturbing to many.

This is why my Dad and I are so excited about the scrap paper industry, which taps into the ongoing potential of collecting paper scraps and upcycling them into viable end products.

A growing number of paper upcycling efforts are popping up in the U.S, including undeliverable mail  being made into new envelopes and scrap paper getting recycled into biodegradable mulch mats for reforestation projects.

In Ho Chi Minh City, 60 artisans are employed in the creation of housewares handmade from recycled magazines and newspapers, coiled and wound in the same style as their traditional bamboo tableware.  The beautiful frames, bowls, plates & coasters wound from yesterday’s news, hold the dual function of brightening up your home while reducing the amount of scrap paper in the waste stream. My dad thinks that makes sense.

The business was started by Hien and Binh who were trained by their uncle Duc in traditional paper craft.  With the support of Mai Handicrafts, a Vietnam based World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) member that provides sustainable employment and business development opportunities for Vietnamese artisans, the business grew by incorporating their traditional techniques in the creation of innovative, functional products.

Today, 20 artisans work together in a workshop that undergoes regular inspection according to WFTO standards and 40 more work from the comfort of their homes.

Visit Global Exchange for recycled paper Father’s Day gifts!

The Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores have partnered with Mai Handicrafts to make this innovative product line available to you. My Father’s Day gift this year will be a photo of Dad and me in a recycled magazine frame.  What better gift for Father’s Day then a gift that just plain makes sense!

The following is a guest post by the folks at Smithsonian Folkways about a recently released collection of songs written and performed by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim coffee farmers of the Peace Kawomera (Delicious Peace) Fair Trade cooperative in Mbale, Uganda.

Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music & Interfaith Harmony in Uganda

Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music & Interfaith Harmony in Uganda which came out April 9th on Smithsonian Folkways, aims to overcome religious conflict and bring peace through song. Written and performed by coffee farmers of the Peace Kawomera (Delicious Peace) Fair Trade cooperative in Mbale, Uganda, the album features uplifting, multi-lingual songs that teach cooperation through music.

Listen to a sneak preview of Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music & Interfaith Harmony in  Uganda.

Jewish Ugandan coffee farmer and musician J. J. Keki founded Peace Kawomera after witnessing the attacks of September 11, 2001 firsthand during a trip to New York City. Deeply moved, he felt compelled to bring different religions together in peace.

When Keki returned to Uganda, he walked from village to village, enlisting Jewish, Christian and Muslim farmers to join his Fair Trade cooperative. Today, over 1,000 farmers have joined Peace Kawomera.

Watch J.J. Keki explain the inspiration for Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music & Interfaith Harmony in Uganda.

Grammy award-nominated Tufts University professor and Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit recorded the album in various Ugandan locales from muddy coffee fields to local synagogues. Summit previously produced the 2005 GRAMMY nominated album Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda for Smithsonian Folkways.

Royalties from the sale of this recording support education for the children of the Peace Kawomera cooperative. 

Village guitar groups and women’s choirs sing to stress the transformative impact of Fair Trade prices and to encourage their neighbors to join the coffee cooperative.  They are accompanied by traditional instruments, such as embaire (xylophone with wooden keys), ngoma (drum), akadongo (lamellaphone, often referred to as a thumb piano), endingidi (one-string fiddle), and nsasi (shaker).

The performers combine various Ugandan languages and musical styles, occasionally adding Swahili, Arabic, Hebrew, and English. The people of Peace Kawomera come together to sing of the benefits of interfaith cooperation and, through music, teach new members how to produce great coffee.

TAKE ACTION!

• Read the liner notes by Jeffrey A. Summit to learn more about the album.
• Digital downloads and on-demand CDs can be purchased directly from Smithsonian Folkways at www.folkways.si.edu. Full-album purchases include complete, original liner notes, color photographs and song translations as .PDF files.

Beilul Naizghi, Global Exchange Fair Trade intern

Hi Fair Trade Activistas!

Today’s Fair Trade Roundup introduces Fairtrade America’s new Executive Director and recaps World Fair Trade Day. Plus get to know our summer Fair Trade intern. (And don’t forget the usual vetted list of Fair Trade related articles below.)

