Companies like World's Finest Chocolate make lots of money selling chocolate to kids, but chocolate is no treat for hundreds of thousands of children working on cocoa farms instead of going to school. Some of these kids work on their poor families' farms while others work for little or no money, even as slaves, on farms far from home.
There is a solution: FAIR TRADE ("Fair Trade Certified" and Fair Trade Federation labels), which gives a fair price to farmers, doesn't allow abusive child labor, and supports the environment. Fair Trade helps farmers send their kids to school, feed their families, and pay their workers. Unfortunately, big companies like World's Finest Chocolate don't sell Fair Trade. You can help cocoa farmers by asking World's Finest Chocolate for Fair Trade; getting your school/club to use Fair Trade for fundraisers, vending machines, and the cafeteria; spreading the word; and more. See the action steps below to get started!
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Get Your School/Club Chocolate Fundraising Program, school vending machines, and school cafeteria to use Fair Trade
Ask your current company to provide Fair Trade, or switch to another company if your current company refuses to offer Fair Trade. We have a guide you can use to educate decision makers about the importance of Fair Trade chocolate and cocoa. Download it here and contact us for help getting started. If you can't download the file contact us to request a copy by mail. Does your school use World's Finest Chocolate? Join our World's Finest Chocolate Campaign and let them know your school cares about fair trade for cocoa farmers and their children! Equal Exchange, Catholic Relief Services, and Lutheran World Relief also offer Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate for use in school, church and community fundraisers.
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SPREAD THE WORD among your friends, school, clubs, and youth-based faith/community groups
Share our flyer for K-12 Students and Teachers
Global Exchange has materials for all grade levels, available here as PDF downloads.
Fair Trade Chocolate Activity Book K-2
Fair Trade Chocolate Activity Book 3-6
Supplemental Valentine's Day Curriculum K-6 (companion to the Activity Books)
Junior High/High School Action Guide
Campus and Community Action Guide/Teacher's Resource Guide
* To open PDF files, you need Acrobat Reader. Get it free here.
If you are having trouble downloading the PDFs we can mail you a copy. A donation of $5-$10 is appreciated to cover costs. Contact our Fair Trade Coordinator at
fairtrade@globalexchange.org, 415-255-7296.
Teachers! Need ideas? Have ideas to share? Check out lesson plans and activity ideas and send yours in!
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LEARN Read our background and news pages, some excellent Educational Materials and Websites, from other organizations, and General Resources on cocoa, chocolate and Fair Trade.
Check out our photos and stories from Nicaraguan Fair Trade cocoa farms. Get a copy of Harvest of Hope, a beautiful book on the Kuapa Kokoo Fair Trade co-op, with 72 color photographs.
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BUY Fair Trade chocolate and cocoa. Look for the "Fair Trade Certified" and Fair Trade Federation labels. ASK local retailers to sell it. Both Oxfam America and Coop America offer materials and resources for approaching your local supermarket chain to demand fair trade and reach out to their many customers, especially around the holidays!
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CONNECT with the Fair Trade community by subscribing to Global Exchange's Fair
Trade listserv. High School and college students: check out United Students for Fair Trade
- SUPPORT the Fair Trade Campaign by becoming a
member
of Global Exchange. Our campaign wouldn't be possible without the support of
concerned people like you!
