Author Archives: Fair Trade LA

May15

Lead for Change – Organizer Update!

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Hello Lead Organizer Team -

 

We hope you had tremendous success at all your World Fair Trade Day events!  This month were bringing you some fabulous new resources with tons of crowd-sourced information from Fair Trade Town organizers across the country.  We hope that you can use these to reinvigorate your campaign and give some fresh ideas for summer planning!

 

Infographic, Toolkit & Video

1.      First, share this infographc post on Facebook & enter to win 1 of 50 FREE CHOCOLATE bars

2.      Second, check out this blog post for a description and link to all the new resources

 

Millennium Development Goals – It’s Time to Submit Your Signatures

Over the past two months, many cities and towns have been recruiting elected officials to sign the Fair Trade Beyond 2015 Declaration.  We need your signatures by Wednesday, May 15.  It’s easy and here’s how:

1.      Here is the template spreadsheet where you can document the signatures (NOTE:  We do not need the signed declarations)

2.      Email the spreadsheet to Courtney Lang at clang@fairtradeusa.org

 

Fair Trade Campaigns Announcement

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Fair Trade Campaigns umbrella, the result of an extensive, collaborative planning process of Fair Trade Towns USA and Fair Trade Colleges & Universities.  Fair Trade Campaigns will allow for better collaboration among organizations working to raise awareness and drive sales of Fair Trade products across the US.  It represents a wide range of stakeholders in the Fair Trade movement, including organizers from large and small towns, faculty and students from colleges and universities, and NGOs such as the Fair Trade Federation, Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade, and Green America.  Read more here . . . .

 

As always, contact me with any and all questions or comments.

 

Thanks for your support!

 

 

 

 

COURTNEY LANG | NATIONAL ORGANIZER, FAIR TRADE TOWNS

1500 Broadway Suite 400 Oakland, CA 94612

CELL: +1 609 410 3158 OFFICE: +1 510 844 1640 FAX: +1 510 663 5264

www.FairTradeTownsUSA.org  TWITTER |  FACEBOOK | LINKEDIN

 

May6

Next FTLA Meeting

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Next FTLA Meeting
May 20, 2013 7-9pm

The May 20, 2013 meeting for Fair Trade LA will be across the street from the Hebrew Union College where we normally meet. The new location is the Our Savior Church and USC Caruso Catholic Center at 844 W. 32nd St., LA. We will meet in the Catholic Center in the library on the second floor. Parking is available across the street at the University Village Shopping Center, 3375 S. Hoover Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90007. Please park closest to 30th Street near the Wendy’s Drive-Thru Restaurant. Please cross Hoover using the signal light at 30th Street. Do not cross Hoover at 32nd Street.

From Jefferson, turn north onto Hoover, and turn left at 32nd Street into the University Village parking lot. Drive toward and park near Wendy’s. Cross Hoover at the 30th Street signal light.

From 32nd Street, drive straight into the University Village parking lot. Drive toward and park near Wendy’s. Cross Hoover at the 30th Street signal light.

From southbound on Hoover, turn right at 32nd Street into the University Village parking lot. Drive toward and park near Wendy’s. Cross Hoover at the 30th Street signal light.

The phone number for the center is 213-516-3959. To reach Fair Trade LA, contact Jane Affonso at 310-995-4943.

See you on the 20th.

May5

Announcing Fair Trade Campaigns

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Announcing Fair Trade Campaigns
Contact Us!
Billy Linstead Goldsmith

National Coordinator

Fair Trade Campaigns

267-886-9990

Courtney Lang
National Organizer

510-844-1640

Parker Townley
National Organizer

Fair Trade Colleges & Universities

510-844-1665
Dear Fair Trade Campaign Organizer -

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Fair Trade Campaigns umbrella, the result of an extensive, collaborative planning process of Fair Trade Towns USA and Fair Trade Colleges & Universities.  Fair Trade Campaigns will allow for better collaboration among organizations working to raise awareness and drive sales of Fair Trade products across the US. It represents a wide range of stakeholders in the Fair Trade movement, including organizers from large and small towns, faculty and students from colleges and universities, and NGOs such as the Fair Trade Federation, Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade, and Green America. By coming together and streamlining our efforts at the local, regional, and national levels, we can encourage current and declared campaigns to keep moving forward as well as create new opportunities and access points for people to engage in advocating for Fair Trade.

The mission of Fair Trade Campaigns is to grow a nationwide community of passionate, lifelong Fair Trade advocates who will inspire others to support equity in trade. Our organizing structure is one of shared governance in which steering committees of volunteers work with paid staff at Fair Trade USA to determine direction and strategy, and to execute campaign objectives. We recognize multiple Fair Trade labels and systems and uphold the importance of both broadening the market reach of Fair Trade and deepening Fair Trade values.