Roundup Sections:

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

—

FEATURED FAIR TRADE UPDATES

Hans P. Theyer Photo Credit: Fairtrade America

Hans P. Theyer to Lead Fairtrade America

Congratulations and welcome Hans P. Theyer, Fairtrade America’s New Executive Director!

Bama Athreya, Chair, Fairtrade America Board of Directors, had this to say about Hans Theyer’s appointment:

“Hans brings a fantastic combination of business and international development experience to Fairtrade America.  We look forward to working with Hans as he leads us in our efforts to bring the best of the international Fairtrade system to the United States and to build a collaborative, diverse coalition that is united in its belief in producer development and empowerment.”

Here’s Hans speaking about his new appointment:

“I am proud to lead the U.S. organization that will expand the benefits of the international Fairtrade system, and I look forward to raising public awareness and working in partnership with companies, retailers, producers and all fair trade advocates that share our vision of building a vibrant fair trade movement in the United States.”

You can learn more about Hans here.

—

Can you guess how many people attended World Fair Trade Day 2013 events this year?

World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) is the largest Fair Trade event of the year in N. America, and events took place May 4-19 in 2013. So how many people attended these events?

According to Fair Trade Resource Network, around 100,000 people attended nearly 1000 World Fair Trade Day events in N. America this year.

You’ll find lots of fun WFTD 2013 photos on Fair Trade Resource Network’s Facebook page.

—

Beilul Naizghi protesting in front of GAP during its annual shareholder meeting last week

GLOBAL EXCHANGE FAIR TRADE UPDATE

Meet Global Exchange’s new Fair Trade intern, Beilul Naizghi. Beilul is a rising sophomore studying international development at Brown University in Providence, RI. She will be spending her summer interning with Global Exchange in San Francisco, working on Fair Trade projects.

Her first week at Global Exchange, Beilul was already protesting outside of GAP headquarters during its annual Shareholder meeting!

When asked why she chose to intern with Global Exchange’s Fair Trade program this summer, Beilul had this to say:

“I’m interested in learning more about Fair Trade from the perspective of an NGO advocacy group.”

Here’s to a great summer internship experience, Beilul!

FAIR TRADE NEWS TO PERUSE

• Confectionery News: Fair Trade USA labeling rules: Hoax or fair enough?
• The New York Times: Before You Buy That T-Shirt
• The Guardian: How ‘fair trade’ could tackle sweatshops
• AllAfrica: Fairtrade Loses an Impassioned Leader
• Chicago Fair Trade: Ecuador forms fair trade export consortium for banana growers
• Blogher.com: Drink Green: Organic and Fair Trade Wines
• Fair Trade Towns USA: The Impact of a Fair Trade Campaign
• Voxy: Parliament gets Fair Trade accreditation
• Entrepreneur: Lessons From Fair Trade on How to Make Your Brand Message More Powerful

THE FAIR TRADE ROUNDUP AND YOU!
•    Subscribe to our Fair Trade blog to receive new Fair Trade blog posts automatically.
•    News to share? If you’ve got big Fair Trade news to share, email me.
•    Enjoy this Fair Trade Roundup? Then click the Like and Tweet buttons on the top right of this post to share with others. Thanks!

Global Exchange was excited to hear this announcement and praised activists like you for making a big corporation give in to the demands of the consumer to have a more sustainable product and have greater supply chain accountability.

Was calling this announcement a victory premature or even misleading?

To answer this question we must first unpack the meaning behind Hershey’s decision and the road that has led to it.

The push for Fair Trade

In 2006, Global Exchange joined a coalition of organizations to target the American chocolate icon Hershey’s to ‘Raise the Bar’ and go Fair Trade. The thought was: if this industry giant could start sourcing Fair Trade certified cocoa, other large chocolate companies would follow.

Through the Raise the Bar, Hershey coalition, we collected countless petition signatures, held film screening showing the Dark Side of Chocolate, made thousands of Fair Trade s’mores, released Hershey’s true corporate social responsibility report, carried out a vibrant brand-jamming effort, went to the company’s shareholder meeting in Hershey, Pennsylvania and staged a huge rally in front of the Hershey store in Times Square.

