Fair Trade Asha ScarvesHope is made-by-hand in Calcutta, India where the two hundred women of Asha Imports transform vintage cotton saris into one-of-a-kind  scarves and blankets.  “Asha” means “hope” in Hindi.

The Global Exchange Stores are thrilled to partner with Asha Imports to bring you this beautiful line, of which each piece holds the  hope (or “asha”) that we can make change in faraway economies and lives.

Working at the Fair Trade Store in Berkeley, I get to see beautiful crafts arriving a few times a week. My favorite part of my job is learning about the wonderful projects and producer groups we work with. Here’s what I learned this week:

How to Hand-Stitch Hope?

  • Asha’s 100% cotton scarves and blankets are made in Calcutta, India at a center where young women from the local slums are provided training in sewing and business skills.  This steady employment provides income and positive alternatives for the deeply impoverished community.
  • The one-of-a-kind scrap fabrics from vintage saris are sourced in the local marketplace, paired, and hand-stiched in the distinctive Kantha style which runs the full length of the fabric.

A Word from the Experts:

According to Asha Imports:  “In Southeast Asia, there are many people who are suffering through poverty-stricken lives. Many times, poverty and cultural demands force people to live in slums. It is estimated that 30% of people in Calcutta are living in the slums. Many people cannot find jobs because of the numerous cultural and economic hindrances. People that reside in the slums may have skills, but they are unable to market their abilities. [Our organizations teach] tailoring skills as well as various other skills that can be used to support their families.”

photo credit: Asha Imports

Where is Calcutta, anyway?

Although I’ve lived and traveled abroad, there is always more to learn when it comes to building a global awareness.

Calcutta was once the capital of India under British colonial rule, until political unrest caused it to be moved to New Delhi. Calcutta was a center of education and culture and the independence movement that led to India’s freedom from Britain in 1947.

The city sits near the border with Bangladesh and the Indian Ocean, and is now the state capital of West Bengal. Today, it is the third largest metropolitan area in India boasting a population of more than 14 million people, including the two hundred women who are employed by Asha Imports.

Upcycled Fair Trade Sari BlanketsCome See for Yourself:

Stop by a Global Exchange Store today to check out the bright spring colors and soft texture of these one-of-a-kind scarves and blankets.

 

 

Saturday Aug 14, 11am-4pm
Global Exchange Fair Trade Store
4018 24th Street @ Noe Street, San Francisco

Bring your kids out to the Global Exchange store in San Francisco to join in the making of a mural that follows “Fair Trade Chocolate’s Journey from Bean to Bar”.

A fun educational neighborhood activity to foster learning about Fair Trade and a time for parents to taste FREE Fair Trade Divine Chocolate!

The cocoa for Fair Trade Divine chocolate is grown in the southern regions of Ghana by a farmers’ co-operative called Kuapa Kokoo. Most Ghanaian cocoa is grown on small family farms, and is usually intercropped with other plants and trees, such as plantains, maize and spices.  Cocoa trees grow to between 12-15 meters high and produce blossoms which when pollinated turn into cocoa pods.  Each pod contains 40 seeds which become cocoa beans.  It takes one tree’s whole crop for the year to make three big bars of Divine.

To harvest the cocoa, the pods must be cut from the trees, split open and the slimy pulp containing the beans scraped out. The bitter cocoa bean is subsequently wrapped in plantain leaves to ferment and then dried under the sun.

The beans are then shipped to Europe where they are roasted, crushed, and ground into a rich cocoa butter.  The cocoa butter is combined in varying proportions with sugar and milk and stirred continuously over several days, then cooled and molded into the delicious chocolate bars we enjoy at home!

Global Exchange Fair Trade San Francisco Store
4018 24th Street (near Noe)
San Francisco CA 94114 (map)
415.648.8068

Fair Trade Fashion Show
Sweatshop-free Style!

Saturday Aug 7, 11am-4pm

Join us at the Global Exchange San Francisco and Berkeley stores to celebrate Fair Trade fashion!

Come enjoy a free Fair Trade iced tea while we feature our colorful, comfortable and affordable line of Fair Trade women’s clothing and accessories.

  • 100% cotton, colorful dresses hand block printed in India
  • Beautifully embroidered light cotton blouses also from India
  • Everyone’s favorite line of simple, soft cotton dresses and fitted shirts in a wide selection of this seasons colors. Handmade in Bali
  • Silk and cotton scarves from around the world.  Perfect for summer evenings or to add a dash of color to your outfit.

All of our Fair Trade clothing and accessories are handmade by women’s cooperatives and artisan groups. Livable wages, good working conditions, no assembly line factory production – that’s what you’re getting when you shop Global Exchange.

Global Exchange Fair Trade San Francisco Store
4018 24th Street (near Noe)
San Francisco CA 94114 (map)
415.648.8068

Global Exchange Fair Trade Berkeley Store
2840 College Ave (Between Russell St. and Stuart St.)
Berkeley, CA 94705 (map)
510.548.0370

July 31: Fair Trade Chocolate Tasting
Economic Justice for the Cocoa Farmers has never Tasted so Good!

