For Immediate Release
October 29, 2009
Media Contact: April Thompson
Director of Marketing and Communications
April@GoodWeave.org; Ph. 202-234-9050
GoodWeave™ Program to End Child Labor Announces 8th Annual Rug Raffle
Rugmark USA has just launched its eighth annual rug raffle, offering entrants, for as little as $25, the chance to win a luxurious handmade rug, designed and donated by New York-based Warp & Weft and certified child-labor-free by GoodWeave. Proceeds help support RugMark’s GoodWeave certification program, which works to end illegal child labor in the carpet industry and to offer educational opportunities to children in South Asia.
The 8’ x 10’ rug being raffled, Riviera Caramel, has a retail value of $10,800 and is currently available for viewing at Warp & Weft's DC studio, located in the Washington Design Center. Riviera Caramel is part of Warp & Weft’s Modern & Custom Collection, designed by owner Michael Mandapati. Hand woven in Nepal and made from pure Tibetan wool and Indian mulberry silk, the design echoes differing images from nature, from topographical maps to tree bark. (For more information, on this and the company’s other designs, visit: www.warpandweft.com)
As GoodWeave’s newest industry partner, Mandapati realizes the difference companies working together can make. “With strong child labor laws and with the help of GoodWeave we can make a difference by making it difficult and unprofitable for the practice to continue,” he said.
Every ticket sold helps bring GoodWeave and its nearly 70 importer/designer members one step closer to ending child labor in the handmade rug industry. Raffle tickets are $25 each, 5 for $100 or 12 for $200. The drawing will take place on December 16, 2009, and the winner will be notified the following day. Individuals may purchase tickets at: www.goodweave.org/raffle.
About GoodWeave
The GoodWeave certification program works to end exploitative child labor in the South Asian carpet industry by inspecting weaving looms and providing rehabilitation and education for former child weavers. To date, the GoodWeave program has rescued more than 3,600 children from exploitation on carpet looms and offered them rehabilitation, education, vocational training, and other services. The GoodWeave label is your best assurance that no child labor was used in the manufacture of a carpet or rug. For more information, visit: www.GoodWeave.org.
Pictures of the rug and high resolution versions of the logos are available on request.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Fairtrade Foundation Supporter Conference
Shared Interest Blog
12 Oct 2009
There was an excited ‘buzz’ on Saturday at the Fairtrade Foundation’s Supporter Conference. The announcement that DFID have given £12million pounds to the Fairtrade Foundation started the conference off with a bang. This finance, which will be used to support fair trade producers in achieving fair trade status, was announced by Douglas Alexander to a room of 400 fairtrade supporters. Proceedings moved to the awarding of the Fairtrade Fortnight Awards which were sponsored by the Shared Interest Foundation.
Shared Interest’s involvement didn’t stop with the sponsoring of the awards. The winners of the Outstanding Achievement Award are Burgess Hill Fairtrade Steering Group headed by a Shared Interest Ambassador (Robert Eggleston), the best Fairtrade Event was won by fair trade in Bolton and the event was attended by Ruth Taylor (Supporter Relations officer for the North). Finally, the winning photograph, taken by Simon Kimber, features myself in my much loved fair trade banana costume as I was joined by Shared Interest Ambassador Kim Hull and her daughters at the Fairtrade Fortnight Finale of ‘Go Bananas’, a fair trade flash mob in Trafalgar Square. We were shown the preview of the activities for Fairtrade Fortnight 2010, with the theme ‘The Big Swap’, focusing on getting people to swap their cup of tea for a fair trade cup of tea.
In between the workshops and debate at the conference Shared Interest held a stall in the market place where we were assisted by Ambassador Pat Wallace and visited by Ralph Eales, Iain and Shelagh Baird-Smith as well as numerous members and potential members and Ambassadors. We spoke to many fair trade supporters who were hearing about Shared interest for the first time, which showed we still have a long way to go in disproving our theory that we are ‘Fairtrade’s best kept secret’. However, by getting involved in events such as the Supporter’s Conference we are on our way to becoming ‘Fairtrade’s best known secret’. We need your help in doing this. Do you know a group who would like to hear more about Shared Interest? A school involved in fair trade and may be interested in learning how they can get involved with Shared Interest? Perhaps you could spare some time to join our network of Ambassadors to volunteer time in helping us raise awareness and investment? As Renwick made clear, it is only by working together that we can see the change we want. Many drops make great rivers flow. Join the Ambassadors at: www.shared-interest.com/ambassador
Read more about the conference at: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/news_events_and_urgent_actions/supporter_conference.aspx
12 Oct 2009
There was an excited ‘buzz’ on Saturday at the Fairtrade Foundation’s Supporter Conference. The announcement that DFID have given £12million pounds to the Fairtrade Foundation started the conference off with a bang. This finance, which will be used to support fair trade producers in achieving fair trade status, was announced by Douglas Alexander to a room of 400 fairtrade supporters. Proceedings moved to the awarding of the Fairtrade Fortnight Awards which were sponsored by the Shared Interest Foundation.
Shared Interest’s involvement didn’t stop with the sponsoring of the awards. The winners of the Outstanding Achievement Award are Burgess Hill Fairtrade Steering Group headed by a Shared Interest Ambassador (Robert Eggleston), the best Fairtrade Event was won by fair trade in Bolton and the event was attended by Ruth Taylor (Supporter Relations officer for the North). Finally, the winning photograph, taken by Simon Kimber, features myself in my much loved fair trade banana costume as I was joined by Shared Interest Ambassador Kim Hull and her daughters at the Fairtrade Fortnight Finale of ‘Go Bananas’, a fair trade flash mob in Trafalgar Square. We were shown the preview of the activities for Fairtrade Fortnight 2010, with the theme ‘The Big Swap’, focusing on getting people to swap their cup of tea for a fair trade cup of tea.
In between the workshops and debate at the conference Shared Interest held a stall in the market place where we were assisted by Ambassador Pat Wallace and visited by Ralph Eales, Iain and Shelagh Baird-Smith as well as numerous members and potential members and Ambassadors. We spoke to many fair trade supporters who were hearing about Shared interest for the first time, which showed we still have a long way to go in disproving our theory that we are ‘Fairtrade’s best kept secret’. However, by getting involved in events such as the Supporter’s Conference we are on our way to becoming ‘Fairtrade’s best known secret’. We need your help in doing this. Do you know a group who would like to hear more about Shared Interest? A school involved in fair trade and may be interested in learning how they can get involved with Shared Interest? Perhaps you could spare some time to join our network of Ambassadors to volunteer time in helping us raise awareness and investment? As Renwick made clear, it is only by working together that we can see the change we want. Many drops make great rivers flow. Join the Ambassadors at: www.shared-interest.com/ambassador
Read more about the conference at: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/news_events_and_urgent_actions/supporter_conference.aspx
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Fairtrade coffee farmers battle for survival in Colombia
by Rahilla Zafar, Riosucio, Colombia
INSEAD Knowledge - Best of business research
October 8, 2009
On the hillsides of Riosucio in the Caldas State of Colombia, 62-year-old Edwardo Antonio is one of over 400 Fairtrade coffee farmers. Owning three hectares of land, Antonio used to make a nominal income working as a labourer on large coffee plantations. In the early 1990s, his community of mostly indigenous farmers was given the opportunity to work for themselves and taught how to grow and process world-class coffee sought after by buyers such as Starbucks and Equal Exchange.
“For the first time, we had the opportunity to better our lives and do things such as improve our greenhouse and borrow money to buy land, machinery to peel coffee and (buy) livestock,” he says.
Business was good until 2006 when the co-operative began to feel the impact of the economic downturn. Despite steady demand for Fairtrade coffee, his co-operative Asprocafe began to struggle to make a profit. Over the past three years, the peso-dollar exchange has been volatile, with one dollar ranging from 1,600 to 2,300 pesos. As the third-largest coffee producer behind only Brazil and Vietnam, more than 76 per cent of Colombia’s coffee is produced by small-holder farmers like Antonio. With over four million coffee farmers (10 per cent of the population), Colombia exports nearly 12 million 60 kilogramme bags per year; just over one million bags consist of specialised coffees such as organic and Fairtrade.
The 30-cents bonus farmers receive for growing Fairtrade-certified coffee was enough for the Asprocafe farmers to meet their own needs and also invest in community projects. Each farmer puts in 10 cents of their premium earned per pound into a fund that provides money for school lunches, scholarships, community loans and environmental education.
Asprocafe also uses money from the fund to provide farmers’ bonuses to grow trees organically. Since it takes nearly three years to do that, such bonuses are vital to farmers to make up for lost income.
“We are worried about lending money so freely now, after seeing how the economy was affected in the United States, when so many borrowers suddenly couldn’t pay back (their loans),” says Antonio.
Since 1992, their community has earned $800,000 from Fairtrade coffee exports. But when the economic downturn hit, Asprocafe began using its savings and is now being forced to cut many of its social programmes.
“To really understand the effect of the exchange rate on local coffee prices you have to take into account the way the local market works,” says Giancarlo Ghiretti, Director of Virmax Cafe.
Virmax Cafe works with more than 5,000 small coffee growers, marketing and exporting their coffee to roasters worldwide. The organisation is at the forefront of the high quality ‘specialty’ market for Colombian coffees.
“Our coffees are priced based on their quality and growers receive large premiums (40 to 55 per cent higher than the internal market for blends and more than 100 per cent higher for micro-lots), which they can invest in improving their farms and the quality of their coffee,” says Ghirett.
Local intervention
Colombia, unlike other countries, has a transparent local pricing system whereby local prices are calculated daily based on the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) Colombian Mild Arabicas daily weighted average taking into account factors which include the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) daily settlement, freight prices, maritime insurance, importers fees and the daily official exchange rate. As such, coffee growers are subject to the volatility of both the ICE market (assuming that the other factors in the ICO price stay the same) and the exchange rate.
Colombia is the only country in the world with a National Federation of Coffee Growers (NFC) that pays a subsidy when international prices are low and provides social services and infrastructure improvements in coffee-growing regions. To fund this work, it taxes exports heavily when international prices are high. The Federation, which exports about 2.5 million bags of coffee per year, has also created a Coffee Fund Guarantee programme to underwrite loans to growers from private banks, so helping to remove one of the major obstacles in improving production as small farmers often encounter difficulties in presenting collateral when seeking loans.
The Colombian government recently signed a new agreement to include an income-stabilising provision, guaranteeing a fixed price of 474,400 pesos ($199.22) per 124 kg bag to growers. The price is assumed to cover the coffee production costs and is a noticeable addition to the current coffee policy.
Corporate responsibility versus ‘greenwashing’
Starbucks sees its commitment to Fairtrade as not only fulfilling customer demand but also in holding true to its mission of environmental leadership and providing ethically-sourced coffee. As the largest purchaser of Fairtrade coffee globally, it launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign promoting its ethical values.
“There needs to be a lot of education and awareness around it. Europe is much more aware of Fairtrade. In the UK we offer a Fairtrade drip coffee daily - but not in the US (as) there just is not the same demand,” says Cindy Hoots, a programme manager in Starbucks Corporate Social Responsibility Division.
The coffee giant recently began serving 100 per cent Fairtrade coffee in all of its espresso drinks in the UK and Ireland. Much of the Fairtrade coffee it buys gets mixed in with conventionally grown coffee. Hoots says the company spends around two million dollars in licensing fees per year, which allows Transfair USA, a third-party certifier of Fairtrade products, wiggle room to work with smaller companies that may not be able to afford to pay their licensing fees upfront.
Diversifying productions
Asprocafe is trying to tap into the success of Colombian coffee brand Juan Valdez, created by the NFC in 2002, that has helped position the quality recognition of Colombian coffee worldwide with its 130 locations and also in helping to create a high-end market locally. Asprocafe is currently developing its own high-end brand to enter into the Colombian market as well.
“We have to do different things to earn money and also grow crops other than coffee beans like blackberries and bamboo. Times are bad,” says Antonio.
However Ghiretti cautions farmers, “Other products do not have the same infrastructure, even if farmers want to diversify they would have difficulties accessing markets for their ‘diversified’ production and therefore it would be hard for them to turn their products into cash. This means that any efforts to diversify will most likely be lost.”
