November 2002 (Gretchen Begley)
I am in the process of trying to get the Fair Trade group at UCSB restarted. It's called the Fair Trade Coalition at UCSB. I will let you know when we know what we're doing.
June 13, 2002 (Amy Hansen, graduated Spring 2002)
Student groups join together to support Fair Trade Coffee
by Amy Hansen
UCSB's Fair Trade Coalition has made large strides since its recent founding in January of this year. The Fair Trade Coalition is a diverse organization made up of a number of on-campus organizations who have joined together to support the important, yet little-known, Fair Trade Coffee movement. Fair Trade Coffee is an innovative concept that brings economic justice to coffee growers world-wide. When customers purchase Fair Trade certified coffee they have the assurance that the coffee growers were paid a minimum price of $1.26 for each pound of coffee they produce. Although this price of $1.26 may seem low, it can be up to three times the amount farmers receive from non-certified buyers. This redistribution of the profits from coffee sales can significantly improve the livelihood of impoverished coffee growers around the world. In addition to the social justice achieved through Fair Trade Coffee, sustainable farming techniques required for certification directly benefit the environment.
It is for these reasons that students have come together to form the Fair Trade Coalition. For the past few months coalition members have worked with UCSB's dining services to make sure that the on-campus coffee shop, Nicoletti's, serves Fair Trade Coffee on a daily basis. Coalition members can often be seen serving samples of Fair Trade Coffee in front of the University Center, while encouraging students to "buy fair trade" from nearby Nicoletti's. Furthermore, members frequently write letters to local coffee shops, urging them to serve Fair trade Coffee. In honor of World Fair Trade Day, on May 4th students directly contacted local coffee shops to inform them about the social responsibility of Fair Trade Coffee and its positive implications on a global scale.
The Fair Trade Coalition is committed to informing coffee drinkers about Fair Trade Coffee, thereby giving them the knowledge they need to be conscientious consumers. On Saturday, May 18th, members of the coalition will be handing out information and serving samples of Fair Trade coffee at the Farmers' Market. For more information or to get involved, email the coalition at fairtradecoalition@hotmail.com.
April 10, 2002 (Gretchen Begley and Amy Hansen)
We are still meeting weekly and working to raise campus awareness about Fair Trade. We have a new contact email which is fairtradecoalition@hotmail.com
We're just getting back together after Spring Break and we're currently working on getting other student groups to join the coalition. We are going to have a Fair trade Info table set up at the People's March for Economic Justice on Saturday, April 27th. Hope Dance Magazine out of San Luis Obispo had a film screening of U.S. Foreign policy a few weeks ago and they opened the event by showing Santiago's Story. I was very impressed (despite the fact that I've seen it ten times). I encountered some opposition after writing an article about the lack of fair trade coffee in SBar that was published in the SBCity College paper. A local coffee distributer, Caribbean coffee co., claims to provide fair trade "green" coffee to many local coffeehouses, but they are not certified. This has put me in a difficult position. I wrote the company yesterday and asked why they have chosen not to become certified and how they can guarantee that their coffee is indeed fair trade.
Aside from that, the coalition has been working on letting UCSB students know that the campus coffee shop will serve them fair trade coffee is they ASK for it. We are also writing letters to Starbucks, etc., asking them to make fair trade coffee more of a priority. Lastly, we have been setting up a table every couple of weeks to serve fair trade coffee samples and to raise awareness. Our main weakness is our current lack of active members.
If you have any advice on how to approach non-certified fair trade coffee roasters/buyers please let us know. t
January 2002 (Gretchen Begley and Amy Hansen)
Here at UCSB we have managed to get one of the two main coffee shops on campus to sell Fair Trade coffee just by asking. Right now we are in the process of planning a publicity campaign for the coffee and in that way pressure it to be sold at the other coffee shop (they are both run by the same person.)
We met with the head of UCSB dining services on January 16 but she appeared to be unflexible. Our first priority is to get students to request fair trade coffee. Until then the administration will not give us the time of day. Anyway, we're working hard here and we're hoping for some positive results.
We are interested in working more on Fair Trade and are really looking forward to participating in the Fair Trade Cocoa Day of Action on Valentine's Day, as well as the Folgers Coffee Campaign.
December 2001 (Amy Hansen)
The group I'm part of, PAZ- protesta y apoyo Zapatista, has been trying to bring fair trade coffee to the UCSB campus. We've encountered some obstacles, however, because the dining services claim they use Fair trade Coffee although it is not officially labeled. They also mentioned that they blend a variety of types. I personally feel like they are giving us the run-around but we're still working on it. I thinking about asking them to feature shade-grown, organic coffee from Chiapas (most likely Mut Vitz). Thanks.
*Notes from previous campaigners Shana Singh and Ralph Armbruster-Sandoval*
December 6, 2000 (Shana Singh)
We haven't really been doing fair trade coffee work, at least not yet., but we have been working on other things. I did a brief presentation on fair trade coffee yesterday in a class of mine and got a good response. I have also forwarded the professor one of the last articles you sent out and she will use it in her reader for next year. Protesta y Apoyo, a Chiapas solidarity group, is thinking of doing a Fair Trade Campaign and CLAC may possibly join them. Hopefully it will be a joint effort and we can get other groups like HOLA, El Congreso, etc. involved as well. I just don't want CLAC to be overloaded right now. Also, I am working with the Bookstore Director to get union-made sweatshirts in the bookstore and possibly other fair trade items as well.
14 November 2000 (Shana Singh)
Getting Fair Trade coffee will be part of the agenda for a sweat-free campus. I had a meeting with the Bookstore Director today to discuss union-made sweatshirts in the bookstore. He is open to more fair trade items being sold there in the future. We have yet to begin dialogue with coffee vendors, etc. One of my new professors seems pretty progressive and has discussed food issues in class (Technology and Culture). I plan to give her some information for an overhead to be put up in class to inform people about fair trade, farmworker issues, etc.
April 13, 2000 (Shana Singh)
We organized Fair Trade coffee leaflet event.
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