Fair Trade activists sustained this effort for seven years! You sent those letters to Hershey’s, you showed Dark Side of Chocolate in your communities, you served up Fair Trade s’mores, you submitted your brand jams, and you gathered in front of the Hershey’s store with the same message: It’s time to go Fair Trade.

Year after year, we waited for Hershey’s to make a change. And year after year, Hershey’s continued to fail on making any sort of Fair Trade commitment.

Then, in January of 2012 Hershey’s made a surprising turn: the company stated it would commit to buying Rainforest Alliance cocoa for its Bliss and Dagoba chocolate products. The Raise the Bar, Hershey coalition cautiously congratulated the company for taking its first step towards sustainably harvested cocoa and the elimination of child labor.

The campaign continued, however, to push Hershey’s to make a bigger commitment and this time to make it Fair Trade – the only certification that achieves the goal of supply chain transparency, a fair price for farmers, the elimination of forced child labor and a social premium aimed at fostering democratic community development.

In October of 2012, Hershey’s responded by announcing plans to source 100% certified cocoa by 2020.

“What does that mean?” we asked. Since the announcement did not state what kind of third party certification they had chosen, we continued to flood the company’s inbox with letters and petitions urging Hershey’s to choose Fair Trade.

So, when news came that Hershey’s would finally be working with a Fair Trade organization in their path to 100% certified cocoa, we saw a victory.

But what does that victory look like?

Hershey’s has announced that it has begun its path to being 100% certified sustainable by 2020. The company has released proposed benchmarks toward these 2020 goals, including 10% of its supply being certified by the end of 2013. In three years time, nearly half of the supply will be certified, with four years left to reach that 100% goal.

In the beginning stages, Hershey’s plans to buy from the three main certifiers in the game — UTZ, Rainforest Alliance, and Fair Trade USA. As the company’s buying volume increases, Hershey’s will be working with other well-established certifiers to reach more farmers worldwide.

According to the 2012 Cocoa Barometer, Hershey’s buys 200,000 metrics tons of cocoa from West Africa. This means that 200,000 tons will be certified as free of the worst forms of child labor, which is what UTZ, Rainforest Alliance, and Fair Trade safeguard against.  If one third of this is Fair Trade, that will be over 66,000 metric tons of Fair Trade cocoa! This will be a tremendous boost to farmers who currently produce more Fair Trade cocoa than the can sell at Fair Trade prices.

But why do we need to wait until 2020?

Raise the Bar and Fair Trade activists have asked for benchmarks in terms of volume over time. We don’t believe that progress can be made without verifiable steps in the right direction. Hershey’s has responded with pretty aggressive moves starting this year (10% of its supply by the end of 2013).

These benchmarks represent trial balloons though, and they are going to be assessing the results on various factors:

1. Which one makes the biggest difference for the farmers
2. Which one is the most cost effective (at this point the price paid is the close to the same for all the certifiers — the difference is where the premium is paid and who decides where it is paid)
3. Which one is scalable and finally,
4. Do consumers care and what will they demand.

So our work is not done yet!

And according to Tulane University’s study on certifiers and child labor, Fair Trade is doing more to combat child labor than other certifications so we as consumers must continue to push for even more purchases of Fair Trade Certified cocoa!

So, do we call this a victory or not?

All social justice movements are marked by small and large wins and small and large setbacks — the road is never straight and narrow with uncomplicated stages of struggle. Justice requires the long, messy work of keeping on, dedicating ourselves to a vision of the world where no children go to bed hungry; where families earn enough to send their kids to school and where there is space for communities to develop democratically.

There isn’t an end to the movement but if we want to stay engaged we have to celebrate the victories, even as partial as they are when we achieve them. If you never see the results of your letters, petitions, phone calls, and actions you aren’t going to be motivated to take the next step. We did make a difference: a large multi-national company listened to activists and conscious consumers. Now its up to us to make sure all of this happens — to push for and continue buy chocolate labeled Fair Trade Certified!