Instead he recommends that farmers learn to track their day-to-day expenses and group together in the thousands to have more negotiating leverage with the multinational buyers.
“The tracking of day-to-day expenditure is directly related to their true cost of production, which ideally can lead to more open negotiations that can be profitable for the growers,” adds Ghiretti.
The impact of new government measures and negotiations with coffee buyers remains to be seen. But experiencing economic uncertainty makes it hard for everyone to be hopeful.
“If nothing works, some of us will have to just go back to working for someone else on a big farm,” says Antonio.
INSEAD Knowledge - Best of business research
October 8, 2009
On the hillsides of Riosucio in the Caldas State of Colombia, 62-year-old Edwardo Antonio is one of over 400 Fairtrade coffee farmers. Owning three hectares of land, Antonio used to make a nominal income working as a labourer on large coffee plantations. In the early 1990s, his community of mostly indigenous farmers was given the opportunity to work for themselves and taught how to grow and process world-class coffee sought after by buyers such as Starbucks and Equal Exchange.
“For the first time, we had the opportunity to better our lives and do things such as improve our greenhouse and borrow money to buy land, machinery to peel coffee and (buy) livestock,” he says.Business was good until 2006 when the co-operative began to feel the impact of the economic downturn. Despite steady demand for Fairtrade coffee, his co-operative Asprocafe began to struggle to make a profit. Over the past three years, the peso-dollar exchange has been volatile, with one dollar ranging from 1,600 to 2,300 pesos. As the third-largest coffee producer behind only Brazil and Vietnam, more than 76 per cent of Colombia’s coffee is produced by small-holder farmers like Antonio. With over four million coffee farmers (10 per cent of the population), Colombia exports nearly 12 million 60 kilogramme bags per year; just over one million bags consist of specialised coffees such as organic and Fairtrade.
The 30-cents bonus farmers receive for growing Fairtrade-certified coffee was enough for the Asprocafe farmers to meet their own needs and also invest in community projects. Each farmer puts in 10 cents of their premium earned per pound into a fund that provides money for school lunches, scholarships, community loans and environmental education.
Asprocafe also uses money from the fund to provide farmers’ bonuses to grow trees organically. Since it takes nearly three years to do that, such bonuses are vital to farmers to make up for lost income.
“We are worried about lending money so freely now, after seeing how the economy was affected in the United States, when so many borrowers suddenly couldn’t pay back (their loans),” says Antonio.
Since 1992, their community has earned $800,000 from Fairtrade coffee exports. But when the economic downturn hit, Asprocafe began using its savings and is now being forced to cut many of its social programmes.
“To really understand the effect of the exchange rate on local coffee prices you have to take into account the way the local market works,” says Giancarlo Ghiretti, Director of Virmax Cafe.
Virmax Cafe works with more than 5,000 small coffee growers, marketing and exporting their coffee to roasters worldwide. The organisation is at the forefront of the high quality ‘specialty’ market for Colombian coffees.
“Our coffees are priced based on their quality and growers receive large premiums (40 to 55 per cent higher than the internal market for blends and more than 100 per cent higher for micro-lots), which they can invest in improving their farms and the quality of their coffee,” says Ghirett.
Local interventionColombia, unlike other countries, has a transparent local pricing system whereby local prices are calculated daily based on the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) Colombian Mild Arabicas daily weighted average taking into account factors which include the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) daily settlement, freight prices, maritime insurance, importers fees and the daily official exchange rate. As such, coffee growers are subject to the volatility of both the ICE market (assuming that the other factors in the ICO price stay the same) and the exchange rate.
Colombia is the only country in the world with a National Federation of Coffee Growers (NFC) that pays a subsidy when international prices are low and provides social services and infrastructure improvements in coffee-growing regions. To fund this work, it taxes exports heavily when international prices are high. The Federation, which exports about 2.5 million bags of coffee per year, has also created a Coffee Fund Guarantee programme to underwrite loans to growers from private banks, so helping to remove one of the major obstacles in improving production as small farmers often encounter difficulties in presenting collateral when seeking loans.
The Colombian government recently signed a new agreement to include an income-stabilising provision, guaranteeing a fixed price of 474,400 pesos ($199.22) per 124 kg bag to growers. The price is assumed to cover the coffee production costs and is a noticeable addition to the current coffee policy.
Corporate responsibility versus ‘greenwashing’
Starbucks sees its commitment to Fairtrade as not only fulfilling customer demand but also in holding true to its mission of environmental leadership and providing ethically-sourced coffee. As the largest purchaser of Fairtrade coffee globally, it launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign promoting its ethical values.
“There needs to be a lot of education and awareness around it. Europe is much more aware of Fairtrade. In the UK we offer a Fairtrade drip coffee daily - but not in the US (as) there just is not the same demand,” says Cindy Hoots, a programme manager in Starbucks Corporate Social Responsibility Division.
The coffee giant recently began serving 100 per cent Fairtrade coffee in all of its espresso drinks in the UK and Ireland. Much of the Fairtrade coffee it buys gets mixed in with conventionally grown coffee. Hoots says the company spends around two million dollars in licensing fees per year, which allows Transfair USA, a third-party certifier of Fairtrade products, wiggle room to work with smaller companies that may not be able to afford to pay their licensing fees upfront.
Diversifying productions
Asprocafe is trying to tap into the success of Colombian coffee brand Juan Valdez, created by the NFC in 2002, that has helped position the quality recognition of Colombian coffee worldwide with its 130 locations and also in helping to create a high-end market locally. Asprocafe is currently developing its own high-end brand to enter into the Colombian market as well.
“We have to do different things to earn money and also grow crops other than coffee beans like blackberries and bamboo. Times are bad,” says Antonio.However Ghiretti cautions farmers, “Other products do not have the same infrastructure, even if farmers want to diversify they would have difficulties accessing markets for their ‘diversified’ production and therefore it would be hard for them to turn their products into cash. This means that any efforts to diversify will most likely be lost.”
Instead he recommends that farmers learn to track their day-to-day expenses and group together in the thousands to have more negotiating leverage with the multinational buyers.
“The tracking of day-to-day expenditure is directly related to their true cost of production, which ideally can lead to more open negotiations that can be profitable for the growers,” adds Ghiretti.
The impact of new government measures and negotiations with coffee buyers remains to be seen. But experiencing economic uncertainty makes it hard for everyone to be hopeful.
“If nothing works, some of us will have to just go back to working for someone else on a big farm,” says Antonio.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Dole signs deal to import Fairtrade fruit
Mike Knowles
FruitNet.com
02 October 2009
Multinational reaches agreement with TransFair USA to import Fairtrade-labelled bananas and pineapples into the US
Dole Fresh Fruit has reportedly signed a deal with third-party certifier TransFair USA to import bananas and pineapples under the Fairtrade label.
The agreement, reported in The Packer, would make Dole the largest importer of Fairtrade-certified bananas and pineapples in the US.
“Dole will be working closely with TransFair USA on promotions,” Bil Goldfield, communications manager for Dole Fresh Fruit, confirmed.
According to Mr Goldfield, the company started exporting Fairtrade-certified bananas from Ecuador and Peru to Wal-Mart-owned Sam’s Club outlets in August, and plans to extend the project to include Central and South American organic and conventionally grown pineapples in due course.
The volume of Fairtrade products will initially represent only a small percentage of Dole’s annual volume, The Packer reported.
FruitNet.com
02 October 2009
Multinational reaches agreement with TransFair USA to import Fairtrade-labelled bananas and pineapples into the US Dole Fresh Fruit has reportedly signed a deal with third-party certifier TransFair USA to import bananas and pineapples under the Fairtrade label.
The agreement, reported in The Packer, would make Dole the largest importer of Fairtrade-certified bananas and pineapples in the US.
“Dole will be working closely with TransFair USA on promotions,” Bil Goldfield, communications manager for Dole Fresh Fruit, confirmed.
According to Mr Goldfield, the company started exporting Fairtrade-certified bananas from Ecuador and Peru to Wal-Mart-owned Sam’s Club outlets in August, and plans to extend the project to include Central and South American organic and conventionally grown pineapples in due course.
The volume of Fairtrade products will initially represent only a small percentage of Dole’s annual volume, The Packer reported.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Culture Shop Re-Opens this Saturday, 3rd October!
Culture Shop
Many thanks to everyone who enquired about our journey while we have been preparing for the next chapter of growth and development. A special thank you to those who supported us online during our 9-week "downtime" - it meant alot.
Many of you know the Culture Shop invited a local businessman to open a wine bar and tavern within the Shop's former space. The space buildout is nearly complete and the new space will soon offer a venue we can all be cheery about - a place...where everybody knows your name.
The Culture Shop will occupy a small section of space within the Cedar Crossing Tavern and Wine Bar; as a result, we are excited about the opportunity to build an even stronger name recognition by attracting a wider audience pool to our beautiful community.
We will re-open this Saturday, 3rd October. Stop by to see the beautiful, new space, celebrate a new beginning, and re-acquaint yourself with your favorite things - and enjoy our dazzling new selections from around the world.
Bring yourself, bring a friend, celebrate culture.
Many thanks to everyone who enquired about our journey while we have been preparing for the next chapter of growth and development. A special thank you to those who supported us online during our 9-week "downtime" - it meant alot.
Many of you know the Culture Shop invited a local businessman to open a wine bar and tavern within the Shop's former space. The space buildout is nearly complete and the new space will soon offer a venue we can all be cheery about - a place...where everybody knows your name.
The Culture Shop will occupy a small section of space within the Cedar Crossing Tavern and Wine Bar; as a result, we are excited about the opportunity to build an even stronger name recognition by attracting a wider audience pool to our beautiful community.
We will re-open this Saturday, 3rd October. Stop by to see the beautiful, new space, celebrate a new beginning, and re-acquaint yourself with your favorite things - and enjoy our dazzling new selections from around the world.
Bring yourself, bring a friend, celebrate culture.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Making Fair Trade Fair for all
Shared Interest Blog
29 Sep 2009
My recent visit to South Africa provided me with a number of opportunities to meet those involved and those wishing to become involved in the South African fair trade movement. Whilst in Johannesburg and Cape Town the Shared Interest Foundation ran a number of training days giving those interested in learning more about fair trade the opportunity to do so. Working in partnership with Fetola Mmoho, a corporate social investment organisation, we ran two day long workshops with audiences of around forty each day. These workshops covered the basics of fair trade through to details of where to go next. We had representatives from FLO – Fairtrade Labelling Organisation, FTSA (Fair Trade South Africa, the Fairtrade Foundation’s equivalent in South Africa), SAFN – Southern Africa Fairtrade Network and representatives from existing fair trade organisations, Bean There and the African Toy Shop as well as ourselves from Shared Interest.
Hearing from all these groups I learnt a great deal about the awareness of fair trade and the challenges faced by these groups when operating from a distance. We heard about the FLO standards and the difficulties of these being ‘controlled’ by the FLO base in Germany. A group in Ghana had applied for fair trade certification and were told they had to have exit signs on their walls in order to comply with these. The inspector visited their site, which comprised of an open space with a roof covering their work area held up with pillars. When asked where their exit signs were the group exclaimed that they had no walls to put the signs on so how were they to meet this standard?! Although such stories have a humorous edge it shows the challenges faced by the FLO officials on the ground trying to mediate between the producers and the management.
However, there were more positive stories told. The representative from SAFN was visiting Germany the very next day to propose FLO standards be made for twelve new products from Southern Africa including Marula Fruits, Lemon Concentrate and Pomegranates. We heard stories of the entrepreneurial use of the social premium paid to producers on top of their fair price for their goods. One group bought a truck with their premium and they now offer a transport service, for a fee, to the neighbouring processing organisation and are able to generate further income from this. We heard of Agnes, a coffee producer with 50 trees, who had two children but she could only afford to send one of them to school. When we reach for our pocket to pay the fees for the other child to go to school and return the following year Agnes asks ‘So how will you be paying for the school fees this year? Cheque? Bank Transfer would be good for me’, this creates a dependency. Instead we say Agnes you produce fantastic coffee we want to help you and your community and support you by paying a fair price for your coffee. By buying her fair-trade coffee we can help Agnes pay for her other child to attend school.
