Fair Trade Roundup: Brand Jam Contest Winner Will Receive $1,000!

Here’s your roundup of the latest news and updates related to Fair Trade. This week, Fair Trade soccer hits Chicago, Wall Street Journal mentions Fair Trade spirits, a brand jamming contest winners pot swells, and lots more!

NEW $1,000 PRIZE ANNOUNCED FOR HERSHEY BRAND JAM CONTEST
Since we announced the Hershey Brand Jam contest a few weeks ago, there has been one large development. $1,000 large, to be exact.

The winner of the Hershey Brand Jam contest will receive $1,000. That’s a lot of clams!

How did this happen? A little birdy told me that an enthusiastic supporter generously donated $1,000 to sweeten the contest pot. Cool, huh?

Here’s where you come in…
There are two ways for you to get involved:

  1. Enter the contest yourself
  2. Help spread the word by clicking the Facebook “Share” and Twitter “Tweet” buttons next to this post and encourage others to do the same.

Contest Deadline:  April 10, 2011

What is the brand jamming contest?
Brand jamming generally uses parody, satire, and humor to expose undesirable corporate practices, often with mock ads. Here are 2 examples:

  1. Chevron greenwashing ad
  2. Chevron Campaign ads calling out Chevron’s hypocrisy

This contest is part of the Raise the Bar Hershey Campaign’s efforts to urge Hershey to end child and forced labor and trafficking in the cocoa fields of West Africa, as well as shift sourcing to Fair Trade, which prohibits these practices.

The brand jamming contest has three categories:

  1. Slogan/tagline
  2. Advertisement, up to 8.5×11
  3. Video, up to 2 minutes

Contest Prizes:

  • One big winner receives $1,000
  • Every submission will receive a 10% off coupon from Global Exchange’s Fair Trade stores
  • Winner in each category will receive a “Chocolate Lovers” Gift Basket from Global Exchange’s Fair Trade online store
  • First runners up in each category will receive a Green America t-shirt and 4 2011 Green Festival entrance tickets for the Green Festival city of your choice

For contest information, go to:

FAIR TRADE KICKS OFF WITH CHICAGO HIGHSCHOOLERS
Our friends at Fair Trade Sports share some exciting Fair Trade news from Chicago:

Chicago Fair Trade inspired Chicago’s high school students through the city’s first Fair Trade soccer games. Over 60 students participated from three area schools. The Telpochcalli Youth Project from Little Village (a neighborhood in Chicago) kicked off the event with a Peace Talk that set the tone of compassion and mutual respect between players. As two groups played against each other on the field – another set of students listened to a presentation about Fair Trade, facilitated by students from Kelly High School’s Social Justice club.

You can read the complete article here.

FAIR TRADE TRIP: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FAIR COCOA HARVEST
For those that love chocolate AND Fair Trade, consider joining Global Exchange’s upcoming Fair Cocoa Harvest trip.  During this transformative international travel experience to the Dominican Republic, you’ll learn about the importance of Fair Trade in the cocoa industry and how certification and economic alternatives can dramatically improve the lives of producers.

Program Highlights:

  • Visit a Fair Trade Certified Cooperative
  • Live and work with family members of CONOCADO, a fair trade cocoa cooperative in the Dominican Republic.
  • Visit local nature sites and observe wildlife (waterfalls, forests, birds, orchids, etc.).
  • Visit various parts of the community, such as the barrios of hacienda laborers.
  • Learn what life is like for non-fair trade cocoa farmers and laborers.
  • Learn about the history of cooperatives and how they are organized.
  • Meet with students, environmentalists and human rights activists working toward social justice.
  • Learn about current relations between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Cost: $1600
Price Includes:

  • Double room accommodations
  • All program activities and entrance fees
  • Two meals per day
  • In-country transportation
  • Qualified trip leader
  • English-speaking guides
  • Reader on the Dominican Republic
  • Tips, international airfare, and personal expenses are not included.
  • Price is based on double room accommodations; add $200 for single room.
  • limited number of partial scholarships are available for low-income applicants.

For information about this and other Fair Trade trips to Dominican Republic visit this page.

FAIR TRADE VODKA HIGHLIGHTED IN WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Wall Street Journal recently encouraged readers to “Get Buzzed on Quinoa.” What they were referring to is FAIR’s quinoa-derived vodka and liqueurs. Fair is a company that offers a line of Fair Trade Certified spirits. Check out the Wall Street Journal article here.

RECORDING OF POPULAR WEBINAR NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
If you missed Fair Trade Resource Network’s Webinar 106: How Much Ingredients Should be Fair Trade for a Product to get the Label of Fair Trade? you can listen to it now online here for just $5. The webinar panelists include:
1. Dr. Bronner’s CEO, David Bronner
2. Fair Trade USA’s VP of Business Development and Marketing, Mary Jo Cook
3. Ben & Jerry’s Director of Social Mission, Rob Michalak

—

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:

—

Special note: Next week I will not be posting a Fair Trade Roundup because I’ll be traveling in Guatemala on a Fair Trade Reality Tour. Keep an eye out for blog posts about my adventure down the road a bit, right here on our Fair Trade blog.