Hershey’s is still a large corporation and will make decisions from that perspective. For some of us, that will always be problematic. We prefer integrated systems with 100% transparency, fully Fair Trade, support for democratic cooperatives and educational labeling for the U.S. consumer.

Both struggles are meaningful and can be coordinated – pushing for Fair Trade values with the big companies and supporting the smaller companies that are 100% fully Fair Trade already. We want to support more farmers and push aggressively for the highest bar while educating and bringing lots of people into the movement in the clearest and most exciting way. That means we have to celebrate our victories when we can and then get up and keep on working.

Tagua Earrings in Stunning Springtime Turquoise

It’s almost Mothers Day, and mom who knows right from wrong better then anybody, doesn’t want a gift sourced from others’ suffering.  As a daughter, adoring aunt, and buyer at the Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores, I know that Fair Trade jewelry is always the right gift for mom. Jewelry sales soar in our stores this time of year and luckily we have a large selection of jewelry that is sourced right.

A majority of the jewelry in the mainstream market is sourced from silver and gold mines in the Global South. The extraction of these metals is highly toxic and destructive to mining communities and environments.  Countless examples exist of high fatality rates in miners, poisoned water sources, sickened families, and destroyed ecosystems.  Check out the powerful example of Canadian Goldcorp mine in Guatemala from the perspective of the indigenous Mayan community in the award winning documentary Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth.

Here’s where it gets complicated: silver and gold smiths from the hill-tribes of northern Thailand to the pueblos around Mexico City continue long traditions of metal work that supports their communities and families.  We believe that the work of these small-scale gold and silver smiths should be supported, and for this reason we carry a limited amount of their jewelry in our stores.

While the primary focus of the Fair Trade craft movement up until now has been the labor that goes into the final product (gotta start somewhere), many of us are asking what about the raw materials?

Amazing alternatives to gold and silver are available today.  Much of the jewelry we carry in the Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores is handmade from recycled metals or natural materials.  My favorite line is the jewelry made from tagua nut, also known as eco-ivory for its color, beauty and resilience.  The smooth white palm seed, about the size of an avocado pit, is collected from the rainforest floor after having fallen as fruit and usually stripped of its edible layers by animals.

Before the invention of plastics, and when ivory had become scarce, tagua seeds had been used for hundreds of years as a raw material for luxury goods, but with the invention and increased use of plastics, tagua was not put to use. In the last decade, with an increase in environmental awareness, tagua is valued again for its beauty and characteristics as a natural, biodegradable, and renewable resource. The tagua used in the production of our jewelry, is sourced from strictly government-controlled environments, making sure that sufficient seeds are left to perpetuate the palms and the tagua native habitat.

Unlike many lines of seed jewelry, which may be playful but not a substitute for gemstones set in silver and gold, this line of tagua is simple and stunning.  The smooth ivory-like seeds are carved into slabs, died in vibrant color, and sometimes etched into elegant, one-of-a-kind pieces.  And like gemstones or precious metals, I was thrilled to learn that tagua comes in different qualities depending on where it is sourced.  The tagua jewelry that we carry is handmade in Colombia, where the level of moisture in the air determines the quality of a seed that can be carved into a solid smooth slab.

63 artisans in Bogota, Colombia find full-time work in the production of the tagua jewelry that we carry.  The company assures that all business decisions are made democratically, with pricing being set collectively by the workers.  A majority of the artisans make the jewelry in their homes and come to a center, which conducts regular 3^rd party inspections and evaluations for work-site safety, to drop off their product and attend meetings.

This Mothers Day, explore your options, and use your buying power to promote socially responsible industry that has a positive impact on people and native habitats.  I know mom would approve!

Check out our full selection of Fair Trade jewelry at the Global Exchange Stores today!

This Fair Trade Roundup has the latest on World Fair Trade Day, and news about an alter being erected to honor Fair Trade Pioneer Raúl del Águila, plus of course the usual vetted list of interesting articles to keep you updated and informed about what’s going on in the world of Fair Trade.

Roundup Sections:

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

—

FEATURED UPDATE: World Fair Trade Day

WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY (WFTD) is the largest Fair Trade event of the year in N. America, and events take place May 4-19 in 2013. Around 100,000 people attend hundreds of celebrations to promote Fair Trade and campaign for trade justice together with farmers & artisans.