29 Sep 2009
My recent visit to South Africa provided me with a number of opportunities to meet those involved and those wishing to become involved in the South African fair trade movement. Whilst in Johannesburg and Cape Town the Shared Interest Foundation ran a number of training days giving those interested in learning more about fair trade the opportunity to do so. Working in partnership with Fetola Mmoho, a corporate social investment organisation, we ran two day long workshops with audiences of around forty each day. These workshops covered the basics of fair trade through to details of where to go next. We had representatives from FLO – Fairtrade Labelling Organisation, FTSA (Fair Trade South Africa, the Fairtrade Foundation’s equivalent in South Africa), SAFN – Southern Africa Fairtrade Network and representatives from existing fair trade organisations, Bean There and the African Toy Shop as well as ourselves from Shared Interest.
Hearing from all these groups I learnt a great deal about the awareness of fair trade and the challenges faced by these groups when operating from a distance. We heard about the FLO standards and the difficulties of these being ‘controlled’ by the FLO base in Germany. A group in Ghana had applied for fair trade certification and were told they had to have exit signs on their walls in order to comply with these. The inspector visited their site, which comprised of an open space with a roof covering their work area held up with pillars. When asked where their exit signs were the group exclaimed that they had no walls to put the signs on so how were they to meet this standard?! Although such stories have a humorous edge it shows the challenges faced by the FLO officials on the ground trying to mediate between the producers and the management.
However, there were more positive stories told. The representative from SAFN was visiting Germany the very next day to propose FLO standards be made for twelve new products from Southern Africa including Marula Fruits, Lemon Concentrate and Pomegranates. We heard stories of the entrepreneurial use of the social premium paid to producers on top of their fair price for their goods. One group bought a truck with their premium and they now offer a transport service, for a fee, to the neighbouring processing organisation and are able to generate further income from this. We heard of Agnes, a coffee producer with 50 trees, who had two children but she could only afford to send one of them to school. When we reach for our pocket to pay the fees for the other child to go to school and return the following year Agnes asks ‘So how will you be paying for the school fees this year? Cheque? Bank Transfer would be good for me’, this creates a dependency. Instead we say Agnes you produce fantastic coffee we want to help you and your community and support you by paying a fair price for your coffee. By buying her fair-trade coffee we can help Agnes pay for her other child to attend school.
Sign a Petition to Stop Uzbek Child Labor on Cotton Fields
by Brett Eisenbrown, Intern, International Labor Rights Forum
Labor is Not a Commodity Blog
29 Sep 2009
Please Join the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and other organizations to call for an end to forced child labor in the Uzbek cotton industry. Help send a message to the Uzbek government by signing a petition today! Supporters that sign the petition by October 2nd will have their names put on a quilt that will be the center piece for a rally that will be held outside the Embassy of Uzbekistan on October 14th in Washington, DC.
Forced child labor is used every harvest season in Uzbekistan and its time to send a clear message that this can't continue. You can download posters about child labor in the cotton industry here.
The human rights concerns surrounding Uzbek cotton production in the United States has lead to not only a call for a boycott of Uzbek cotton from consumers, but also my major retailers. In a article, published in the LA times by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, it stated that: “More than 25 major brands and retailers have joined the campaign to end forced child labor in Uzbekistan, including American Eagle Outfitters, Bed Bath & Beyond, Gap Inc., JC Penney, Kohl's, Levi Strauss & Co., Limited Brands, Nike, Nordstrom, Timberland, TJX Cos. Inc., Phillips-Van Heusen Corp., Target, the Walt Disney Co. and Wal-Mart.”
Located in Central Asia, Uzbekistan is a former soviet republic with an economy that is heavily dependent on agriculture. The most important agricultural crop that is produced in Uzbekistan is cotton or “white gold” as it is sometimes refereed too. Uzbekistan is currently the world’s second largest exporter of cotton in the world and the fifth largest producer, selling over 800,000 tons of cotton a year. Cotton is vital to the Uzbek economy because the crop is worth over US$1 billion. Despite the revenue that the cotton industry produced for Uzbekistan most of this money ends up in the hands of political elites and their allies. The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) reported that cotton farmers in Uzbekistan receive approximately one third of the actual value for their cotton.
The egregious behavior by the Uzbek government in the cotton industry does not end with underpaying farmers, but continues with how the cotton crop is harvested. Unlike most major cotton producing countries in the world, Uzbekistan does not use machines to harvest cotton, but instead uses large amounts of forced child labor. Every year schools are shut down so children, along with their teachers, can work in the cotton fields. Children as young as seven are required to work long hours in order to fill daily government quotas. In 2000, UNICEF reported that an estimated 22.6% of children between the ages of 5 and 14 worked primarily in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan.
While most children are not paid for this work, those that are paid receive around three cents per kilo of cotton picked. The dangerous working conditions have lead to the injuries and deaths of some of these children. Often times, children are housed in poorly maintained dormitories that do not provide proper health, sanitation, and nutritional standards for these child workers.
Those children, parents, or teachers that try to speak out against this practice or refuse to work are likely to suffer physical and mental retaliation from the government. In particular, parents that refuse to send their children may have their utilities turned off or social services cut. In addition, children that do not meet their daily quota are told that their grades might suffer or that they might be expelled from school.
Even though child labor is illegal, according to Uzbek law, the Uzbek government, led by President Islom Karimov, does not deny that children work in the fields, but instead makes it appear as if children are doing this because of feelings of duty. In a report, the EFJ stated that Karimov has continually denied that there is a policy of forced child labor, but instead claims that children volunteer out of a sense of loyalty to their family or community.
Labor is Not a Commodity Blog
29 Sep 2009
Please Join the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and other organizations to call for an end to forced child labor in the Uzbek cotton industry. Help send a message to the Uzbek government by signing a petition today! Supporters that sign the petition by October 2nd will have their names put on a quilt that will be the center piece for a rally that will be held outside the Embassy of Uzbekistan on October 14th in Washington, DC.
Forced child labor is used every harvest season in Uzbekistan and its time to send a clear message that this can't continue. You can download posters about child labor in the cotton industry here.
The human rights concerns surrounding Uzbek cotton production in the United States has lead to not only a call for a boycott of Uzbek cotton from consumers, but also my major retailers. In a article, published in the LA times by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, it stated that: “More than 25 major brands and retailers have joined the campaign to end forced child labor in Uzbekistan, including American Eagle Outfitters, Bed Bath & Beyond, Gap Inc., JC Penney, Kohl's, Levi Strauss & Co., Limited Brands, Nike, Nordstrom, Timberland, TJX Cos. Inc., Phillips-Van Heusen Corp., Target, the Walt Disney Co. and Wal-Mart.”
Located in Central Asia, Uzbekistan is a former soviet republic with an economy that is heavily dependent on agriculture. The most important agricultural crop that is produced in Uzbekistan is cotton or “white gold” as it is sometimes refereed too. Uzbekistan is currently the world’s second largest exporter of cotton in the world and the fifth largest producer, selling over 800,000 tons of cotton a year. Cotton is vital to the Uzbek economy because the crop is worth over US$1 billion. Despite the revenue that the cotton industry produced for Uzbekistan most of this money ends up in the hands of political elites and their allies. The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) reported that cotton farmers in Uzbekistan receive approximately one third of the actual value for their cotton.
The egregious behavior by the Uzbek government in the cotton industry does not end with underpaying farmers, but continues with how the cotton crop is harvested. Unlike most major cotton producing countries in the world, Uzbekistan does not use machines to harvest cotton, but instead uses large amounts of forced child labor. Every year schools are shut down so children, along with their teachers, can work in the cotton fields. Children as young as seven are required to work long hours in order to fill daily government quotas. In 2000, UNICEF reported that an estimated 22.6% of children between the ages of 5 and 14 worked primarily in the cotton industry in Uzbekistan.
While most children are not paid for this work, those that are paid receive around three cents per kilo of cotton picked. The dangerous working conditions have lead to the injuries and deaths of some of these children. Often times, children are housed in poorly maintained dormitories that do not provide proper health, sanitation, and nutritional standards for these child workers.
Those children, parents, or teachers that try to speak out against this practice or refuse to work are likely to suffer physical and mental retaliation from the government. In particular, parents that refuse to send their children may have their utilities turned off or social services cut. In addition, children that do not meet their daily quota are told that their grades might suffer or that they might be expelled from school.
Even though child labor is illegal, according to Uzbek law, the Uzbek government, led by President Islom Karimov, does not deny that children work in the fields, but instead makes it appear as if children are doing this because of feelings of duty. In a report, the EFJ stated that Karimov has continually denied that there is a policy of forced child labor, but instead claims that children volunteer out of a sense of loyalty to their family or community.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Spotlight on Fairtrade Businesses
Shared Interest Blog
28 Sep 2009
Each week, Shared Interest will highlight a business who is actively promoting Fairtrade in their community. This blog post does not imply endorsement by Shared Interest. Please contact us if you would like the ’spotlight’ on your company.
By Hand is based on a simple premise: Beautiful products should not come at the cost of exploitation.
Founded in 2009 by two internationally minded individuals determined to make a difference – one from Indonesia and one from Yorkshire – By Hand is seeking to prove that business can be ethical.
The jewelery and handicrafts in the By Hand catalog are all fair trade and they all originate from the Indonesian island of Bali. Bali is most widely known as a luxury holiday destination, as a paradise island of white sand beaches and stunning landscapes. But Bali is also a place with a great cultural heritage and families who have been producing stunning jewelery and handicrafts for generations. The island was hit hard by the fall in tourism after the terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005 and as a result small producer groups and individuals have lost a lot of their income. By Hand offers a new market for these Balinese producers and at the same time guarantees them a fair price and a business relationship that they can rely on.
Arum Dalu Mekar – a member of the World Fairtrade Organisation – is By Hand’s partner in Bali. Arum Dalu Mekar has been working with Balinese producers for over a decade and during this time has helped the producers to develop better environmental practices and to learn new techniques to complement traditional methods.
Raising the environmental awareness of the producers and encouraging product lines that incorporate recycled materials is another key issue and one that fits in with By Hand’s company ethos of acting in a way that respects the value of natural resources. By Hand works with partners within the UK to offer packaging such as eco jute bags and presentation boxes made from recycled materials. Other materials like envelopes and bubble wrap are recycled too and By Hand even hand-delivers all parcels to the local Post Office, thus cutting out carbon emissions from the use of cars and other vehicles.
In demonstrating ethical and fair trade practices, By Hand hopes to raise awareness of these issues with the general public and to prove that there is an alternative to high street stores and multinational companies with supply chains so long it is almost impossible to know where the goods originated.
Consumers looking to buy jewelery, bags and other accessories no longer need to sacrifice their own values and support stores with questionable company policies. Instead they can make their purchases from small ethical companies, like By Hand, and know where their goods were made and rest assured that the producers are directly benefiting from their purchases. By Hand believes that the exploitation of workers has no place in this world and is living proof that business can be done in a way that benefits everyone involved.
For more information about By Hand and their products and ethical policy, please visit: www.by-hand.co.uk.
28 Sep 2009
Each week, Shared Interest will highlight a business who is actively promoting Fairtrade in their community. This blog post does not imply endorsement by Shared Interest. Please contact us if you would like the ’spotlight’ on your company.
By Hand is based on a simple premise: Beautiful products should not come at the cost of exploitation.
Founded in 2009 by two internationally minded individuals determined to make a difference – one from Indonesia and one from Yorkshire – By Hand is seeking to prove that business can be ethical.
The jewelery and handicrafts in the By Hand catalog are all fair trade and they all originate from the Indonesian island of Bali. Bali is most widely known as a luxury holiday destination, as a paradise island of white sand beaches and stunning landscapes. But Bali is also a place with a great cultural heritage and families who have been producing stunning jewelery and handicrafts for generations. The island was hit hard by the fall in tourism after the terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005 and as a result small producer groups and individuals have lost a lot of their income. By Hand offers a new market for these Balinese producers and at the same time guarantees them a fair price and a business relationship that they can rely on.