Photo Credit: Divine Chocolate

Saturday July 31, 11-4pm

Join us at the Global Exchange stores in San Francisco and Berkeley to learn about the exemplary practices of Fair Trade company Divine Chocolate and to sample a FREE selection of their fine Fair Trade Chocolate:

70% Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with Raspberries, Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut, White Chocolate with Strawberries and more!

At the heart of Divine’s heavenly tasting chocolate there is a unique story. Not only do the Kuapa Kokoo farmers’ receive a Fair Trade price for their cocoa, but they also own 45% of the company, and therefore have a direct influence over how the company is run and share in the profits from the chocolate.

Kuapa Kokoo – which means good cocoa growers – has a mission to empower farmers in their efforts to gain a dignified livelihood, to increase women’s participation in all of Kuapa’s activities, and to develop environmentally friendly cultivation of cocoa. Kuapa strives to ensure that all its activities are transparent, accountable and democratic. It doesn’t cheat the farmers by using inaccurate weighing scales, as other buying agents often do, and because it operates so efficiently, it can pass on the savings to its members. After seeing the benefits Kuapa gains for its members, more and more farmers want to join and the association now has upwards of 40,000 members organized in approximately 1300 village societies.

Cocoa from Ghana is of a high quality and trades at a premium on the world market.   Kuapa Kokoo’s motto is pa pa paa – which means the best of the best in the local Twi language.

Global Exchange Fair Trade San Francisco Store
4018 24th Street (near Noe)
San Francisco CA 94114 (map)
415.648.8068

Global Exchange Fair Trade Berkeley Store
2840 College Ave (Between Russell St. and Stuart St.)
Berkeley, CA 94705 (map)
510.548.0370

Join us at the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store in San Francisco for a
Dominican Republic Fair Cocoa Harvest
Global Exchange Reality Tours Report Back
by honored participants and Fair Harvesters

Keri Ferencz & Hime Levine

Date: Wednesday, July 28
Time: 5:30 – 7:30pm
Where: 4018 24th St, San Francisco CA 94114 (map)

As participants in this year’s Fair Cocoa Harvest Reality Tour, Keri and Hime traveled to the Dominican Republic where they worked along-side farmers of a Fair Trade cocoa cooperative (CONACADO) to harvest cocoa. Having shared in the daily lives of small-scale farming families, they can share with us their understanding of what Fair Trade means for producers.

Fair Harvest is not intended to be a tour or tourist visit, but rather to be a lived experience that will motivate the participants to be committed fair trade advocates when they return. Spend your vacation harvesting social justice while learning about the beautiful culture, biodiversity, sustainable development and history of the Dominican Republic!

Learn about the importance of Fair Trade in the cocoa industry and how certification and economic alternatives can dramatically improve the lives of producers.

July 24: A Million Hearts for Haiti
A Nationwide Fair Trade Movement to Rebuild Haitian Artisan Communities

Join us Saturday July 24, 11-4pm
at the Global Exchange San Francisco and Berkeley stores.

Come check out handmade hearts pieced together from recycled plastics, cut from recycled oil barrels  and carved from river stones in Haiti, sold in support of the “Million Hearts” program, which aims to generate an estimated $1,000,000 to benefit Haitian artisans.

This nationwide Fair Trade movement will get much-needed commerce flowing through Haiti’s culturally and economically important artisan businesses. In addition, a portion of the purchase price of each heart is donated to the HAND/EYE Fund’s Artisan Grant program. The program, which is already assessing the needs of artisan businesses on the ground in Haiti, gives cash grants between $50 and $2000 to artisan businesses who apply for funds to replace earthquake-shattered equipment and shelter, or other assistance needed as a result of the devastating January 12 disaster.

The stone hearts, available at Global Exchange are made in the Haitian town of Leogane, located very near the quake’s epicenter. The town was leveled in the quake. Since then, nearly 13,000 hearts have been produced and shipped to the US. Through the purchase of these hearts, $15,000 has already gone to build shelters for the stone artisans of Leogane. As of May, 10 temporary homes had been constructed.

Come support Haiti’s hands and hearts at work!

Global Exchange Fair Trade San Francisco Store
4018 24th Street (near Noe)
San Francisco CA 94114 (map)
415.648.8068

Global Exchange Fair Trade Berkeley Store
2840 College Ave (Between Russell St. and Stuart St.)
Berkeley, CA 94705 (map)
510.548.0370

image: hand/eye/blog.

July 17: Fair Trade Olive Oil tasting
From the Native Olive Trees in Palestine to Your Table

Join us Saturday July 17, 11-4pm at the San Francisco and Berkeley Global Exchange stores to taste Canaan FairTrade, organic olive oil from Palestine, the ancient home of olive oil.

Canaan olive oil is produced by farmer cooperatives that are members of the Palestine Fair Trade Association.  Canaan Fair Trade uses the fair trade concept to empower marginalized Palestinian rural communities caught in conflict so they can sustain their livelihoods and culture. To that end, they have built direct working relationships with these communities, paying sustainable prices for their agricultural products to ensure fair wages for labor along the supply chain.

Also check out our colorful cotton aprons from around the world perfect for hosting a Fair Trade dinner party!