Fair Trade Campaigns currently encompasses Fair Trade Towns and Fair Trade Colleges & Universities; over the course of 2013 and 2014, we aim to include and support Fair Trade Schools, Congregations, Clubs, and Workplaces. We are designing tools to help campaign organizers, as well as developing criteria for these entities to earn Fair Trade status. At the same time, we are working to better gauge the impact of campaigns – including institutional procurement of Fair Trade products, increased availability and sales, and the reach of messaging via social media – on producers’ livelihoods worldwide.

We invite you to stay tuned for announcements as we launch these exciting innovations in our work, continuing our mission of empowering consumers in the US to support farmers and artisans in the developing world and bringing them opportunities for a better life.

Sincerely,

Fair Trade Campaigns Joint Steering Committee

Ryan Scott McDonnell – Fair Trade Boston

April Linton – Author, Fair Trade from the Ground Up  

Joan Harper – Fair Trade Los Angeles

Jessica Baltmanas – University of California, San Diego

Click here as we invite you to take a look at a copy of the Fair Trade Campaigns Strategic Plan Summary. 

 

Mission Statement

 ”The mission of Fair Trade Campaigns is to grow a nationwide community of passionate, lifelong Fair Trade advocates. Their commitment will inspire others to support the Fair Trade movement in its efforts to seek equity in trade and create opportunities for economically and socially marginalized producers. Fair Trade Towns, Colleges, Universities and other communities embed Fair Trade values and purchases into mainstream business and institutional practices.”
Apr2

Fair Trade Claremont News Briefs

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April 2013

Buy local, green and fair
Hershey has pledged that 10% of it’s cocoa purchases will be Fair Trade certified by the end of 2013. That’s a whole lot of Fair Trade chocolate! This is a real success story. Green America, the national group that advocates for a green economy, has been working for years to move Hershey away from cocoa produced with child slave labor. Last year after hearing from more than 100,000 consumers, including hundreds from Claremont, Hershey promised to convert to Fair Trade by 2020. That date seemed so far away for children and families caught in the web of coercive and unsafe labor on cocoa plantations. In March, Green America attended a conference with Hershey and other chocolate producers hosted by the Department of Labor in Washington,DC and convinced Hershey to announce this significant milestone for 2013. For more information click on http://www.greenamerica.org/.

A dragon sighting in Claremont? Buddhamouse Emporium, 234 Yale Ave in Claremont Village, is featuring a Fair Trade dragon. A Vietnamese artist salvages metals from which he crafts whimsical animals. He gets a fair wage for his work and we all know that reuse is even better than recycling. Good for people and good for the planet! Buddhamouse also carries other Fair Trade items: gourd ornaments, prayer flags and hanging bells.

The Bath Workshop, 175 N. Indian Hilll Blvd., has launched a new Fair Trade lotion bar that is 100% natural, blended with Fair Trade cocoa butter and organic coconut oil. The lotion bar joins Bath Workshop’s full line of custom Fair Trade products: creams and lotions made from Fair Trade shea and cocoa butters, salt scrub, footscrubbers, cosmetic bags, beaded bags and beaded hairpeices.

Welcome to Barbara Cheatley Antiques, 215 Yale Ave., the 30th merchant to be added to Fair Trade Claremont’s ever expanding list of Where to Find Fair Trade in Claremont. At Barbara Cheatley’s you’ll find a diverse selection of Fair Trade items: colorful shoulder bags from India, Zen Zen tea cozies, Tea Forte in attractive tin containers, and leather ipod cases.
Reminder: ½ Off Sale on all Fair Trade açaí served on April 6, National Açaí Day at The Spot Café, 435 W. Foothill Blvd.

April Events sponsored by Fair Trade Claremont:
Not My Life, a documentary film about modern day slavery, narrated by Glenn Close, will be shown Tuesday April 9 at 7pm at the Laemmle Theater in Claremont Village. Admission is free. To see the trailer: http://vimeo.com/50650206. Join us to learn more about human trafficking globally and locally. And find out how groups in our community are working to end it. Fair Trade is recognized as one of the best ways to combat human trafficking by paying fair wages and providing safe working conditions, keeping families intact and children in school.

Fair Trade Artisan Sale, Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Sunday April 14 from 8am-3pm. A wide selection of hand made fairly traded gifts, scarves, jewelry, home accents, olive oil and specialty foods. “Income from our scarves means my three teenage sons can have enough to eat as they grow. My dream is for them to go to university.” – Nyugen Thi Nga,Vietnam. (Click on the attached the sale flyer to see some of the items available.)