WFTD itself falls on May 11, with events taking place May 4-19, 2013.

Stickers available to WFTD organizers

FTRN provides many free resources to those interested in participating in World Fair Trade Day in N. America including: 

• free postcards and stickers to promote your WFTD event;
• free & discounted Fair Trade products to share at your WFTD event;
• flyers, videos, booklets and other resources to learn games, recipes, event planning guide, and more to help plan your Fair Trade celebration;
• flyers and media outreach plans.

So visit the FTRN website soon to grab what you need to take part. Oh, and while FTRN supplies these resources for FREE, donations are much needed and appreciated!

GLOBAL EXCHANGE FAIR TRADE UPDATE: Alter  to Honor Fair Trade Pioneer Raúl del Águila

Global Exchange’s 11th annual Human Rights Awards gala is happening May 9th, and this year a Dia de los Muertos alter will be set up at the event to honor the life and work of Fair Trade Pioneer Raúl del Águila.

Raúl dedicated his life to developing alternatives to conventional trade and sustainable development for producers and communities, and in 2010, Global Exchange honored his work by awarding him with a Human Rights Award.

The alter will be adorned with recycled glass votives and paper flowers, both of which are sold in our Global Exchange Fair Trade stores.

You can join us at the Human Rights Awards gala on May 9th in San Francisco!  Grab your tickets before they sell out!

—

FAIR TRADE RELATED NEWS TO PERUSE

• Mondelez International: Mondelez International’s Cocoa Life Extends its Leadership Advancing Women’s Rights in Cocoa Farming
• NPR.org: Coffee For A Cause: What Do Those Feel-Good Labels Deliver?
• Fair World Project: Hershey Still A Long Way From Sustainability Despite Goals
• Reuters: Alliance coffee certification soars
• Co-operative News: “Fair Trade Beyond 2015″ Campaign Seeks for Fair Trade to Influence UN’s Next Framework After Millenium Development Goals
• RAPAPORT/diamonds.net: Fairtrade Gold Scheme Simplifies
• World Tea News: Fairtrade America Launches
• Profesionnal Jeweller: Fairtrade & ARM part ways for simpler metal labels
• blue & green tomorrow: Introducing: The Guide to Fair Trade 2013 (pdf)

—

THE FAIR TRADE ROUNDUP AND YOU!
•    Subscribe to our Fair Trade blog to receive new Fair Trade blog posts automatically.
•    News to share? If you’ve got big Fair Trade news to share, email me.
•    Enjoy this Fair Trade Roundup? Then click the Like and Tweet buttons on the top right of this post to share with others. Thanks!

Nothing says spring like a new tablecloth! I love when the weather warms, the days become longer and I change my kitchen tablecloth from her winter wear of crimson floral, into something lighter…I have a bright, teal paisley

A simple changing of my tablecloth transforms my home and welcomes spring. My tablecloths are from Natural Habitat. Hand block printed (in Bajur, India), the intricate details are perfectly imperfect, reminding me of the human hands that made them. You can see and feel the layers of natural dye and individuality in each cloth. Do imperfections bother you?

Sitting at my table, looking down at the fabric, I can’t help but wonder…  Could I have made this? How difficult can block printing be? I just so happen to have some beautiful blocks, fabric paint, paintbrushes and canvas ….so here I go!

After organizing my supplies and visualizing my masterpiece, I’m ready to start!

Step 1: I apply a thin layer of paint evenly to the block.

* Something cool I learned about the wood blocks is that in India, families of the block printing tradition save the blocks carved by master carvers from generations past for future use.  Some blocks used to print cloth today are thousands of years old. 

Step 2:  I place my block on the canvas and apply pressure, actually all my weight, and a slight rocking motion. 

Step 3:  I release my weight , lift carefully, and see what it looks like!

* You can tell if something is hand printed with blocks if the layers of color are imperfect, this imperfection is clearly demonstrated by me. 

Step 4:  Repeat, repeat, repeat. 

Step 5:  I add a new block with a different color.

