The Global Exchange Online Store continuously strives to strengthen its’ product offerings from artisans of diverse ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. These NEW handmade Sparrow Ornaments are brought to you in partnership with Sevya, an organization working to provide Indian artisans a sustainable livelihood for their craft.

The ornaments are made by Muslim artisans living in Kashmir, in the foothills of the Himalayas. An entire family is involved in the production of this product and they have been perfecting their craft for generations. They are made from recycled paper which is molded into casts, then polished, sanded, coated with a tree resin and hand-painted.

The weather is extremely harsh in Kashmir and there is no agriculture, so these families rely solely on their handicraft for their livelihood. Kashmir has been a disputed territory since the 1940’s and waves of terrorism have swept the region, as a result tourism has suffered, causing the families to be even more dependent on craft productions to sustain them.

Hey everyone! As you can see, we have updated our blog and have given it a fresh new facelift. We hope you check back with us regularly as we are going to be updating our blog more often with new product annoucements, producer highlights, photos from our upcoming direct buy trip, possible giveaways and anything new and exciting happening in the Fair Trade movement. So, bookmark the page, tell your friends, connect and interact with other Fair Trade lovers out there. Thanks for your continued support and happy reading!

Photo from Mirembe Kawomera website.

The Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative, located in Uganda, is a prime example of how Fair Trade and coffee making can bring about peace and unity. Mirembe Kawomera, which means “delicious peace” in Uganda, is a coffee cooperative with members consisting of Bantu Jews, Christians and Muslims that are working together not only to encourage religious tolerance, but also to promote economic justice.

Starting in 2004, the Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative began with lone coffee farmer, JJ Keki a Bantu Jew, who was determined to see his local coffee community succeed in the midst of the coffee crisis. He reached out to neighboring Jewish, Muslim and Christian coffee farmers to come together, despite their religious differences, and form a cooperative. With sheer determination and help from a US non-profit, Kulanu, the cooperative was formed and now has over 700 members.

The farmers sell their coffee directly to the Thanksgiving Coffee Company who helped make Mirembe Kawomera Coffee to be the first Fair Trade Certified Ugandan coffee to reach the US Market. The Thanksgiving Coffee Company have been able to pay the farmers four times higher than they were previously receiving, helping out the community incredibly. Both Thanksgiving Co. and the Mirembe Cooperative have recently received the Dr. John Mayer Global Citizenship award from the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership, with past award recipients including Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The direct partnership of the Thanksgiving Coffee Company and the Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative has enabled various community development projects to occur including investments in public health and education for the community. They have been praised for their “wonderful innovative and powerful efforts on behalf of alleviating poverty, creating accountable and sustainable trade practices, encouraging peace and promoting interfaith harmony,” according to the Tufts Institute’s Director.

How can you get involved? You can start by learning more about the Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative here, which highlights the story of the farmers and the all the positive impacts that this union has brought forth to the community.

In partnership with Thanksgiving Coffee Company and Global Giving, the Global Exchange Online Store brings you coffee from the Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative. Grown in the eastern region of Uganda on the volcanic slopes of Mt. Elgon. Two dollars from the sale of each package will be donated to the Nyaka School for Children Orphaned due to HIV/AIDS project in rural Uganda, providing free primary education and extracurricular activities to children who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. Help make a difference and grab a bag today.

Read More about the Tufts Institute Award given to Thanksgiving Coffee Co. and the Mirembe Kawomera Cooperative.
Learn More about the Thanksgiving Coffee Company.

The Online Store’s mission is two prong: to provide vital income for marginalized artisans around the world and to increase understanding and activism of U.S. consumers about unfair trade practices and the fair trade alternative.

In support of our educational mission, the Online Store now offers the documentary MAQUILAPOLIS, a riveting documentary that follows the lives of factory workers in Tijuana and documents the effects of NAFTA on Mexico’s economy and environment. Carmen works the graveyard shift in one of Tijuana’s maquiladoras, the multinationally-owned factories that came to Mexico for its cheap labor.

As Carmen and a million other maquiladora workers produce televisions, electrical cables, toys, clothes, batteries and IV tubes, they weave the very fabric of life for consumer nations. They also confront labor violations, environmental devastation and urban chaos — life on the frontier of the global economy. In MAQUILAPOLIS, Carmen and her colleague Lourdes reach beyond the daily struggle for survival to organize for change.