Arum Dalu Mekar – a member of the World Fairtrade Organisation – is By Hand’s partner in Bali. Arum Dalu Mekar has been working with Balinese producers for over a decade and during this time has helped the producers to develop better environmental practices and to learn new techniques to complement traditional methods.
Raising the environmental awareness of the producers and encouraging product lines that incorporate recycled materials is another key issue and one that fits in with By Hand’s company ethos of acting in a way that respects the value of natural resources. By Hand works with partners within the UK to offer packaging such as eco jute bags and presentation boxes made from recycled materials. Other materials like envelopes and bubble wrap are recycled too and By Hand even hand-delivers all parcels to the local Post Office, thus cutting out carbon emissions from the use of cars and other vehicles.
In demonstrating ethical and fair trade practices, By Hand hopes to raise awareness of these issues with the general public and to prove that there is an alternative to high street stores and multinational companies with supply chains so long it is almost impossible to know where the goods originated.
Consumers looking to buy jewelery, bags and other accessories no longer need to sacrifice their own values and support stores with questionable company policies. Instead they can make their purchases from small ethical companies, like By Hand, and know where their goods were made and rest assured that the producers are directly benefiting from their purchases. By Hand believes that the exploitation of workers has no place in this world and is living proof that business can be done in a way that benefits everyone involved.
For more information about By Hand and their products and ethical policy, please visit: www.by-hand.co.uk.
Initial thoughts of Fair Trade in South Africa
Shared Interest Blog
28 Sep 2009
My last visit to South Africa was over ten years ago and involved me spending four out of five weeks of my visit there in a compound house with the family friend I was staying with during my school summer holidays when I was sixteen. The other week was spent in Kruger Park witnessing the relative freedom experienced by the ‘Big Five’ in contrast to my feelings of being a caged animal in the compound home. While understanding the reasons for compound living I have always been keen to learn more about this beautiful, diverse and fascinating country. When the opportunity to visit South Africa to engage with some fair trade training organised by Shared Interest Foundation as well as opportunities to visit a number of producers, both fair trade and those wishing to move towards this, I appreciated the chance to return.
From the plane my view of Cape Town was breath taking. The clouds parted to allow a fantastic view and the first image to greet me was Robben Island, as ‘home’ to Nelson Mandela for many, many years this was an instant reminder of the history of this nation. Table Mountain also stood proud seeming to observe all below it, there is an understanding in South Africa that Cape Tonians are the most relaxed because they ‘have the mountain’.
Our first day of visits to producers looking at becoming fair trade gave me an initial insight into the movement in South Africa. There was much discussion around ‘We are fair trade already we just need to get certified’, ‘I’m not so sure what is involved but I think we do it all anyway and our buyers are asking us to become fair trade’. So many of the projects we heard about were already taking opportunities and turning them into real actions for disadvantaged groups to transform their own lives. The first, a women’s group called Equip, working to empower the women of Diepsloot, a township outside Johannesburg, with sewing, craft and beading skills. Waste 2 Wow, a bag producing company who use advertising banners and turn them into bags which currently employs ten staff but has the capacity to grow and employ a hundred and more. Thandi, a fair-trade wine producer, who are committed to growing their market in South Africa and in Europe show determination to develop themselves.
Overwhelmingly there were thoughts that fair trade was something which was beneficial and would bring better times to those who have had such a divided and difficult history. Fair trade seems very closely connected to the black empowerment movement in South Africa with certain percentages of black ownership required. Although these difficulties are still present there is a feeling of hope and determination to empower, to enable development, with fair trade considered a component part of this path.
28 Sep 2009
My last visit to South Africa was over ten years ago and involved me spending four out of five weeks of my visit there in a compound house with the family friend I was staying with during my school summer holidays when I was sixteen. The other week was spent in Kruger Park witnessing the relative freedom experienced by the ‘Big Five’ in contrast to my feelings of being a caged animal in the compound home. While understanding the reasons for compound living I have always been keen to learn more about this beautiful, diverse and fascinating country. When the opportunity to visit South Africa to engage with some fair trade training organised by Shared Interest Foundation as well as opportunities to visit a number of producers, both fair trade and those wishing to move towards this, I appreciated the chance to return.
From the plane my view of Cape Town was breath taking. The clouds parted to allow a fantastic view and the first image to greet me was Robben Island, as ‘home’ to Nelson Mandela for many, many years this was an instant reminder of the history of this nation. Table Mountain also stood proud seeming to observe all below it, there is an understanding in South Africa that Cape Tonians are the most relaxed because they ‘have the mountain’.
Our first day of visits to producers looking at becoming fair trade gave me an initial insight into the movement in South Africa. There was much discussion around ‘We are fair trade already we just need to get certified’, ‘I’m not so sure what is involved but I think we do it all anyway and our buyers are asking us to become fair trade’. So many of the projects we heard about were already taking opportunities and turning them into real actions for disadvantaged groups to transform their own lives. The first, a women’s group called Equip, working to empower the women of Diepsloot, a township outside Johannesburg, with sewing, craft and beading skills. Waste 2 Wow, a bag producing company who use advertising banners and turn them into bags which currently employs ten staff but has the capacity to grow and employ a hundred and more. Thandi, a fair-trade wine producer, who are committed to growing their market in South Africa and in Europe show determination to develop themselves.
Overwhelmingly there were thoughts that fair trade was something which was beneficial and would bring better times to those who have had such a divided and difficult history. Fair trade seems very closely connected to the black empowerment movement in South Africa with certain percentages of black ownership required. Although these difficulties are still present there is a feeling of hope and determination to empower, to enable development, with fair trade considered a component part of this path.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Fair For Life celebrates its Third Anniversary
Fair for Life – a Successful Fair Trade Certification Programme Celebrates its Third Anniversary
IMO Press Release
September 18, 2009 – Exactly three years ago, in September 2006, a new Social and Fair Trade Program was launched by the Swiss Bio-Foundation, in cooperation with the Institute for Marketecology (IMO): Fair for Life. It all started with a handful of relatively small but dedicated companies and their supply chains, who set off to establish a fair trade certification program that would work independent of the traditional FLO / Transfair Fairtrade system. This new certification program created an opportunity for all serious fair trade producers and products that had not previously been eligible for fair trade certification.
Three years ago - A pioneering effort …
While hundreds of companies and organizations operated with in-house fair trade programs without having them certified by a third party, there was a pioneering effort in the fair trade movement to develop a certification system that could open the fast growing fair trade market to all types of natural products. It was thought that this certification should work for all types of production systems, and push the existing fair trade envelope by going beyond what already existed. Hence, the name: Fair for Life. From the very beginning, ‘Life’ was in the centre of the new program: improving the lives and livelihoods of marginalized producers on all continents, in all societies and in all industries where such marginalization occurs. But ‘Life’ is no privilege of humans; meaningful consideration of the lives of animals and plants as well as their habitats is part of the environmental criteria of Fair for Life, as symbolized by the label’s twin leaf.
… Today - A powerful movement
“Fair for Life allowed a new view on fair trade by taking a closer look at the supply chains of a product, from production to processing, trade and sales”, explains Dr. Rainer Bächi, director of IMO. ”While initially this was an experiment undertaken by IMO and the Bio-Foundation, the program has since become part of a powerful movement.” Fair for Life opened fair trade certification to many new producers and widened the traditional fair trade definitions, by providing a stringent standard and certification system that is free of political, religious or economic preferences and that has ‘Life’ in its heart.
Certification by a flexible but stringent and transparent program While Fair for Life’s comprehensiveness and flexibility are characteristics well appreciated by clients, the program’s rigor and stringency in implementation certainly
were a challenge for many operators. Although certification from Year One is not an
easy goal because of Fair for Life’s detailed requirements on social responsibility, health and safety, working conditions and fair relationships between partners in the trade chain, many producers, traders and buyers worked hard and ultimately succeeded in complying with the requirements and obtaining certification.
“Looking back on three years of program implementation, Fair for Life has contributed to improved income and livelihoods of thousands of workers, smallholders, and plantation farmers and employees in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas”, notes Wolfgang Kathe, head of the Social and FairTrade Department at IMO. The www.fairforlife.net website illustrates the program’s transparency approach: on this website all relevant information on certified companies (including performance at the latest audit) and products is published.
Serving as a benchmark
Fair for Life, however, does not only work within the more or less rigid scope of a certification program. It is also being used to verify the performance of larger companies with regard to their own social or fair trade principles, policies and related compliance claims.
Three years ago, nobody involved in the development and implementation of Fair for Life knew if this approach would be successful. Today, it is obvious that fair trade needed this new perspective and approach. Creating a high quality Social and FairTrade Program and label with only little marketing and PR funds relying on client networks and information systems has been a challenging enterprise but it has paid off. Fair for Life has become a well known and fast growing segment of ethical and fair markets.
For more information, please visit the web sites: www.fairforlife.net and www.imo.ch, or contact Julia Edmaier at (+41) – 71 – 6260683 or by email at: info@fairforlife.net
IMO Press ReleaseSeptember 18, 2009 – Exactly three years ago, in September 2006, a new Social and Fair Trade Program was launched by the Swiss Bio-Foundation, in cooperation with the Institute for Marketecology (IMO): Fair for Life. It all started with a handful of relatively small but dedicated companies and their supply chains, who set off to establish a fair trade certification program that would work independent of the traditional FLO / Transfair Fairtrade system. This new certification program created an opportunity for all serious fair trade producers and products that had not previously been eligible for fair trade certification.
Three years ago - A pioneering effort …
While hundreds of companies and organizations operated with in-house fair trade programs without having them certified by a third party, there was a pioneering effort in the fair trade movement to develop a certification system that could open the fast growing fair trade market to all types of natural products. It was thought that this certification should work for all types of production systems, and push the existing fair trade envelope by going beyond what already existed. Hence, the name: Fair for Life. From the very beginning, ‘Life’ was in the centre of the new program: improving the lives and livelihoods of marginalized producers on all continents, in all societies and in all industries where such marginalization occurs. But ‘Life’ is no privilege of humans; meaningful consideration of the lives of animals and plants as well as their habitats is part of the environmental criteria of Fair for Life, as symbolized by the label’s twin leaf.
… Today - A powerful movement
“Fair for Life allowed a new view on fair trade by taking a closer look at the supply chains of a product, from production to processing, trade and sales”, explains Dr. Rainer Bächi, director of IMO. ”While initially this was an experiment undertaken by IMO and the Bio-Foundation, the program has since become part of a powerful movement.” Fair for Life opened fair trade certification to many new producers and widened the traditional fair trade definitions, by providing a stringent standard and certification system that is free of political, religious or economic preferences and that has ‘Life’ in its heart.
Certification by a flexible but stringent and transparent program While Fair for Life’s comprehensiveness and flexibility are characteristics well appreciated by clients, the program’s rigor and stringency in implementation certainly
were a challenge for many operators. Although certification from Year One is not an
easy goal because of Fair for Life’s detailed requirements on social responsibility, health and safety, working conditions and fair relationships between partners in the trade chain, many producers, traders and buyers worked hard and ultimately succeeded in complying with the requirements and obtaining certification.
“Looking back on three years of program implementation, Fair for Life has contributed to improved income and livelihoods of thousands of workers, smallholders, and plantation farmers and employees in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas”, notes Wolfgang Kathe, head of the Social and FairTrade Department at IMO. The www.fairforlife.net website illustrates the program’s transparency approach: on this website all relevant information on certified companies (including performance at the latest audit) and products is published.
Serving as a benchmark
Fair for Life, however, does not only work within the more or less rigid scope of a certification program. It is also being used to verify the performance of larger companies with regard to their own social or fair trade principles, policies and related compliance claims.
Three years ago, nobody involved in the development and implementation of Fair for Life knew if this approach would be successful. Today, it is obvious that fair trade needed this new perspective and approach. Creating a high quality Social and FairTrade Program and label with only little marketing and PR funds relying on client networks and information systems has been a challenging enterprise but it has paid off. Fair for Life has become a well known and fast growing segment of ethical and fair markets.
For more information, please visit the web sites: www.fairforlife.net and www.imo.ch, or contact Julia Edmaier at (+41) – 71 – 6260683 or by email at: info@fairforlife.net
Ethical Trading Initiative Training Programme
ETI training programmeOur practical training programme will help you build the necessary skills and understanding to manage, monitor and improve conditions for workers in global supply chains.