Step 6:  Finished.  Wow! I love it!!  I did not anticipate the circles but no  surprise it does not look like the ones from Natural Habitat.  This process is easy in theory, but challenging in application. Let me know if you have any block printing secrets….

For me, block print textiles bring the warmth of a long standing tradition and an artistic feel into the modern interior of my home. Each piece is a work of art. Natural Habitat uses traditional block printing techniques and ecologically responsible production. The artisans combine delicate design with bright, bold color stories.  The geometric patterns take on both masculine and feminine personalities and the cotton feels soft and has such a nice weight. Come into our Global Exchange stores and feel for yourself ! I have such an appreciation of  the time and artistic foresight the Natural Habitat artisans put into their table wear and bedding.  I am happy to know that this tradition is still alive.

Today was my first attempt at block printing, I found the art form meditative and rewarding. For me this was a small introduction to block printing, next time I want to make something more substantial. I like the elephant block and maybe I will print on pillow cases or curtains? What do you think? Come by the store and we can make something together!

Delicious Peace Grows In a Coffee Bean. Photo credit: Thanksgiving Coffee Company

Fair Trade coffee is about to get an extra shot of deliciousness in Washington DC with the screening of the award winning documentary film Delicious Peace at the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store (inside Busboys and Poets @ 5th & K).

The Peace Movement and the Fair Trade Movement meet in Uganda with amazing farmer and activist JJ Keki, who fearlessly crossed religious boundaries to build economic prosperity and peaceful community. This inspirational documentary film tells the story of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish coffee farmers in Uganda coming together in the wake of the Idi Amin regime of terror and intolerance.

JJ Keki Founder and Chairman of the Cooperative and his youngest son Aaron look over the Namatala River Valley, and the slopes of Mt. Elgon. Photo Credit: Thanksgiving Coffee Company

In Uganda today, small-scale coffee farmers account for over 90% of the country’s revenues. These farmers face small profits due to inefficiencies within the Ugandan government and exploitative market intermediaries.

With the support of US-based non-profit organization Kulanu, JJ Keki and a revolutionary group of farmers successfully organized The Peace Kawomera Cooperative; and rightfully named their coffee Mirembe Kawomera, meaning Delicious Peace in the local Luganda language.

They’ve partnered with  Thanksgiving Coffee Company, an artisan coffee roaster in Northern California, to make Delicious Peace Coffee available to you. The coffee is available at our Global Exchange Stores.

The Peace Kawomera Coffee cooperative, which has grown to over 1,000 members, is the first Fair-Trade certified Ugandan coffee to be sold in the United States.

With the United States consuming 1/5th of the worlds’ coffee, our purchasing power has strong impact in Uganda. When consumer choose Fair Trade coffee, we’re helping to ensure that coffee farmers receive just compensation, competitive prices, access to financial stability, equal distribution of benefits among the cooperatives, and the opportunity to be apart of a sustainable business that supports their community.

TAKE ACTION!

Deena Shadrack is a leader in the Abayudaya (Jewish) community, strong advocate for womens’ rights, a coffee farmer, and a mother to many. Photo credit: Thanksgiving Coffee Company

Come view a powerful film that follows these farmers and their amazing work!

What: A Special Film Screening of Award Winning Documentary Delicious Peace

When: April 2, 2013 from 6-8pm

Where: Global Exchange Fair Trade Store (inside of Busboys and Poets); 1025 5th Street NW  Washington, DC 20001

The 40-minute film will be followed by a panel discussion with Jeff Goldman (Executive Director of the Fair Trade Resource Network), myself (manager of the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store in DC & VA),  and others.  Don’t miss out on a post discussion FREE tasting of Delicious Peace coffee!

—

 RSVP: Let us know if you’re planning to attend, Rsvp on Facebook. Or just show up!

—

We won!

After years of pressure from Fair Trade activists like you, Hershey’s recently announced its next step toward 100% certified sustainable cocoa by committing to source cocoa through three of the world’s most recognized cocoa certifying organizations, including Fair Trade USA.

When Hershey’s made its announcement in October of 2012 to source 100% certified cocoa by 2020, many wondered what the commitment would look like and if that meant Certified Fair Trade.