Claremont Earth Day Celebration, April 20, 10 am-3pm. Over 2000 people are expected with 60 exhibitor/vendor booths located along Second Street in Claremont Village. Live entertainment, art displays, a bicycle “rodeo” and a booth by Fair Trade Claremont. Stop by to say “hello” and play an interactive game that teaches how chocolate is made: starting with cocoa beans growing in a pod on trees in Africa all the way to the candy bar that you eat. And the prize for playing the game? Fair Trade chocolate, of course.

Fair Trade Bazaar at Pomona First Baptist Church, Sunday April 28 from 8:30am to 1pm. Fair Trade vendors with unique gifts from around the world.
Fair Trade. Improving Lives. Protecting the Environment.

–

Joan Harper
Fair Trade LA Coordinator
(818) 406-9296 (cell)
http://www.fairtradela.org

Mar14

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Conference to Unite and Promote Fair Trade Businesses

Annual Fair Trade Conference to be held May 1-3 in Raleigh, NC

Wilmington, DE (March 8, 2013) – From May 1-3, 2013, the Fair Trade Federation will welcome entrepreneurs, students, advocates, faith community members, and interested individuals to their annual conference on the business of Fair Trade.

The conference, held at the Doubletree Raleigh Brownstown-University Hotel in Raleigh, NC, provides a forum where Fair Trade-minded individuals can learn how to advance the business of Fair Trade in North America. Attendees will participate in workshops, discussions, and social activities as well as the Fair Trade Expo, a marketplace of wholesale product vendors. Entrepreneurs from across the world will come together to learn about and debate Fair Trade’s holistic approach to business and sustainable, positive change.

This year, the Fair Trade Expo will include over 35 wholesale exhibitors showcasing a wide range of fair trade products from food to soaps to handcrafted clothing, accessories and home decor. The Expo will provide an opportunity for retail buyers to make purchases and learn about the work of Fair Trade Federation members. The Expo will take place on Wednesday evening, May 1 from 5:15 – 6:45 pm as well as an extended session on Thursday morning, from 8 – 10 am. Local retailers are welcome to attend.

“We’re especially excited to host the conference in Raleigh this year,” says Renee Bowers, Executive Director of the Fair Trade Federation. “There’s a vibrant community of fair trade businesses in North Carolina, including Mehera Shaw and the Ten Thousand Villages store in Chapel Hill, Unique Batik and Larry’s Beans in Raleigh, Kamibashi and Peace by Piece in Asheville, and PHD Productions in Hillsborough.”

The 2013 conference is made possible through the generous contributions of many sponsors and supporters, including gold sponsors Fair Trade Winds, Baksheesh, Earth Divas, SERRV, Dr. Bronner’s, and Global Crafts as well as silver sponsors Swahili Imports, Venture Imports, Mata Traders, Equal Exchange, and Ten Thousand Villages.

*Special student pricing* | *Complimentary tickets for media with press credentials*
Learn more about the Fair Trade Federation conference | Register for the conference
Contact: Renee Bowers, Executive Director, Fair Trade Federation, info@fairtradefederation.org

About the Fair Trade Federation

The Fair Trade Federation (FTF) strengthens and promotes North American organizations fully committed to Fair Trade. The Federation is part of the global Fair Trade movement, building equitable and sustainable trading partnerships and creating opportunities to alleviate poverty. Since the late 1970s, the Federation has convened conferences in North America to provide practical workshops on the business of Fair Trade and to build up the fair trade business community.

Mar11

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On March 09, 2003, Tony Hall, member of FTLA and current Regional Representative of the World Fair Trade Organization for the Asia Pacific (US, Canada, Japan) region, hosted an FTLA membership meeting with Jeff Goldman, Executive Director of Fair Trade Resource Network. Among issues discussed were: the current state of the Fair Trade movement in North America; variant strategic focuses of Fair Trade groups; possible government definition of Fair Trade and participation in the movement; and a possible third party coordination of activities of Fair Trade advocates.

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Mar3

Fair Trade Colleges and Universities Leadership Training

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Royce Hall at UCLA, Thursday, February 28, 2013

Directed by Parker Townley, the National Organizer for Fair Trade Colleges and Universities at Fair Trade USA

Attending: 25 students committed to Fair Trade from UCLA, Fuller Theological Seminary, Loyola Marymount University, California Lutheran University and 4 representatives of Fair Trade LA.

Diana Percival and Joan Harper of Fair Trade LA assisted in the training.

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