Fair Trade Food Products Growing in Popularity

If you asked someone five or ten years ago what “fair trade” was, it’s unlikely that you would have gotten an informed answer. Now, “fair trade” products dot the aisles at grocery stores everywhere, even retail superstores not necessarily known for their fresh produce. 2011 ended up being the year of fair trade products and demonstrated just how far fair trade products have come in terms of capturing the attention (and dollars) of the consuming public.  In both the UK and in the US, surges in sales of fair trade products made headlines.

For example, in the UK, fair trade sales have increased by 12% between t 2011 and 2012, totaling the equivalent of 2.05 billion dollars. Considering that a severally depressed UK is willing to pay a premium for products that have been sustainably manufactured shows a definite and heartening shift in mindset among consumers from first-world countries.

Why, suddenly, have fair trade products surged in popularity? According to Joe  Satran of the Huffington Post, the reasons are two-fold. One, more and more consumers are demanding products that are made in an ethical manner. As the public becomes more privy to the unsavory things happening behind the scenes, all along the chain of production, they’ve become aware that their consumer choices do make a difference in how both the environment and workers around the world are treated.

Another interesting reason that fair trade products have experienced an unprecedented surge in sales is that more and more very large companies that offer consumers an array of products are diving into the fair trade certified market. One example is the ice cream company Ben and Jerry’s, which committed to using fair trade ingredients in 2010. As such, consumers who’ve already bought these brands for years are simply continuing to be loyal to the products they already enjoy.  Other examples include Cadbury’s

In the final analysis, the success of fair trade in the grocery store is heartening because it demonstrates that it’s not just consumers who care about where their food comes from and how, precisely, it’s made. It’s bigger corporations who are starting to care, too. As more and more consumer products companies jump on the fair trade bandwagon, the notion that fair trade means good business becomes increasingly apparent.

This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of online universities advice.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com.

 

“Best In Fair Trade” Awards

Help us support the Fair Trade Resource Network in promoting the best Fair Trade organizations!

Only 3 weeks are left to nominate organizations for the first inclusive “Best in Fair Trade” Awards for North America nonprofits & businesses.

www.fairtraderesource.org/wftd/best-in-fair-trade-awards/

The public can nominate (by March 31), and vote, for U.S. & Canada organizations doing exemplary work in Fair Trade in 5 categories: Most positive change in a producer community; Outstanding long-term commitment to producers; Best support of the Fair Trade movement; Most effective public education program; Most effective advocacy for trade policy reform.

FTRN created the contest since no awards existed to honor organizations across all major Fair Trade recognitions. Winners will be celebrated during World Fair Trade Day in May!

Nominate, or self-nominate, nonprofits and businesses before March 31. The public will then vote for any finalists during April.

Thanks for showing your support!

Day 2 & 3 of 9th Annual Convergence

Curious as to what has been happening at the USFT 9th Annual National Convergence?

Saturday morning began bright and early at 8:00 a.m. with a breakfast, and a plenary session with Abel Fernandez, a worker representative from CLAC/CONOCADO. The first workshop session theme was “global trade issues”, and included workshops given by Global Trade Watch, and Food & Water Watch and National Family Farm Coalition. The second session was themed around “varying perspectives on fair trade workshops.” Workshops were given by Alta Gracia workers, Catholic Relief Services, and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps.
Saturday afternoon began with a lunch and networking session, and was proceeded by a Fair Trade Marketplace. Vendors at the Fair Trade Marketplace were: Just Haiti, Malia Designs, Mayan Hands, SERRV, Ten Thousand Villiages, Global Mamas, Pulsera Project, Dr. Bronner’s, AltaGracia, Hand Crafting Justice, Ethix Merch, FTRN, CRS, and Theo Chocolate.

The third session was themed around “activism on your campus”, and workshops were presented by Fairly Educated, United Students Against Sweatshops, and the Real Food Challenge. The third session was followed by a Divine Chocolate Tasting, and a facilitated discussion.Overall, Saturday was a very jam-packed and productive day for all those who attended.

The stamina of Saturday continued to Sunday morning for those who could stick around till noon. The Sunday morning session was themed around “campaigning on your campus”, and workshops were given by Alta Grace Apparel/Ethix, and Divine Chocolate/Green America.

On behalf of the USFT Coordinating Committee, we would like to thank all of those who attended the 9th Annual National Convergence, presented a workshop, and participated in the Fair Trade Marketplace. We had a great weekend, and hope you all did as well.

This post was written by Sasha Pillow Petroni, one of our National Coordinators.