Comprising four one-day workshops, the training focuses on building the foundations of a sound ethical trade policy and strategy, as well as addressing the more challenging and emerging aspects of ethical trade.
The training is designed for staff within retailer and supplier companies who are responsible for implementing codes of labour practice, and for trade union and NGO representatives who promote ethical trade.
Cost per workshop
Companies/for profit organisations £330 + VAT
Not-for-profit organisations £220 + VAT
ETI member companies £210 + VAT
ETI trade unions and NGOs £160 + VAT
**Special offer: book all 4 workshops at once and only pay for 3!
For booking enquiries, email training@eti.org.uk or call +44(0) 207 841 4350
About ETIThe Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is a ground-breaking alliance of companies, trade unions and voluntary organisations. We work in partnership to improve the lives of workers across the globe who make or grow consumer goods - everything from tea to T-shirts, from flowers to footballs.
Our vision is a world where all workers are free from exploitation and discrimination, and work in conditions of freedom, security and equity. This year our corporate members' ethical trade activities touched the lives of over 8.6 million workers.
What is ethical trade?
Ethical trade means that retailers, brands and their suppliers take responsibility for improving the working conditions of the people who make the products they sell. Most of these workers are employed by supplier companies around the world, many of them based in poor countries where laws designed to protect workers' rights are inadequate or not enforced.
Companies with a commitment to ethical trade adopt a code of labour practice that they expect all their suppliers to work towards. Such codes address issues like wages, hours of work, health and safety and the right to join free trade unions.
Why is ETI needed?
'Doing' ethical trade is much harder than it sounds. Modern supply chains are vast, complex and span the globe. Labour issues are themselves challenging. For example, what exactly is ‘a living wage'? What should a company do if it finds children working in a supplier's worksite? Evicting children from the workplace can, paradoxically, make their lives worse.
ETI brings corporate, trade union and voluntary sector members together in a unique alliance that enables us to collectively tackle many thorny issues that cannot be addressed by individual companies working alone.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fair Trade in Your Home
The Trade as One Team
Trade As One
Tue, 22 Sep 2009
Since Trade as One launched three years ago, we’ve been looking for new ways to turn anyone and everyone into an ambassador for fair trade. The goal has always been to help give our supporters the tools to use their voice and their experience to spread the word about this simple idea, and we are now launching a new way to get involved. We’ve spent a good part of 2009 developing the tools and testing the program, and we’re excited to announce the launch of Fair Traders.
Fair Traders is a simple and unique way for anyone to bring the fair trade idea into a home or small group gathering. We hate high-pressure sales, so there's none of that. Instead we focused on making it easy to inform and inspire your friends to join you in pursuing a fairer world.
As a Fair Trader, you can get involved in a way that suits you. We supply information and resources to make it easy, and we give you a discount on products that you can either keep for yourself or sell to guests at a home party.
We’ve put together some tools for you to use as well, both video and printed content that will explain fair trade and help your friends understand that their purchasing can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. All fair traders will receive a special host discount so that you can show your guests the quality of the products available through Trade as One. You can do your holiday shopping with this discount, and spread the enthusiasm to others.
This is the ideal time of year to plan a home party and we’d love to hear from you to let you know more. Home parties can be large or small and we will give you the resources you need. You can get more information and sign up here
Thanks so much for your commitment to us, and for using your resources and networks to fight poverty, HIV/AIDS, and slavery the world over.
Much Respect,
The Trade as One Team
Trade As One
Tue, 22 Sep 2009
Since Trade as One launched three years ago, we’ve been looking for new ways to turn anyone and everyone into an ambassador for fair trade. The goal has always been to help give our supporters the tools to use their voice and their experience to spread the word about this simple idea, and we are now launching a new way to get involved. We’ve spent a good part of 2009 developing the tools and testing the program, and we’re excited to announce the launch of Fair Traders.
Fair Traders is a simple and unique way for anyone to bring the fair trade idea into a home or small group gathering. We hate high-pressure sales, so there's none of that. Instead we focused on making it easy to inform and inspire your friends to join you in pursuing a fairer world.
As a Fair Trader, you can get involved in a way that suits you. We supply information and resources to make it easy, and we give you a discount on products that you can either keep for yourself or sell to guests at a home party.
We’ve put together some tools for you to use as well, both video and printed content that will explain fair trade and help your friends understand that their purchasing can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. All fair traders will receive a special host discount so that you can show your guests the quality of the products available through Trade as One. You can do your holiday shopping with this discount, and spread the enthusiasm to others.
This is the ideal time of year to plan a home party and we’d love to hear from you to let you know more. Home parties can be large or small and we will give you the resources you need. You can get more information and sign up here
Thanks so much for your commitment to us, and for using your resources and networks to fight poverty, HIV/AIDS, and slavery the world over.
Much Respect,
The Trade as One Team
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Seeking fair trade online retailers
Deadline: 11:09am PACIFIC - 18 September
Forbes has just done a great story on Ten Thousand Villages which is a US-based fair trade retailer. Customers who buy their handmade jewelry, home decor and gifts helps improve the lives of thousands of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
I'd like to do a blog post on a number of fair trade websites all over the world which allow people to buy anniversary, birthday, Christmas, housewarming, wedding gifts etc and to help others in the same way.
If you are - or represent a fair trade etailer - please contact me with details about what countries you support and the types of items you sell.
Please note, you must have a fair trade website that people can buy gifts from, not just a bricks-and-mortar store.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Elizabeth Ball
Blogger, Gifts By The Stars
itsinthestars@rocketmail.com
http://gifts-by-the-stars-online.com
Forbes has just done a great story on Ten Thousand Villages which is a US-based fair trade retailer. Customers who buy their handmade jewelry, home decor and gifts helps improve the lives of thousands of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
I'd like to do a blog post on a number of fair trade websites all over the world which allow people to buy anniversary, birthday, Christmas, housewarming, wedding gifts etc and to help others in the same way.
If you are - or represent a fair trade etailer - please contact me with details about what countries you support and the types of items you sell.
Please note, you must have a fair trade website that people can buy gifts from, not just a bricks-and-mortar store.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Elizabeth Ball
Blogger, Gifts By The Stars
itsinthestars@rocketmail.com
http://gifts-by-the-stars-online.com
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Fair Trade Ramadan and Eid al Fitr
Equal Exchange Newsletter
Tue, 15 Sep 2009
This year, starting on August 20th, Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan, a month of fasting and reflection in order to gain greater personal self-knowledge.
Eid al Fitr starts the day after Ramadan ends. Saadia Abdu of Islamic Relief USA (IR USA), our newest Interfaith Program partner, describes Eid al Fitr as a “joyous celebration…a time of prayer, celebration with family and friends, and reflection on the Ramadan fast.” On Eid al Fitr most mosques serve coffee, tea, and breakfast foods after morning prayer or families go out for breakfast or brunch afterwards. IR USA encourages the Islamic community to serve Equal Exchange fairly traded tea, coffee, chocolate, nuts, and berries at mosques or family get-togethers.
If you or your organization would like to participate in the Islamic Relief USA Fair Trade Project activities, here are some suggestions:
* Mosques can serve Equal Exchange tea and coffee following taraweeh prayer
* Mosques can purchase and sell Equal Exchange coffees, teas, and snacks to use as gifts for Eid al Fitr
* Muslim Student Associations and student groups can serve Equal Exchange beverages or snacks at iftar (the evening breaking of the fast) and other events
* Organizations may participate in two Islamic Relief projects at once by holding a malaria-awareness "Bite the Bug" event (like "United Against Malaria") using and selling Equal Exchange goods
* Groups can sell "Ramadan Baskets" containing Equal Exchange goods, such as small-scale farmer tea, and info on Ramadan that can be distributed to neighbors, co-workers, and others.
Be sure to check out the new IR USA website, which highlights the Islamic Relief Fair Trade Project at: www.equalexchange.coop/islamicrelief.
Tue, 15 Sep 2009
This year, starting on August 20th, Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan, a month of fasting and reflection in order to gain greater personal self-knowledge.
Eid al Fitr starts the day after Ramadan ends. Saadia Abdu of Islamic Relief USA (IR USA), our newest Interfaith Program partner, describes Eid al Fitr as a “joyous celebration…a time of prayer, celebration with family and friends, and reflection on the Ramadan fast.” On Eid al Fitr most mosques serve coffee, tea, and breakfast foods after morning prayer or families go out for breakfast or brunch afterwards. IR USA encourages the Islamic community to serve Equal Exchange fairly traded tea, coffee, chocolate, nuts, and berries at mosques or family get-togethers.
If you or your organization would like to participate in the Islamic Relief USA Fair Trade Project activities, here are some suggestions:
* Mosques can serve Equal Exchange tea and coffee following taraweeh prayer
* Mosques can purchase and sell Equal Exchange coffees, teas, and snacks to use as gifts for Eid al Fitr
* Muslim Student Associations and student groups can serve Equal Exchange beverages or snacks at iftar (the evening breaking of the fast) and other events
* Organizations may participate in two Islamic Relief projects at once by holding a malaria-awareness "Bite the Bug" event (like "United Against Malaria") using and selling Equal Exchange goods
* Groups can sell "Ramadan Baskets" containing Equal Exchange goods, such as small-scale farmer tea, and info on Ramadan that can be distributed to neighbors, co-workers, and others.
Be sure to check out the new IR USA website, which highlights the Islamic Relief Fair Trade Project at: www.equalexchange.coop/islamicrelief.
New Product from Global Exchange!!! Afghan Soap
Global Exchange Online Store News
Tue, 15 Sep 2009
Global Exchange is proud to present wonderful hand crafted, cold press soap from Afghanistan.
Crafted by the Arghand Co-operative, the income generated from the sales of this soap is making a huge difference to the lives of Afghan farmers in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan, an area once fabled for its rich soils, orchards and fruits.
The Kandahar region in Afghanistan has suffered hugely with almost non-stop fighting since 1980. On top of the trials of war came a seven-year drought, lasting till 2003. The region's once fabled orchards have mostly been decimated. The Arghand trust, and the income generated help farmers replant their orchards, repair their irrigation systems, and help prevent diversification into opium poppy farming.
The Arghand trust and co-operative was founded in 2005, by Sarah Chayes, a former National Public Radio reporter who stayed behind in Afghanistan to help rebuild the war-torn country. She and a handful of loyal and daring Kandaharis decided to explore a notion for how to add value to celebrated local fruit crops. Given the explosion in international demand for fine natural skin-care products, and the abundance of their raw materials in the orchards of southern Afghanistan, Arghand members decided to try to carve out a place for Afghanistan in this young market.
The result? Global Exchange now offers a set of three beautifully handcrafted soaps with ingredients from the legendary fruits of Kandahar, Afghanistan that includes:
Amandine (with palm and coconut oils, apricot kernel oils, sweet almond, cold pressed wild almond and almond extract). The oil of the tiny wild almonds, which grow in the highlands above Kandahar, gives this soap its character. A flat white oval, lightly colored with a swirl of wild almond butter.
Kandahar Rose (with palm and coconut oils, cold pressed sweet almond and pomegranate seed oils, and essential oil of Rosa damascena). So ancient is the tradition of distilling the essence of the "Kandahar Rose" (Rosa damascena) in Kandahar, that the very word for rose is "flower-water flower." Egg-shaped, white with a swirl of pink.
Pomegranate (with palm and coconut oils, cold pressed sweet almond and pomegranate oils, pomegranate concentrate). This soap, fragrance-free and rich in pomegranate seed oil, is especially suited to sensitive skin. Round, deep red. Pomegranate has anti-oxydant and cancer-fighting properties, as well as being proven to regenerate skin cells.
Order Online at: www.globalexchangestore.org/Aghan-Rock-Soap
Tue, 15 Sep 2009
Global Exchange is proud to present wonderful hand crafted, cold press soap from Afghanistan.
Crafted by the Arghand Co-operative, the income generated from the sales of this soap is making a huge difference to the lives of Afghan farmers in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan, an area once fabled for its rich soils, orchards and fruits.