Now it’s time for the Fair Trade movement to celebrate this milestone achievement of convincing the largest chocolate company in the United States to listen to its consumers and offer sustainably sourced cocoa that also addresses the worst forms of labor in its supply chain.

Global Exchange along with the Raise the Bar, Hershey! Coalition are filled with gratitude for all the years of activism from all of you to bring Hershey’s to this decision.

“This victory represents more than one company finally doing the right thing,” said Global Exchange’s Organizing Director, Kirsten Moller, “it represents thousands of consumers, children, churches, unions and YOU realizing our own power to make change and insisting that everyone is treated fairly by the big corporations that bring us our chocolate, coffee and T-shirts. After years of work, we have pushed GAP to address sweatshop labor, Starbucks to purchase Fair Trade, and now another big corporation has listened to consumer pressure and we have WON with the help of all of you… Enjoy your guilt-free kisses!”

Global Exchange will continue to monitor Hershey’s “21st Century Cocoa Plan” to ensure that its promise is kept to improve cocoa growing communities. We hope to see Hershey’s maintain its timeline of going fully Fair Trade by 2020 and serve as an example to all major chocolate companies out there to continue to raise the bar and improve its supply chain accountability.

In the meantime, let us congratulate Hershey’s on this huge step in the right direction and celebrate this monumental victory for the Fair Trade movement.

Now that Hershey’s has pledged to take these initials steps of going Fair Trade, we must continue the quest to get all chocolate companies to make the same commitment.

Let’s urge World’s Finest Chocolate to go Fair Trade! Take action today.

—–
Read the Raise the Bar, Hershey Coalition statement on Hershey’s timeline transition to certified cocoa.

The decision between buying Fair Trade vs. local, as far as I’m concerned, is a decision between buying better vs. better.  Both buying practices are rooted in knowing where your money is being spent and the impact on community.

As a buyer for the Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores, I strongly support Fair Trade as an alternative to international trade policies that promote the exploitation of workers and degradation of environment.  I also recognize that investment in local food and craftsmanship is what keeps our communities thriving (not to mention reduces our dependency on fossil fuels).

That’s why it was such a difficult decision to drop a line of local product from our Fair Trade Store in San Francisco in order to meet the Fair Trade Federation mandate.

According to the Fair Trade Federation (FTF): “Items sourced in the Global North are not considered sourced under Fair Trade Federation Principles, because producers/artisans/farmers in the Global South face greater economic and social difficulties, as well as greater structural barriers to sustainable development – resulting in greater economic and social marginalization.”

As a founding member of the FTF, we support this standard and realize that our work as a Fair Trade retailer is most importantly to provide market access to small-scale producers in the Global South.

Fire & Light Table Setting

What we are losing: We just got in our last shipment of Fire & Light colored glass tableware handmade in Arcata, CA.  We love Fire & Light because they are revolutionarily local, sourcing their glass from residential recycling bins and hand-pouring each piece.  The result is an incredibly unique tableware that is durable and rich in color & light…it literally glows. I’m tempted to get a set before we sell out.  Come get it at the Global Exchange Store in San Francisco while you still can!

What we continue to support: We continue to carry product sourced from economically and socially marginalized communities in the Global North, like Sweet Dreams eye-pillows handmade in San Francisco by the young women leaders of Turning Heads.

Sweet Dreams lavender eye pillows handmade in San Francisco

We continue as a drop site for three local Community Supported Agriculture programs: Frog Hollow Farms, Eating with the Seasons, and Mariquita Farms.  Sign up for your CSA today!

As a community member, I know it is a critical time to support local business and I choose to invest in the work of local artists, available at small businesses and craft fairs throughout our city.  Shout outs to our neighbors in Noe Valley at Isso, where you can find the best jeans made in San Francisco; Loft 1513 owned and operated by the designers it features; and Easy Breezy serving up delicious locally sourced Straus frozen yogurt.

Our decision to support Fair Trade is not a decision between good vs. bad buying practices, but a decision to focus on what we do best: providing you the opportunity to support craftsmanship and community in the Global South through Fair Trade.