Ride Along on the Fair Trade Movement with FT Towns

Joan from CA

VOTE FOR THIS IDEA!

http://fueledbystonyfield.com/project.php?id=165

Since 2005, Fair Trade Los Angeles has been a unified voice to stress the importance of purchasing Fair Trade products to 20 million southern California residents. From the initiative and support of Fair Trade Los Angeles, four towns in the region have Fair Trade town campaigns. Pasadena is about to become the first Fair Trade town in southern California from residents taking a dedicated interest in their community. Fair Trade comprises a global $4billion a year movement, with artisan goods and agricultural commodities produced by over 3000 cooperatives. By synergistically unifying economic, social and environmental justice in Fair Trade’s model, life moves beyond the challenge of survival, for people that might earn $2 a day or less, to an economic system where their goods and crops are not exploited in the global economic market and they earn a living wage.

For the past two years, the Fair Trade Town Pasadena campaign has educated the community and garnered support for Fair Trade across a breadth of the city’s population. At a bookstore, children and parents attended a presentation about the importance of Fair Trade chocolate instead of conventional chocolate that might use child or slave labor to harvest ingredients. Teenagers were educated on Fair Trade precepts and created art work signifying the importance of Fair Trade. Bicycle riders took a Fair Trade cycle tour of Pasadena stopping to sample Fair Trade coffee, view shops selling Fair Trade artisan goods and a grocery store with a myriad of Fair Trade products. A local dance company has produced a Fair Trade themed production to signify the relationship between Fair Trade farmers, artisans and global community purchasing their goods. Faith communities, businesses and organizations have been surveyed to see if they use or would like to initiate serving products like Fair Trade coffee, tea and sugar. A dialogue established with the municipal government will lead to a city resolution in support of Fair Trade.

Fair Trade Town Pasadena’s movement has educated a city, of over 200,000 people with diverse demographics, on a local basis about the importance of making Fair Trade purchasing decisions so people make a living wage for goods provided and are not exploited. Also, the earth is protected as many Fair Trade agricultural products are organic and use sustainable farming methods, along with many Fair Trade artisan goods incorporating recycled materials.

Meeting people where they are in their daily life style activities and showing positive choices made locally can have positive, global ramifications personifies the innovative approach the Fair Trade Town Pasadena campaign utilizes to educate the community about the importance of purchasing Fair Trade products. This model, facilitated by the leadership of Fair Trade Los Angeles, offers a framework for other southern California cities to join Claremont, Irvine, Long Beach and Pasadena to act and grow the Fair Trade movement.

http://fueledbystonyfield.com/project.php?id=165

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