The Kandahar region in Afghanistan has suffered hugely with almost non-stop fighting since 1980. On top of the trials of war came a seven-year drought, lasting till 2003. The region's once fabled orchards have mostly been decimated. The Arghand trust, and the income generated help farmers replant their orchards, repair their irrigation systems, and help prevent diversification into opium poppy farming.
The Arghand trust and co-operative was founded in 2005, by Sarah Chayes, a former National Public Radio reporter who stayed behind in Afghanistan to help rebuild the war-torn country. She and a handful of loyal and daring Kandaharis decided to explore a notion for how to add value to celebrated local fruit crops. Given the explosion in international demand for fine natural skin-care products, and the abundance of their raw materials in the orchards of southern Afghanistan, Arghand members decided to try to carve out a place for Afghanistan in this young market.
The result? Global Exchange now offers a set of three beautifully handcrafted soaps with ingredients from the legendary fruits of Kandahar, Afghanistan that includes:
Amandine (with palm and coconut oils, apricot kernel oils, sweet almond, cold pressed wild almond and almond extract). The oil of the tiny wild almonds, which grow in the highlands above Kandahar, gives this soap its character. A flat white oval, lightly colored with a swirl of wild almond butter.
Kandahar Rose (with palm and coconut oils, cold pressed sweet almond and pomegranate seed oils, and essential oil of Rosa damascena). So ancient is the tradition of distilling the essence of the "Kandahar Rose" (Rosa damascena) in Kandahar, that the very word for rose is "flower-water flower." Egg-shaped, white with a swirl of pink.
Pomegranate (with palm and coconut oils, cold pressed sweet almond and pomegranate oils, pomegranate concentrate). This soap, fragrance-free and rich in pomegranate seed oil, is especially suited to sensitive skin. Round, deep red. Pomegranate has anti-oxydant and cancer-fighting properties, as well as being proven to regenerate skin cells.
Order Online at: www.globalexchangestore.org/Aghan-Rock-Soap
International Youth For Fair Trade Conference 2009
International Youth For Fair Trade Conference 2009
Friday, 30 October - Sunday, 1 November
Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom
Aged 18–25? Interested in learning more about Fair Trade?
Then sign up for the 'must do' Fair Trade event of the year!
Whether you are new to Fair Trade or been working on it for years - this conference is for you!
The programme is crammed full of speakers, workshops and films to inspire you. You’ll learn how to take action on Trade Justice in our creative campaign action workshop. If you’re interested in the Fair Trade issue, or want to find out how to make your campaigns go further, there's a wide range of activities to capture your imagination.
This international conference will let you meet people from all over the world in the struggle towards a fairer trading world. You can share best practice on a number of issues around Fair Trade and learn how to influence the leaders of the world's nations and companies.
Click here to go to the registration form or read on for more information...
When?
Registration from 5pm Friday 30th October
Conference Closes 5pm Sunday 1st November 2009
Where?
The conference is being held at Coventry University with registration in the Alan Berry Building, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB. Click here for map
About the Weekend
Speakers include John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want and Barbara Crowther, Director of Communications and Policy, Fairtrade Foundation.
Workshops and Presentations - a choice of informative and interactive workshops including Live link-up with Fairtrade cocoa producers from Ghana: Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative, People & Planet, Blind Taste Testing of Divine Chocolate
Fair Trade Films
Panel Debate - does the label go far enough?
Social Event and Networking - on Saturday Evening we will be holding a Samba drumming workshop that should make the evening go with a swing - meet others with similar interests while you're winding down and make links that will help your projects in the future.
Further Information
Places are only £29.90 each, or £27.60 if booked before 15th September. Places are limited and filling fast so book now! If you require assistance with the costs of the places then contact us before you book your place. Email: david.williams@coventrycathedral.org.uk
Accommodation: a number of budget hotels are conveniently located within easy walking distance of the conference venue. Alternatively a sports hall floor (with showers and toilets) has been booked in the city centre for those who wish to bring their own sleeping bags. This can be booked at the very reasonable rate of £5.75 per person per night (note that it comes up as a workshop option as you go through the booking process). (Hall floor: breakfast is not included).
Register Here
Click here to go to the registration form
Any questions?
If you have any questions please contact the Youth for Fair Trade Office via e-mail: david.williams@coventrycathedral.org.uk, or call 024 7652 1265 (+44 24 7652 1265 from outside the UK).
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Friday, 30 October - Sunday, 1 November
Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom
Aged 18–25? Interested in learning more about Fair Trade?
Then sign up for the 'must do' Fair Trade event of the year!
Whether you are new to Fair Trade or been working on it for years - this conference is for you!
The programme is crammed full of speakers, workshops and films to inspire you. You’ll learn how to take action on Trade Justice in our creative campaign action workshop. If you’re interested in the Fair Trade issue, or want to find out how to make your campaigns go further, there's a wide range of activities to capture your imagination.
This international conference will let you meet people from all over the world in the struggle towards a fairer trading world. You can share best practice on a number of issues around Fair Trade and learn how to influence the leaders of the world's nations and companies.
Click here to go to the registration form or read on for more information...
When?
Registration from 5pm Friday 30th October
Conference Closes 5pm Sunday 1st November 2009
Where?
The conference is being held at Coventry University with registration in the Alan Berry Building, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB. Click here for map
About the Weekend
Speakers include John Hilary, Executive Director, War on Want and Barbara Crowther, Director of Communications and Policy, Fairtrade Foundation.
Workshops and Presentations - a choice of informative and interactive workshops including Live link-up with Fairtrade cocoa producers from Ghana: Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative, People & Planet, Blind Taste Testing of Divine Chocolate
Fair Trade Films
Panel Debate - does the label go far enough?
Social Event and Networking - on Saturday Evening we will be holding a Samba drumming workshop that should make the evening go with a swing - meet others with similar interests while you're winding down and make links that will help your projects in the future.
Further Information
Places are only £29.90 each, or £27.60 if booked before 15th September. Places are limited and filling fast so book now! If you require assistance with the costs of the places then contact us before you book your place. Email: david.williams@coventrycathedral.org.uk
Accommodation: a number of budget hotels are conveniently located within easy walking distance of the conference venue. Alternatively a sports hall floor (with showers and toilets) has been booked in the city centre for those who wish to bring their own sleeping bags. This can be booked at the very reasonable rate of £5.75 per person per night (note that it comes up as a workshop option as you go through the booking process). (Hall floor: breakfast is not included).
Register Here
Click here to go to the registration form
Any questions?
If you have any questions please contact the Youth for Fair Trade Office via e-mail: david.williams@coventrycathedral.org.uk, or call 024 7652 1265 (+44 24 7652 1265 from outside the UK).
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Investing in Fair Trade Versus Donor Aid
Shared Interest Blog
by Lisa Zaslow, Founder, Blue People Fair Trade Ltd.
15 Sep 2009
Lisa Zaslow is a guest blogger and the views expressed herein are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of Shared Interest Society.
Lisa is a passionate fair trade and microfinance activist currently living in North Carolina, USA. She is the founder of Blue People Fair Trade Ltd., an online store that specializes in fair trade and environmentally friendly accessories from all over the world. If you would like to be a guest blogger for Shared Interest, please contact: patrick.dodd@shared-interest.com.
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 often, we assume that we know what is best for Africans. Yet, after 50 years of aid, half the population of sub-Saharan Africa is still living in extreme poverty. According to figures from the World Bank, the number of poor people in Africa has doubled from 200 million in 1981 to 380 million in 2005. Although the numbers are staggering, Wainaina has discerned that prolonged donor aid sometimes has a debilitating psychological effect on the very people it is seeking to help. He says, “a lot of people arrive in Africa to assume that it’s a blank, empty place and their goodwill and desire and guilt will fix it. And that to me is not any different from the first people who arrived to colonize us.”
Wainaina maintains that “the single thing that has changed the lives of millions of Kenyans in the last ten or fifteen years has been the rearrangement of the banking capital to serve the small Kenyan….the micro-lending banks, scaling up the idea that somebody who earns a thousand shillings a month is bankable and someone to invest in and be able to create a model for that person to acquire credit in a reasonable way and grow, that has mattered more than a donor or all of the donor things, because it believes in the idea that the person on the ground has an idea and that idea can be serviced.”
And if there is one thing that Wainaina wants people in the West to know, it is that “where these things work is where people do it themselves…you go back from 1940 until now. Any countries that have done well for themselves and have managed to do positive things and that have changed the lives of the large parts of their countries have done so on their own effort.”
He goes on to say that the projects that DO tend to work are “…projects where you have a very long relationship with people and you understand their value. And they do things themselves, very much on the ground, very sensible….they get the community participating….it’s very cost-effective and it’s very natural and it’s a part of our lives.”
When you invest in Shared Interest, you are investing in a lender that has been involved and on the ground for over 20 years. They work extensively with community based businesses in Africa and other countries to make the most of fair trade by providing capital up front for producers and longer term loans to support the purchase of infrastructure such as machinery, buildings and vehicles for growing businesses.
So when you are trying to decide whether to invest or to give…think about investing, because in the end we need to see Africa’s promise alongside its problems in order to participate attentively in its future.
Read more about Blue People Fair Trade Ltd. at: www.bluepeoplefairtrade.com
by Lisa Zaslow, Founder, Blue People Fair Trade Ltd.
15 Sep 2009
Lisa Zaslow is a guest blogger and the views expressed herein are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of Shared Interest Society.Lisa is a passionate fair trade and microfinance activist currently living in North Carolina, USA. She is the founder of Blue People Fair Trade Ltd., an online store that specializes in fair trade and environmentally friendly accessories from all over the world. If you would like to be a guest blogger for Shared Interest, please contact: patrick.dodd@shared-interest.com.
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 often, we assume that we know what is best for Africans. Yet, after 50 years of aid, half the population of sub-Saharan Africa is still living in extreme poverty. According to figures from the World Bank, the number of poor people in Africa has doubled from 200 million in 1981 to 380 million in 2005. Although the numbers are staggering, Wainaina has discerned that prolonged donor aid sometimes has a debilitating psychological effect on the very people it is seeking to help. He says, “a lot of people arrive in Africa to assume that it’s a blank, empty place and their goodwill and desire and guilt will fix it. And that to me is not any different from the first people who arrived to colonize us.”
Wainaina maintains that “the single thing that has changed the lives of millions of Kenyans in the last ten or fifteen years has been the rearrangement of the banking capital to serve the small Kenyan….the micro-lending banks, scaling up the idea that somebody who earns a thousand shillings a month is bankable and someone to invest in and be able to create a model for that person to acquire credit in a reasonable way and grow, that has mattered more than a donor or all of the donor things, because it believes in the idea that the person on the ground has an idea and that idea can be serviced.”
And if there is one thing that Wainaina wants people in the West to know, it is that “where these things work is where people do it themselves…you go back from 1940 until now. Any countries that have done well for themselves and have managed to do positive things and that have changed the lives of the large parts of their countries have done so on their own effort.”
He goes on to say that the projects that DO tend to work are “…projects where you have a very long relationship with people and you understand their value. And they do things themselves, very much on the ground, very sensible….they get the community participating….it’s very cost-effective and it’s very natural and it’s a part of our lives.”
When you invest in Shared Interest, you are investing in a lender that has been involved and on the ground for over 20 years. They work extensively with community based businesses in Africa and other countries to make the most of fair trade by providing capital up front for producers and longer term loans to support the purchase of infrastructure such as machinery, buildings and vehicles for growing businesses.
So when you are trying to decide whether to invest or to give…think about investing, because in the end we need to see Africa’s promise alongside its problems in order to participate attentively in its future.
Read more about Blue People Fair Trade Ltd. at: www.bluepeoplefairtrade.com
Friday, September 11, 2009
Invitation: Visit Cocoa, Coffee, Tea & Olive Farms with Global Exchange
Global Exchange
Fri, 11 Sep 2009
See the magic of Fair Trade with your own eyes! Deadlines to register starting in early October! There is something for everyone!
Love chocolate? Just announced! Global Exchange's Fair Trade Campaign Director & resident cocoa expert, Adrienne Fitch-Frankel, invites each one of you to join her in helping to bring in the 2010 Fair Trade cocoa harvest in the Dominican Republic!