Day 1: 9th Annual USFT National Convergence

The convergence started off with tons of folks from all over the country coming in for registration! They received tons of SWAG and had a dinner served by the school’s Food Co Op. Oh and the coconut bliss ice cream was fabulous! Mmmm Delicious! Our night got even more exciting when Rob and Rink from Equal Exchange gave us the keynote speech. It was inspiring to hear all the work that was put into making authentic fair trade and how it is up to not only companies and NGO’s to hold the integrity of fair trade and stand with small farmers, but it is also up to us, STUDENTS! It was a wonderful way to begin the convergence! The night completed with a film. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the convergence holds! – Lisa Wong, our West Coordinator Coordinator 

Social Enterprise Symposium @ UMD

We are at the 4th Annual Social Enterprise Symposium at the University of Maryland. The day is lined up with a bunch of professionals speaking about their corporations and how they have decided to take on corporate socially responsible initiatives. Many of us question how credible corporations are when it comes to the implementation of their CSR, and we here at USFT are looking forward to the discussions and networking sessions that will come later this afternoon. Our question is, are businesses really who they say they are? Who is enforcing / implementing their CSR? What is their reasoning behind CSR initiatives (profit-driven)?  Exciting news! Divine Chocolate will be here this evening talking about sourcing chocolate from sustainable sources!

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2012 USFT NATIONAL CONVERGENCE

Fair Trade: Where Do We Go From Here?

https://www.facebook.com/events/201219686635819/

You read our statement this fall…..you’ve been following the fair trade movement for years, and now you’re wondering what’s next for the fair trade movement. Kick off your spring with more than just a spring-cleaning –join United Students for Fair Trade for our 9^th National Convergence, Coming up on March 2^nd-4^th at the University of Maryland at College Park. USFT is proud to open our annual convergence to both students and professionals to learn more about the exciting future of the fair trade movement. Register by February 1, and receive an official USFT Alta Gracia (union-made, living wage apparel) t-shirt. Registration is limited to the first 300 participants—and spots are filling quickly! Registration closes February 17^th.

The theme “Where Do We Go From Here?” will cover all questions that have come up during this pivotal time in the fair trade movement with speakers representing the worker, NGO and company voices behind the movement. Take a look at our schedule packed full of presenters (from Equal Exchange, CLAC, and the Fair World Project), meals provided by the Maryland Food Co-op,  networking opportunities and fair trade coffee breaks! There will be workshops and discussion sessions, along with the chance to browse a Fair Trade marketplace and stock up on fair trade goods.

At this convergence, you will learn skills that will help you organize a movement on campus, inspire others, and empower fair trade producers all at the same time! This will also be the kickoff for USFT’s affiliate program – Alta Gracia Apparel!

Students can also qualify for a number of travel scholarships to attend the conference! Registration is due by February 1^st if you would like to be considered for a scholarship.

Sponsors include: The Cooperative Fund of New England, Divine Chocolate, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Equal Exchange, Global Girlfriends, Pulsera Project, and others.

 Please contact Maria Louzon, National and Convergence Coordinator, at (443)883-5226 or maria@usft.org with any questions.

Day 4-6: Villa Altagracia, Bonao, Playa Nahuay

Villa Altagracia: We did more workshops on strategic campaigning for Alta Gracia.

Bonao: After a 3-4 hour guagua ride, we arrived at a dirt road. We had to get off the guagua and into the back of some 4WD pickup trucks (we barely made it!!) that took us to the top of a beautiful mountain that led to a fair trade farm — which we thought was going to be a banana plantation, but once we got there, it was an organic fruit, coffee, cocoa, and banana farm that has some crops certified to be Fair Trade by IMO. When asked about why they did not choose to be certified by Fair Trade USA, they said it was because they (as well as many others in this region) feel that Fair Trade USA is monopolizing the Fair Trade movement and is not working to give a voice to the farmers, but rather to large corporations. We then headed to a beach — it was chilly (around 70 degrees), but some of us braved the cold air and headed into the ocean — water is so clear and clean here! After only bathing with baby wipes all week, it was quite refreshing to take a “shower” in the ocean.

Playa Nahuay: We got up early and headed to the beach to meet with factory workers from a nearby Gildan factory. Their story was so moving —  although they have formed a union, Gildan still does not respect them and continues to try to distract them by creating false unions within the factory to confuse workers . They have become more hopeful over the past few months because Gildan has said that they want to meet them and provided them with a date to come up with a collective bargaining agreement…..however, they keep pushing this date back…..

Beach =Beautiful day! We rented an inner tube and floated in the surf — ahhh soo nice. Those cabanas were perfect. For lunch we had a delicious spread of avacado