As they work for change, the world changes too: a global economic crisis and the availability of cheaper labor in China begin to pull the factories away from Tijuana, leaving Carmen, Lourdes and their colleagues with an uncertain future.

Buy it here! http://store.gxonlinestore.org/maquilapolis.html

This year, Austin, Texas isn’t just the hot spot for dedicated indie music types, à la The South By South West Music Festival. From April 4-6, Austin will be swarming with your fellow Fair Traders at the 2008 Fair Trade Federation Conference. This annual conference is a forum for Fair Trade Federation (FTF) members, partners and friends to come together to share Fair Trade ideas, showcase different Fair Trade items, discuss current issues in Fair Trade and most importantly to discuss the future of the Federation and the Fair Trade Movement. They eat, drink, and breathe everything Fair Trade all weekend long! Phew!

Over the past twenty years, the FTF has brought together leaders in the field of fair trade and social enterprise to advance the movement and to provide practical, skill-building workshops. The Fair Trade movement is constantly growing and evolving, so the need for different members to come together to discuss this evolution is crucial in order to stay current and tackle any new challenges the movement may face.
This year’s schedule of events offers many different workshops including one entitled Amplifying Fair Trade Awareness Among Ethical Consumers, which includes the Online Store’s very own Tex Dworkin discussing how the “Fair Trade movement’s complimentary, but distinct, message stands out and captures the attention of a growing number of consumers interested in responsible consumption”.
If you happen to be in town for the event, we encourage you to check it out and join your fellow Fair Traders and make your contribution to the future of Fair Trade! Don’t forget to say hi to Tex!


Yesterday was Earth Day, and what better way to celebrate the Earth than to thank people for choosing a sustainable commute by offering free Fair Trade coffee in compostable cups. Mother Nature would be so proud.

A few members of the Global Exchange crew teamed up with BART (Bay Area Transit System), TransFair USA,the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition and other Fair Trade advocates to brave the early morning skies to pass out coupons for free Fair Trade coffee from Tully’s coffee shop to BART commuters.

This event was a great opportunity to increase awareness about Fair Trade and to thank riders for choosing a sustainable commute. People were flocking to the coupons, happy to hear the words “free” “cup” and “coffee” uttered in the same sentence. They walked away eager to claim their coffee with the knowledge that the cup they are drinking is fair to the farmers and friendly to the earth.

Hope everyone had a lovely Earth Day. How did you celebrate the Earth? While you reflect on that, here are some green facts provided by TransFairUSA on the benefits of giving away those 50,000 coupons:

1. 50,000 BART riders prevent 1,150,000 pounds of greenhouse gases and harmful air pollutants from emitting into the atmosphere each day.

2. 50,000 compostable coffee cups reduce petrochemical plastic use by 12,500 pounds.

3. 50,000 cups of Fair Trade Certified coffee help provide approximately $16,000 of additional income to small-scale farmers, supporting more sustainable livelihoods.

A timely examination of human values and the health issues that affect us all, ¡Salud! looks at the curious case of Cuba, a cash-strapped country with what the BBC calls ‘one of the world’s best health systems.’ From the shores of Africa to the Americas, !Salud! hits the road with some of the 28,000 Cuban health professionals serving in 68 countries, and explores the hearts and minds of international medical students in Cuba — now numbering 30,000, including nearly 100 from the USA. Their stories plus testimony from experts around the world bring home the competing agendas that mark the battle for global health—and the complex realities confronting the movement to make healthcare everyone’s birth right.

BUY IT HERE!

World Fair Trade Day is coming up May 10th. Sweet! We’re actually a proud sponsor this year! There’s some great stuff happening, including the World’s Largest Coffee Break. If you and your peops like drinking Fair Trade coffee, you should think about joining in the fun. How hard is it to drink coffee anyway? You gotta check out the Fair Trade Resource Network…they’ve got all the info about events happening in your area, ways to get involved (in the coffee break and other stuff) and it’s just the #1 go to place for World Fair Trade Day.

Oh, and we got in on the WFTD action ourselves…we’re handing out $10 Coupons to use in our Online Store when you shop anytime now through WFTD (and spend $50 bucks or more.) I know, $50 bucks?! But hey, think of the savings! That’s like a free bag of coffee, or 2 1/2 jumbo Fair Trade chocolate bars, all FREE! If you’re looking for a Mom’s Day gift, then this is the perfect time to shop. Oh, Mother’s Day is May 12th in case you’re wondering.