Coffee? Bring in the 2009 coffee harvest in Nicaragua!
Tea? Witness the transformation domestic Fair Trade tea production is creating for small farmers in Nepal!
Olive oil? Join Global Exchange's Executive Director, Kirsten Moller harvesting olives in Palestine/Israel!
Why FAIR TRADE Reality Tours? Millions of farmers around the world endure poverty due to inadequate prices for crops on global commodity markets. In Latin America, Africa, and Asia, some family farmers risk losing their farms while others in countries like Colombia and Peru may turn to drug cultivation. Fortunately there is an alternative - Fair Trade. Fair Trade guarantees farmers a decent price for their harvest and means community development, education, health, and environmental stewardship for farmers around the world. Join Global Exchange Reality Tour delegations and learn about the importance of fair trade coffee, olives, and tea and contextualize the debate between "fair trade" and "free trade" crops.
Nicaragua: Fair Coffee Harvest
December 04, 2009 - December 13, 2009/January 15, 2010 - January 24, 2 010/Cost $950
This winter, spend your vacation harvesting social justice, and join Global Exchange's Fair Coffee Harvest Reality Tour to Nicaragua! Our delegation will highlight the difference between fair and free trade coffee. Participants will live with a local farming family and work alongside the farmers to cultivate coffee. This is a unique opportunity to experience the other side of the struggle for social and economic justice and learn about a complex issue first-hand. For more information: www.globalexchange.org/tours/951.html or contact Sneh Rao at: sneh@globalexchange.org
***Note from our Fair Trade Campaign Director: I went on this trip in 2007 and it was the experience of a lifetime! I recommend it highly! To read about my journey, visit: www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/FairHarvest2007.html
Israel/Palestine: Fair Olive Harvest
October 30 -November 9, 2009/Cost $1800
This delegation strives to understand how Fair Trade Cooperatives provide an economic alternative to a population under occupation. Stay and work with organic olive farmers and experience the connection to the land and the community-building aspects of the harvest, feeling first-hand the legendary hospitality of Palestinian culture. While gaining an appreciation for Palestinian foods and traditions, learn how to help change the US role in the conflict and the benefits of supporting Palestinian Fair Trade products in the US.
For more information, please visit: www.globalexchange.org/tours/964.html or contact Henry Debusmann at henry@globalexchange.org.
Nepal: Fair Tea Harvest
May 11, 2010 - May 23, 2010/Cost $2650
Join Global Exchange and experience an example of development done right! Learn about the Nepalese culture of tea and explore the political, economic and colonial context as we meet with domestic fair trade farmers and work alongside tea cooperatives. Our delegation will spotlight grassroots projects that support independent and sustainable farming communities, and participants will witness the transformation of Nepal's rural landscape and its economic promise. While "development" falters in much of Nepal, many Nepalese families are facing the future with renewed hope.
For more information, please visit: www.globalexchange.org/tours/1041.html or contact Alessandro Isola at: alessandro@globalexchange.org.
Dominican Republic: Fair Cocoa Harvest
May 26- June 6th, 2010/Cost $1400-$1600 (depending on enrollment)
Global Exchange's Fair Cocoa Harvest program in the Dominican Republic encourages chocolate lovers from around the world to work with our local partners, CONACADO cooperative and El Fuego del Sol, as we explore the benefits of Fair Trade cocoa and sustainable harvest, renewable technology, and socially responsible tourism. Participants will have a powerful experience as they cultivate cocoa in the Dominican countryside, learn about cocoa production and delivery, share traditional meals cooked in eco-tech solar ovens, and visit the historic colonial city of Santo Domingo. Participants will live on site at El Fuego del Sol and experience working class life first-hand. Our delegation will also examine fair labor practices, the issues of Haitians in the Dominican Republic, human trafficking, micro-lending, and sustainable harvest techniques.
Learn more at: WWW.GLOBALEXCHANGE.ORG
Fri, 11 Sep 2009
See the magic of Fair Trade with your own eyes! Deadlines to register starting in early October! There is something for everyone!
Love chocolate? Just announced! Global Exchange's Fair Trade Campaign Director & resident cocoa expert, Adrienne Fitch-Frankel, invites each one of you to join her in helping to bring in the 2010 Fair Trade cocoa harvest in the Dominican Republic!
Coffee? Bring in the 2009 coffee harvest in Nicaragua!
Tea? Witness the transformation domestic Fair Trade tea production is creating for small farmers in Nepal!
Olive oil? Join Global Exchange's Executive Director, Kirsten Moller harvesting olives in Palestine/Israel!
Why FAIR TRADE Reality Tours? Millions of farmers around the world endure poverty due to inadequate prices for crops on global commodity markets. In Latin America, Africa, and Asia, some family farmers risk losing their farms while others in countries like Colombia and Peru may turn to drug cultivation. Fortunately there is an alternative - Fair Trade. Fair Trade guarantees farmers a decent price for their harvest and means community development, education, health, and environmental stewardship for farmers around the world. Join Global Exchange Reality Tour delegations and learn about the importance of fair trade coffee, olives, and tea and contextualize the debate between "fair trade" and "free trade" crops.
Nicaragua: Fair Coffee Harvest
December 04, 2009 - December 13, 2009/January 15, 2010 - January 24, 2 010/Cost $950
This winter, spend your vacation harvesting social justice, and join Global Exchange's Fair Coffee Harvest Reality Tour to Nicaragua! Our delegation will highlight the difference between fair and free trade coffee. Participants will live with a local farming family and work alongside the farmers to cultivate coffee. This is a unique opportunity to experience the other side of the struggle for social and economic justice and learn about a complex issue first-hand. For more information: www.globalexchange.org/tours/951.html or contact Sneh Rao at: sneh@globalexchange.org
***Note from our Fair Trade Campaign Director: I went on this trip in 2007 and it was the experience of a lifetime! I recommend it highly! To read about my journey, visit: www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/FairHarvest2007.html
Israel/Palestine: Fair Olive Harvest
October 30 -November 9, 2009/Cost $1800
This delegation strives to understand how Fair Trade Cooperatives provide an economic alternative to a population under occupation. Stay and work with organic olive farmers and experience the connection to the land and the community-building aspects of the harvest, feeling first-hand the legendary hospitality of Palestinian culture. While gaining an appreciation for Palestinian foods and traditions, learn how to help change the US role in the conflict and the benefits of supporting Palestinian Fair Trade products in the US.
For more information, please visit: www.globalexchange.org/tours/964.html or contact Henry Debusmann at henry@globalexchange.org.
Nepal: Fair Tea Harvest
May 11, 2010 - May 23, 2010/Cost $2650
Join Global Exchange and experience an example of development done right! Learn about the Nepalese culture of tea and explore the political, economic and colonial context as we meet with domestic fair trade farmers and work alongside tea cooperatives. Our delegation will spotlight grassroots projects that support independent and sustainable farming communities, and participants will witness the transformation of Nepal's rural landscape and its economic promise. While "development" falters in much of Nepal, many Nepalese families are facing the future with renewed hope.
For more information, please visit: www.globalexchange.org/tours/1041.html or contact Alessandro Isola at: alessandro@globalexchange.org.
Dominican Republic: Fair Cocoa Harvest
May 26- June 6th, 2010/Cost $1400-$1600 (depending on enrollment)
Global Exchange's Fair Cocoa Harvest program in the Dominican Republic encourages chocolate lovers from around the world to work with our local partners, CONACADO cooperative and El Fuego del Sol, as we explore the benefits of Fair Trade cocoa and sustainable harvest, renewable technology, and socially responsible tourism. Participants will have a powerful experience as they cultivate cocoa in the Dominican countryside, learn about cocoa production and delivery, share traditional meals cooked in eco-tech solar ovens, and visit the historic colonial city of Santo Domingo. Participants will live on site at El Fuego del Sol and experience working class life first-hand. Our delegation will also examine fair labor practices, the issues of Haitians in the Dominican Republic, human trafficking, micro-lending, and sustainable harvest techniques.
Learn more at: WWW.GLOBALEXCHANGE.ORG
National Confectioners Assoc. Response to DOL List & Exec Order 13126
Cocoa Industry Calls on U.S Department of Labor (DOL) to Recognize and Encourage Progress in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana
National Confectioners Assocication
Contact: Susan Smith
(202) 534-1440
susan.smith@CandyUSA.com
September 10, 2009
Today, the United States Department of Labor ‘s (DOL) Bureau of International Labor Affairs released its initial list of products from countries it has reason to believe are produced by child or forced labor, as called for under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005.
The following is a response from Larry Graham, President of the National Confectioners Association (NCA) on behalf of the global cocoa industry:
Without question, labor practices must be improved on many cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. We have strongly supported this effort as an industry for the past eight years, and will continue to do so working in partnership with the governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, as well as with leading international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other key stakeholders including the United States Government.
Among our first actions as an industry was to sign the "Harkin-Engel Protocol" in 2001, affirming our commitment to safe and responsible cocoa farming in West Africa. Since then, programs focused on improving labor practices, educational opportunities, and rural household incomes, as well as activities that have assisted in building institutional frameworks, have positively benefited children and their families in these countries.
While Industry appreciates DOL's acknowledgment today of the ‘exemplary efforts' of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana in taking important steps to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, DOL's inclusion of cocoa from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana sends the wrong message to these two governments.
We believe it's critically important that DOL take greater steps to fully recognize and encourage the progress taking place in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, including the formation of strong, successful public/private partnerships to improve labor practices and the detailed, transparent reporting of challenges and programs that
address this issue. Many important partnerships delivering positive change on the ground could be jeopardized otherwise - discouraging the very progress the DOL list is designed to promote.
Millions of small farming families in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana depend upon cocoa for their well-being. All of us should work together to help these families by encouraging the very programs and progress now underway to achieve our shared goals.
Read Larry Graham's past testimony on this issue before the Department of Labor: www.candyusa.com/files/Graham_DOL_oral.pdf
About the National Confectioners Association (NCA): Founded in 1884 in Chicago by representatives of 69 confectionery manufacturing firms, the National Confectioners Association is one of the oldest, most respected trade associations in the world. Today NCA has more than 600 members and is the major association representing the entire confectionery industry, offering education and leadership in
manufacturing, technical research, public relations, retailing practices, government relations and statistical analyses. NCA fosters industry growth by advancing and promoting the interests of the confectionery industry, its customers and its consumers.
# # #
National Confectioners Assocication: www.candyusa.com/News/PRdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=1798
National Confectioners Assocication
Contact: Susan Smith
(202) 534-1440
susan.smith@CandyUSA.com
September 10, 2009
Today, the United States Department of Labor ‘s (DOL) Bureau of International Labor Affairs released its initial list of products from countries it has reason to believe are produced by child or forced labor, as called for under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005.The following is a response from Larry Graham, President of the National Confectioners Association (NCA) on behalf of the global cocoa industry:
Without question, labor practices must be improved on many cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. We have strongly supported this effort as an industry for the past eight years, and will continue to do so working in partnership with the governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, as well as with leading international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other key stakeholders including the United States Government.
Among our first actions as an industry was to sign the "Harkin-Engel Protocol" in 2001, affirming our commitment to safe and responsible cocoa farming in West Africa. Since then, programs focused on improving labor practices, educational opportunities, and rural household incomes, as well as activities that have assisted in building institutional frameworks, have positively benefited children and their families in these countries.
While Industry appreciates DOL's acknowledgment today of the ‘exemplary efforts' of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana in taking important steps to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, DOL's inclusion of cocoa from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana sends the wrong message to these two governments.
We believe it's critically important that DOL take greater steps to fully recognize and encourage the progress taking place in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, including the formation of strong, successful public/private partnerships to improve labor practices and the detailed, transparent reporting of challenges and programs that
address this issue. Many important partnerships delivering positive change on the ground could be jeopardized otherwise - discouraging the very progress the DOL list is designed to promote.
Millions of small farming families in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana depend upon cocoa for their well-being. All of us should work together to help these families by encouraging the very programs and progress now underway to achieve our shared goals.
