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Global Exchange Noam Chomsky (c) with Global Exchnage Co-founders Kevin Danaher (l) and Kirsten Moller (r)

Global Exchange Noam Chomsky (c) with Global Exchange Co-founders Kevin Danaher (l) and Kirsten Moller (r)

“For 25 years, (Global Exchange) has been at the forefront of the struggle to put people and planet first, and I am proud to call myself a supporter of their work.“ ~Noam Chomsky

Annie Leonard (c) with Global Exchange board members Walter (l) and Wanda (r)

Annie Leonard (c) with Global Exchange board members Walter (l) and Wanda (r)

“Global Exchange is a hard-hitting, grassroots human rights organization with a legacy of winning important victories for workers and the environment. They have my support!“ ~Annie Leonard

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We have the support of Noam and Annie. Do we have yours?

Your support truly makes the difference. Your organizing. Your phone calls. Your emails. Your donations.

Just look at what you made possible in 2013!

With your help, we:

  • Mobilized grassroots support to tell Ghirardelli Chocolate “go Fair Trade”
  • Engaged 12 California communities to work towards banning fracking, and
  • Brought our message for peace and justice in Mexico to the White House. 

But we are not done! 2014 will be a critical year to advance our mission for social, economic and environmental justice and we need you with us!

Join Noam, Annie, and thousands of others as we work together to resist injustice, envision alternatives, and take action.

Please, make your year end donation today. Thank YOU!

It’s been a year since we sent out our Five Way (you haven’t thought of) to Fair Trade your Holiday and what a year it is has been!

This year Global Exchange Fair Trade purchases helped install a water treatment plant in India to filter 2,000 liters of water each hour. We created a new month of activities for Halloween and Fair Trade month, delivered kid’s Valentines to the Board of the Hershey’s company, made delicious Fair Trade S’mores in the summer and had a significant victory when Hershey’s agreed to go 100% certified by 2020.

The end of the year is always a good time to take stock, express our gratitude and prepare to meet the new year with renewed energy to make Trade Fair! Here are a few of our suggestions for this year.

  1. Buy less stuff: Our good friends over at The Story of Stuff (and winner of the Global Exchange 2012 Human Rights Award) encourage us to choose family over frenzy this holiday season and to think carefully about the full life span of the products we consume. Where does your gift come from? Who made it and where will it go when we don’t want it any more? A gift of time and love doesn’t have to clog our landfills and exploit labor to be meaningful.
  2. Shop Fair Trade: When you shop Fair Trade you set an example of responsible consumption rooted in the celebration of craftsmanship; the enforcement of workers rights; and the empowerment of artisans and their communities around the world. You get quality, beauty and tradition in one-of- a -kind, hand-made products. From gemstone earrings set in hand-etched sterling silver in Bali, to messenger bags hand-cut from the inter tube of big rig truck tires in El Salvador, and 100% cotton table linens block-printed in India, there are many beautiful and functional gifts. At the origin of each piece, is a story of preserving culture, supporting community and sustaining the planet.
  3. Don’t buy SodaStream: One of the most popular gifts this season is the do-it-yourself soda machine made by SodaStream which carbonates water at home. But don’t do it! People who care about human rights should know that the product is made in an illegal Israeli settlement on stolen Palestinian land in violation of international law!
  4. Give the Gift of Membership: A great way to give a gift that doesn’t take up space but keeps on growing is to give a Global Exchange membership. When you do that you’re connecting someone you care about with an international movement to build a better world.
  5. Be Generous: Times are still hard for many people who are struggling to recover from storms, from the economic downturn and from personal trials. If you can afford it, give as much as you can to those who are making things better and if you don’t have a lot of money, share your smiles, time, songs and encouraging words.

What are your Fair Trade Holiday ideas? Tell us in the comments.

Have a Happy and Fair Trade Holidays!

May 10th is an evening you won’t want to miss! We’ll be shining a spotlight on 2012 Human Rights Award Honoree Annie Leonard and People’s Choice Winner PFC Bradley Manning, and this just in…Bradley Manning’s award will be accepted by special guest Daniel Ellsberg.

Daniel Ellsberg Photo Credit: www.ellsberg.net

Daniel Ellsberg is a lecturer, writer and activist on the dangers of the nuclear era, wrongful U.S. interventions and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing with an interesting background of his own. From Daniel Ellsberg’s website:

In 1967 Ellsberg worked on the top secret McNamara study of U.S. Decision-making in Vietnam, 1945-68, which later came to be known as the Pentagon Papers. In 1969, he photocopied the 7,000 page study and gave it to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; in 1971 he gave it to the New York Times, the Washington Post and 17 other newspapers. His trial, on twelve felony counts posing a possible sentence of 115 years, was dismissed in 1973 on grounds of governmental misconduct against him, which led to the convictions of several White House aides and figured in the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon.