Check out our World Fair Trade Day page for all you need to know about WFTD 2008!

Adrienne, GX Fair Trade Campaigner (left) and Kirsten Moller (right), Global Exchange Executive Director, want Fair Trade Certified now!

Now, time for a little update on Global Exchange’s Fair Trade campaign work… A couple of weeks ago, Adrienne, Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Campaigner and Kirsten, Global Exchange’s Executive Director made their way to Hershey, Pennsylvania for the Hershey’s annual shareholder meeting. Global Exchange, who is a shareholder in the company, set out to propose Resolution 4, which would create a board-level committee on human rights. Resolution 4 would serve as an important tool for continuing the work Hershey’s has begun in eradicating human rights violations from its supply chain.

Resolution 4 stems from the 2001 Harken-Engel Protocol, where major chocolate manufacturers, including Hershey’s, made a commitment to certify that all cocoa sourced would be free of child labor by July 2005. However, 2005 came and went and chocolate companies still had not eradicated child labor from their supply chain and extended their deadline to July 2008. With July 2008 quickly approaching, Hershey’s still can’t certify that the worst forms of child labor have been eliminated from its cocoa supply.
Two years ago, Global Exchange presented several other resolutions that would serve as tools to address ways to end child slavery in the cocoa industry. Hershey’s response was that they would attempt to take care of it themselves. Once again, two years later, the child labor issue has not been addressed and once again, Global Exchange presented another resolution.
According to Adrienne, Resolution 4, which creates a board-level human rights committee, “will not commit the board to any particular course of action, but it will give the board a forum to address these issues, and where organizations who are monitoring this issue can provide the service of bringing issues of concern to the attention of the board and be in dialogue so that we can work in partnership to protect stock value and protect children.”
Global Exchange passed out Hershey kisses with a little twist. In place of the iconic Hershey’s tags, Boston-based visual artist, Kassandra Derby helped create Hershey kisses with new tags that carried different quotes from government and media quotes documenting child slavery. One quote read “We left our country only because of money…We have become slaves because of cocoa. – Slavery: A Global Investigation (UK Channel 4).”
Unfortunately, voting for the resolution had taken place even before the presentations were made, so needless to say the human rights resolution was defeated. The Global Exchange team spoke with countless residents in the community and Hershey worker shareholders who were upset with the decisions that were made. They felt that Hershey’s was no longer listening to their needs and no longer upholding the values set forth by Milton Hershey when he started the company. Milton Hershey was an innovator in worker rights and community relations, so they should care about the child slavery issue.
Chairman of the Board, Kenneth Wolfe and the company’s CEO, Dave West continually responded to questions amd complaints about the company from shareholders and community members by saying that customers have not been complaining, so there must not be a problem.
Prove them wrong by doing your part in voicing your concern about child slavery by calling their customer comment line and telling them that it’s about time that they address the child slavery problem. 1-800-468-1714 Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

Two Great Events in the Bay Area for World Fair Trade Day!

1) Fair Trade Day Flower Sale
Come celebrate fair trade at the San Francisco Global Exchange Fair-Trade Store with food, refreshments and a SPECIAL FAIR TRADE FLOWER SALE. They will be featuring beautiful bouquets of fair trade roses to give Mom for Mothers Day. Come early for the best selection.

When: May 10, 2008 10am-7pm
Where: Global Exchange Store in San Francisco
4018 24th St, San Francisco CA 94114
For details: Call 415-648-8068

2) World’s Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break
This year Fair Trade enthusiasts across the globe will celebrate World Fair Trade Day by participating in the World’s Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break. On May 10 at 3pm Eastern (Noon Pacific) people across the country will take a break to enjoy a cup of Fair Trade coffee. Gather with your friends, family and community for this global celebration of World Fair Trade Day.

This global act will bring awareness to the strength and solidarity of the international Fair Trade movement. Join us in showing the world that there is a democratic alternative to top-down economic globalization: Fair Trade!

Sign up to participate: Want to sign up to participate? Then go here: World Fair Trade Day Page.

What are you doing for World Fair Trade Day?
Let others know what you’re up to for World Fair Trade Day. Share your comments with us.