Read Larry Graham's past testimony on this issue before the Department of Labor: www.candyusa.com/files/Graham_DOL_oral.pdf
About the National Confectioners Association (NCA): Founded in 1884 in Chicago by representatives of 69 confectionery manufacturing firms, the National Confectioners Association is one of the oldest, most respected trade associations in the world. Today NCA has more than 600 members and is the major association representing the entire confectionery industry, offering education and leadership in
manufacturing, technical research, public relations, retailing practices, government relations and statistical analyses. NCA fosters industry growth by advancing and promoting the interests of the confectionery industry, its customers and its consumers.
# # #
National Confectioners Assocication: www.candyusa.com/News/PRdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=1798
Department of Labor Lists Cocoa, Cotton and Other Goods as Products
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2009
Contact: Brian Campbell, brian.campbell@ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x102
Tim Newman, tim.newman@ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x113 or 617-823-9464
INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM
Department of Labor Lists Cocoa, Cotton and Other Goods as Products Made by Forced, Child Labor
Today, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released a list www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tvpra.htm of goods believed to have been produced using forced or child labor globally. The list includes a number of industries where the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) has identified these labor rights abuses to occur including cocoa, cotton, tobacco and rubber.
As part of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA of 2005), DOL's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) was tasked with "develop[ing] and mak[ing] available to the public a list of goods from countries that the Bureau of International Labor Affairs has reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards." ILRF is pleased to see that this useful resource has been publicly released after years of work.
Since 2001, ILRF has been pushing US-based cocoa importers and chocolate companies like Hershey to take effective action to end the use of child, trafficked and forced labor on West African cocoa farms. ILRF Executive Director Bama Athreya said, "By including cocoa on the list of products made by child labor, the US government has acknowledged the lack of progress the chocolate industry has made in eliminating serious labor rights abuses in this sector, despite years of promises." Recent events confirm the appropriateness of including cocoa on the list. In June of
this year, INTERPOL rescued children in Cote d'Ivoire who had been trafficked from neighboring countries as part of an ongoing system of trafficking and forced labor in the West African cocoa industry.
ILRF has also been working to stop forced and child labor in the cotton industry globally, especially in Uzbekistan. Reports published by ILRF and its global partners have confirmed the ongoing removal of thousands of children from schools across Uzbekistan who are forced to pick cotton during harvest season.
The inclusion of tobacco on the list indicates that the US government believes that industry efforts to eliminate child labor in this sector have not been sufficient. Labor rights abuses in tobacco production continue in countries like Malawi where a recent report by PLAN International found that thousands of children as young as five work on tobacco estates and suffer nicotine poisoning from being exposed to the equivalent of 50 cigarettes a day.
Other additional products that ILRF included in it's testimony to the Department of Labor that appear on the official list are: cotton from Tajikistan, cottonseed and stones from India, sugarcane from Guatemala and surgical instruments from Pakistan. ILRF also has a long history of working to eliminate child labor in the soccer ball industry in India.
Commenting on the importance of the list, Brian Campbell, ILRF Director of Policy and Legal Programs, said, "This list is a critical tool that consumers and businesses can use to identify the sectors where forced and child labor abuses continue. As I stated in ILRF's testimony www.laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications-and-resources/ILRFDOLListTestimony.pdf to the Department of Labor last year, this list helps to focus attention on problematic sectors and the challenge now is to implement business practices that lead to a higher labor standards and living and working conditions for workers."
Bama Athreya added, "We hope that the Department of Labor will continue to welcome additional information regarding the sectors included on the list as well as other industries using forced and child labor. A regular, at least annual, update of this list will help to show progress or lack thereof in addressing these abuses and identify new areas on which to focus."
Now that the list has been published, a Consultative Group established as part of the Farm Bill www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/child-labor-free-certification-initiative in 2008 will work to "develop the recommendations for best practices for the voluntary, third-party certification initiative" to ensure that agricultural products imported or sold in the US are not made by child labor. ILRF hopes that the members of the Consultative Group will be announced shortly and that this body will work swiftly and effectively to ensure that child and forced labor is eliminated from the production of US agricultural imports, especially cocoa, cotton, tobacco and rubber.
###
The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. For more information: please visit www.LaborRights.org
www.laborrights.org.
September 10, 2009
Contact: Brian Campbell, brian.campbell@ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x102
Tim Newman, tim.newman@ilrf.org, 202-347-4100 x113 or 617-823-9464
INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM
Department of Labor Lists Cocoa, Cotton and Other Goods as Products Made by Forced, Child Labor
Today, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released a list www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tvpra.htm of goods believed to have been produced using forced or child labor globally. The list includes a number of industries where the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) has identified these labor rights abuses to occur including cocoa, cotton, tobacco and rubber.
As part of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA of 2005), DOL's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) was tasked with "develop[ing] and mak[ing] available to the public a list of goods from countries that the Bureau of International Labor Affairs has reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards." ILRF is pleased to see that this useful resource has been publicly released after years of work.
Since 2001, ILRF has been pushing US-based cocoa importers and chocolate companies like Hershey to take effective action to end the use of child, trafficked and forced labor on West African cocoa farms. ILRF Executive Director Bama Athreya said, "By including cocoa on the list of products made by child labor, the US government has acknowledged the lack of progress the chocolate industry has made in eliminating serious labor rights abuses in this sector, despite years of promises." Recent events confirm the appropriateness of including cocoa on the list. In June of
this year, INTERPOL rescued children in Cote d'Ivoire who had been trafficked from neighboring countries as part of an ongoing system of trafficking and forced labor in the West African cocoa industry.
ILRF has also been working to stop forced and child labor in the cotton industry globally, especially in Uzbekistan. Reports published by ILRF and its global partners have confirmed the ongoing removal of thousands of children from schools across Uzbekistan who are forced to pick cotton during harvest season.
The inclusion of tobacco on the list indicates that the US government believes that industry efforts to eliminate child labor in this sector have not been sufficient. Labor rights abuses in tobacco production continue in countries like Malawi where a recent report by PLAN International found that thousands of children as young as five work on tobacco estates and suffer nicotine poisoning from being exposed to the equivalent of 50 cigarettes a day.
Other additional products that ILRF included in it's testimony to the Department of Labor that appear on the official list are: cotton from Tajikistan, cottonseed and stones from India, sugarcane from Guatemala and surgical instruments from Pakistan. ILRF also has a long history of working to eliminate child labor in the soccer ball industry in India.
Commenting on the importance of the list, Brian Campbell, ILRF Director of Policy and Legal Programs, said, "This list is a critical tool that consumers and businesses can use to identify the sectors where forced and child labor abuses continue. As I stated in ILRF's testimony www.laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications-and-resources/ILRFDOLListTestimony.pdf to the Department of Labor last year, this list helps to focus attention on problematic sectors and the challenge now is to implement business practices that lead to a higher labor standards and living and working conditions for workers."
Bama Athreya added, "We hope that the Department of Labor will continue to welcome additional information regarding the sectors included on the list as well as other industries using forced and child labor. A regular, at least annual, update of this list will help to show progress or lack thereof in addressing these abuses and identify new areas on which to focus."
Now that the list has been published, a Consultative Group established as part of the Farm Bill www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/child-labor-free-certification-initiative in 2008 will work to "develop the recommendations for best practices for the voluntary, third-party certification initiative" to ensure that agricultural products imported or sold in the US are not made by child labor. ILRF hopes that the members of the Consultative Group will be announced shortly and that this body will work swiftly and effectively to ensure that child and forced labor is eliminated from the production of US agricultural imports, especially cocoa, cotton, tobacco and rubber.
###
The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. For more information: please visit www.LaborRights.org
www.laborrights.org.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
At long last, a grower steps forward! Will Publix, Kroger, et al now step up?
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Announce mailing list
Thu, 10 Sep 2009
At long last, a grower steps forward!
With the start of the new season only weeks away, East Coast Growers and Packers -- one of Florida's largest tomato growers -- has agreed to work with the CIW and food industry leaders to implement the CIW'S Fair Food agreements, including the penny-per-pound raise to harvesters, supply chain transparency, and a stringent code of conduct.
The agreements -- six in all, among them the world's four largest restaurant companies and the leading organic grocer -- had been held up for nearly two years by the resistance of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE), the powerful industry lobby.
"The past two years have been difficult, as farmworkers in Immokalee and throughout Florida have been stubbornly denied the benefits of the Fair Food agreements thanks to the FTGE," said Lucas Benitez of the CIW. "But we never stopped organizing, and during those two years some of the industry's largest buyers of tomatoes signed on to the agreements, creating an ever larger share of the market committed to purchasing tomatoes only from growers who agree to meet the higher standards called for by the CIW."
"We are extremely pleased that East Coast has shown the courage and the vision to seize on this tremendous opportunity and by so doing help lead the Florida tomato industry toward a fairer, more sustainable future," added Gerardo Reyes, also of the CIW. "We will be working closely with East Coast and our food industry partners in the coming weeks to ensure that we have an effective mechanism in place for passing the penny-per-pound to the workers and a solid plan for monitoring compliance with the code of conduct. There is still much work to be done but, at long last, we are working together, and when we work together -- farmworkers, growers, retailers, and consumers -- we can forge a relationship that will benefit all of us."
With a major grower now committed to implementing the CIW agreements, the Campaign for Fair Food turns to those companies that have remained on the sidelines, companies like Publix and Kroger, Sodexo and Aramark, Wendy's and Quizno's, Costco and WalMart.
The familiar excuses for inaction -- "we don't get involved in disputes between our suppliers and their employees," or "but there's no way to get the penny to the workers" -- no longer hold.
The question to those companies now is simple: Will your company support social responsibility? Will your company put its purchasing power behind those in the Florida tomato industry who are willing to do the right thing for their workers, or will you continue to support the growers who stand against progress?
The time for stalling is over. Now, to borrow a phrase, is the season for action.
Thanks - Coalition of Immokalee Workers
See the CIW website: www.ciw-online.org for this and all the latest from the Campaign for Fair Food
Announce mailing list
Thu, 10 Sep 2009
At long last, a grower steps forward!
With the start of the new season only weeks away, East Coast Growers and Packers -- one of Florida's largest tomato growers -- has agreed to work with the CIW and food industry leaders to implement the CIW'S Fair Food agreements, including the penny-per-pound raise to harvesters, supply chain transparency, and a stringent code of conduct.
The agreements -- six in all, among them the world's four largest restaurant companies and the leading organic grocer -- had been held up for nearly two years by the resistance of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE), the powerful industry lobby.
"The past two years have been difficult, as farmworkers in Immokalee and throughout Florida have been stubbornly denied the benefits of the Fair Food agreements thanks to the FTGE," said Lucas Benitez of the CIW. "But we never stopped organizing, and during those two years some of the industry's largest buyers of tomatoes signed on to the agreements, creating an ever larger share of the market committed to purchasing tomatoes only from growers who agree to meet the higher standards called for by the CIW."
"We are extremely pleased that East Coast has shown the courage and the vision to seize on this tremendous opportunity and by so doing help lead the Florida tomato industry toward a fairer, more sustainable future," added Gerardo Reyes, also of the CIW. "We will be working closely with East Coast and our food industry partners in the coming weeks to ensure that we have an effective mechanism in place for passing the penny-per-pound to the workers and a solid plan for monitoring compliance with the code of conduct. There is still much work to be done but, at long last, we are working together, and when we work together -- farmworkers, growers, retailers, and consumers -- we can forge a relationship that will benefit all of us."
With a major grower now committed to implementing the CIW agreements, the Campaign for Fair Food turns to those companies that have remained on the sidelines, companies like Publix and Kroger, Sodexo and Aramark, Wendy's and Quizno's, Costco and WalMart.
The familiar excuses for inaction -- "we don't get involved in disputes between our suppliers and their employees," or "but there's no way to get the penny to the workers" -- no longer hold.
The question to those companies now is simple: Will your company support social responsibility? Will your company put its purchasing power behind those in the Florida tomato industry who are willing to do the right thing for their workers, or will you continue to support the growers who stand against progress?
The time for stalling is over. Now, to borrow a phrase, is the season for action.
Thanks - Coalition of Immokalee Workers
See the CIW website: www.ciw-online.org for this and all the latest from the Campaign for Fair Food
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