Hope to see you! So, if you find yourself in the California Bay Area on May 10th, we hope you join us at the historic Green Room (401 Van Ness) in San Francisco from 6PM – 8:30PM for this fabulous Human Rights Awards Gala. Awaiting you will be drinks, passed appetizers, and the opportunity to mingle with awardees, Global Exchange staff, and other progressives.

And there’s a silent auction? Yep, for the cherry on top of this delicious evening, there will also be a silent auction featuring lots of incredible items up for auction at great prices during the awards gala. Last year’s auction included fine artwork, Fair Trade gift baskets, getaways and more. I wonder what tempting auction items there will be this year. Come out on May 10th to find out. I look forward to meeting some of you there.

That's me with a few of my personal heroes Ben & Jerry and Kevin Danaher at the 2011 Human Rights Awards

TAKE ACTION!

 

Global Exchange is proud to announce our first ever online auction, in advance of the 10th annual Human Rights Awards – a way for our supporters around the country to support our work by bidding on an amazing collection of items.

There are some awesome items up for bid; one-of-a-kind getaways, fine dining gift certificates, collectable artwork, electronics, and lots more.

And the best part? New items are added throughout the auction so when you’re on the site checking your bid, don’t forget to keep your eyes open for new items. Auction ends 19th!

Here are a few of my favorite items up for bid (to get the complete picture, check out the auction online):

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Live the Story of Stuff

Go on a once in a lifetime adventure with 2012 Human Rights Award Winner Annie Leonard!  Annie Leonard, creator of The Story of Stuff video, will lead a San Francisco Bay Area tour to find out what happens to all that stuff once it’s been thrown away.  You’ll get an up-close look at the leftovers of our consumer economy, with personal instruction from an expert.

iPad 2

Are you always on the go yet still need to stay connected? Then bid on this iPad 2 (16gb with wi-fi). Features include core dual-processor, built-in cameras, and long-lasting battery. Users can take advantage of over 70,000 third party applications as well.(Psst, Mom. I don’t have one yet, and I reaallly want one.)

Green Festival VIP Passes, Tour and Lunch with Co-Founder Kevin Danaher

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the largest sustainability event in the country – Green Festival. Kevin Danaher, Green Festival Co-Founder, will personally take you on a VIP tour of the Green Festival. Introducing you to vendors, speakers and event producers. After the tour, enjoy an organic, local lunch and a private conversation with movement leader, Kevin Danaher.  Includes 2 passes to a 2012 Green Festival of your choice. (2012 Green Festivals held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C.)

One Week Stay in a Paris Apartment

This amazing package is valid for a 2-4 person stay in a beautiful, fully equipped apartment for 1 week in Paris! You will be delighted to stay in a charming apartment in Montmartre, Paris (France) – and live like a Parisian while doing it. Ooh, la la!

SO LET’S GO!

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Auction: Ladies and gents, let the bidding begin!

Human Rights Awards: Join us at the 10th annual Human Rights Awards.

The Occupy demonstrations have raised a central issue that we must confront: how does capital get invested and who is controlling the process?

A new video by Annie Leonard addresses this issue in a powerful and convincing way. It’s called The Story of Broke: Why There’s Still Plenty of Money to Build a Better Future, and it’s out today, November 8th.

The evidence is mounting that the global economy has been allocating way too much capital to investments that destroy the environment. Every biological system on our planet is collapsing, largely due to the way we have been running the global economy, putting corporate profits ahead of saving natural resources.

Hundreds of species of plants and animals are being wiped out because we are destroying their habitats. Every year, billions of tons of the topsoil that grows our food is disappearing. We are rapidly destroying the forests that absorb carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we need to breathe. The glaciers and polar ice caps are melting, which will raise ocean levels, threatening the very existence of major cities such as Miami and Houston.

Everywhere you look, severe weather events are Mother Nature’s way of telling us that we cannot continue on our current path.

Now the new online video by Annie Leonard, author of the popular video and book, The Story of Stuff, lays out a well-researched case for changing the way our society decides how to invest its wealth. Instead of investing in the military-industrial complex that pollutes the earth and does not produce enough jobs, this entertaining video explains how we could redeploy our money in ways that will lessen environmental destruction and reduce the growing inequality that is prompting protests all around the world.

The Story of Broke points out the contradictions between the response we get from our political leaders when we want better schools and environmental protection—“Sorry, there’s not enough money”—and the way they always seem to find money when it comes to waging war, subsidizing big corporations that move our jobs overseas, and bailing out financial institutions that gamble our money away.

The video makes a very strong case for shifting our capital away from the destructive “dinosaur economy” to the newly emerging green economy sectors that are developing renewable energy, green building, resource recovery, grassroots education, and environmental restoration.

As Jim Hightower says: “Capital is like cow manure, if you concentrate it in a big pile it stinks, but if you spread it out evenly it makes things grow.”

Watch the video teaser here:

Watch the full video here!