Global Exchange Fair Trade San Francisco Store
4018 24th Street (near Noe)
San Francisco CA 94114 (map)
415.648.8068

Global Exchange Fair Trade Berkeley Store
2840 College Ave (Between Russell St. and Stuart St.)
Berkeley, CA 94705 (map)
510.548.0370

(image: Canaan Fair Trade)

Fair Trade Sun Dress by Mata Traders

Fair Trade Summer Dress Celebration & Iced Tea Tasting

Celebrate summer with Fair Trade sun dresses at all Global Exchange store locations in San Francisco, Berkeley, Portland, Washington D.C. and Virginia!

Saturday July 3, 11am-4pm
Come enjoy a cool glass of free Fair Trade iced tea while you check out our full line of Fair Trade sun dresses. 100% cotton, colorful, block printed dresses handmade in India.

All of our Fair Trade clothing and accessories are handmade by members of women’s cooperatives and artisan groups. Livable wages, good working conditions, no assembly line factory production – that’s what you’re getting when you shop Global Exchange.

Our summer dresses are made with care by members of two women’s cooperatives in India that employ over 600 economically disadvantaged artisans.

  • Both groups are democratically structured organizations that provide benefits including childcare, annual medical checkups, overtime pay, and retirement plans.
  • Artisan members come from rural, tribal, and urban slum areas and have little or no work skills when they join the cooperatives.
  • The production process is completely managed by the cooperative members, and many become socially and politically active in their larger communities.

Perfect for July 4th barbecues! Let’s celebrate together what independence means to our Fair Trade producer groups!

Recyled Tire Messenger Bag

Join us at the Global Exchange Fair Trade stores in San Francisco and Berkeley where we will be featuring the most creative designs in Fair Trade gifts made from trash!  Purses, pouches, and a wide selection of accessories made from discarded truck and bike tires in El Salvador ; tableware made from recycled magazine in Vietnam; doormats made from recycled flip flop byproduct in the Philippines; and designer jewelry and accessories made from recycled pull tabs from Brazil.

Come learn about the production and impact on the local community!

SAN FRANCISCO STORE
4018 24th Street (near Noe)
San Francisco CA 94114
415-648-8068
map

BERKELEY STORE
2840 College Avenue (at Russell)
Berkeley CA 94705
510-548-0370
map

by Dana Geffner

Recently, myself, along with Jocelyn Boreta, the Global Exchange San Francisco Store Manager, were invited by Craftmark with financial help by Aid to Artisans to visit India and see firsthand how new and existing fair trade groups are transforming the workplace culture in rural India. Craftmark is an initiative by the All India Artisans and Workers Association (AIACA) which helps to promote genuine Indian handmade crafts, develop sector-wide minimum standards and norms for labeling a product as a handmade product, and increase consumer awareness of distinct handicraft traditions.

Our 17-day trip to India was filled with inspirational moments. We visited several different types of groups from small family businesses that have been making mud block prints for five generations, to a family that has been making threaded jewelry for over 1000 years, to a slum project making recycled newspaper bags, to an NGO that is working with 360 men & women displaced by the creation of a tiger reserve.

All of the groups we visited were inspirational in their own way but the one that was working with green energy alternatives and supporting them with Fair Trade practices really caught our attention. Avani, which took an overnight train and a 7-hour car ride through the Himalayas to reach, could be considered the role model for how NGOs can become sustainable entities. They also prove that supporting Fair Trade can move mountains. Through their Fair Trade craft program, Avani is working to revive, preserve and promote traditional weaving craft and to incorporate contemporary input for market exposure and income generation. With an all-local team of weavers, working out of their homes and Avani community centers in over 90 communities, they have successfully created a sustainable village-based enterprise managed by the community. In 23 extremely remote villages, Avani has provided solar panels for electricity and have educated the villagers on installation and maintenance.

Avani also works to promote rain water harvesting for drinking water and grey-water systems for irrigation and domestic use. The Avani center collects 2,700,000 litres of roof run off rainwater and recycles 100% of their water through grey-water filtration systems. In a region where water shortage is a huge problem this practice is revolutionary.

Sales of Avani’s fair trade products have been life-changing to the remote, rural villages where they operate and have allowed their green projects to be completely sustainable. The women weavers produce hand-spun fabrics from all-natural organic fibers including wool, mulberry, eri, munga, pashmina, angora, linen and a variety of non-violent locally cultivated silks. The result is a huge selection of scarves, stoles, blankets, and clothing. Their range of organic color, texture and design is amazing. One can feel the organic process and grass-root level commitment to excellence in each textile.

The Avani center is a vibrant, thriving work and living space where families raise each others children, share home-grown meals, work for shared income, educate visitors and spend nights drumming, singing and dancing together. As Avani grows, this vibrancy is systematically being spread through the organization of self sustaining village centers throughout this region of the Himalaya.

Avani is just one of many great stories of fair trade groups making a difference in the communities where they exist. But they can’t be successful if they can’t market their products. We feel without our support and consumer’s support, these communities cannot continue to grow and move towards self-sustainability.

Dana Geffner is the Fair Trade Wholesale and Online Store Program Director for Global Exchange