What happened to April showers? This year weather patterns in the Bay Area are certainly in flux. Just as I am getting used to this unusually dry, hot month of May, I am also transitioning from working at the San Francisco Fair Trade store, which closed its doors May 4th, to working full time at the Berkeley Fair Trade store.

This is my first season working at Global Exchange Fair Trade store in Berkeley  and I am experiencing the excitement and anticipation of students nearing the end of their school year or the end of their college life. Graduation is a major part of summer and graduation gifts are customary. What is better than to honor academic success than with a Fair Trade graduation gift?

Global Exchange Fair Trade shops have many graduation gifts to choose from. Let me help inspire the perfect gift for your graduate or teacher.Here are my top 5 graduation gifts under $25!

Fair Trade BirdsFlying Birds: $12.50 (Haiti) are made from recycled oil drums. These sweet birds symbolize freedom and make for a great end of the school year offering. Beautiful Haitian birds can live inside or outside adding hope to the wall on which they hang. They are light, pack flat, hang easy and come with either a stationary or 3D wing option.

 

 

Fair Trade Box

Treasure Boxes: $14.50 (India) are made from paper. These gems are new to our shop. They come in a variety of shapes and colors and are the perfect size to hold a special graduation treasure. Perhaps a inspirational quote or tickets to the Giants or A’s game or maybe some Fair Trade earrings for under $20! What would you put in this box? What is your favorite inspirational quote?

 

journal

Prosperity Hens: $22 (India) are 45″ in length, made with cotton, beads, and a finishing bell. What better to give a graduate than the gift of prosperity? Prosperity hens are perfect to hang in any dorm, home or classroom. We also carry the ornament size, 8″ in length.

 

 

journal realRecycled Journals: $18.50 (India) are made from 100% recycled cotton. The pages in this journal are blank, eggshell white, and are so smooth to write on. This gift serves as a travel journal or to note daily inspirations. Let us, at Global Exchange, wrap it up in one of our recycled newspaper bags and feel the goodness of humane economics and conscious consumption take over!

 

dop kitTravel/Cosmetic Bag: $16.50 (Bali) made from cotton. I am serious when I say this is the perfect travel bag. They come in a variety of colors and sizing and have a zipper pouch on the inside which is fully lined so they are easy to clean. This bag is wonderful to give to someone who will be traveling this summer.

 

 

Fair Trade Gift CardBONUS GIFT IDEA: Gift Cards! Yes, Global Exchange offers gift cards and a beautiful assortment of note cards to go with them. Global Exchange gift cards can be made in any amount and do not expire! They are easy to give and loved by all graduates and teachers.

 

 

Take a break from the sun, come in for a graduation gift and take home a free Fair Trade gift! Just mention Graduation!

May your transitions go smooth and wherever you go, go with your heart.

P.S. Hope to see you at the Berkeley store (2840 College Ave (at Russell), Berkeley, CA 94705) soon – we changed the shop and it looks fantastic!

WomensDayQuote-300x255The following piece is part of our ‘Women Around the World Inspiring Change’ blog series that will run until Mother’s Day 2014.

So far, we have featured a women’s group in Nogales, Mexico Hogar de Esperanza y Paz/Home of Hope and Peace (HEPAC),  María Estela Barco Huerta, an incredible leader of DESMI (Desarrollo Económico Social de los Mexicanos Indígenas), and a partnership between the Fair Trade company, Equal Exchange, and women in the 10 primary societies of Gumutindo Coffee Co-op in Uganda.

Now, meet a mother behind the beautiful Fair Trade tote bags in Rajasthan, India.

#mothersacrossborders

Sitting on the soft ground in a pile of kantha stitch quilts with a group of mother artisans, I met a strong and contented Kamala.

Kamala is part of a strong community of artisans in a small village near Barmer, Rajasthan that hand-makes our Global Exchange Eco-shopper membership bags.

As I mentioned in my first travel post, it is a tradition for men to block print, and women to quilt. The women’s workspace is a rectangular tent made by hand from woven leaves and branches that protect us from sun and captures any breeze that comes by.

I see women clad in fuchsia and neon orange saris, gold and gemstone earrings and nose rings, and stacks of plastic bangles.  The colors of their clothing are so vibrant and creates a beautiful contrast to the desert all around.

I am invited to sit with the artisans. One woman starts talking to me, so I grab my guides Riya and Anjuli to translate. I understand the woman is asking how many children I have. “I have one boy, he’s 9.”

She follows-up by asking how many years I’ve been married. I tell Riya, my current translator, that I am not married. She looks at me and softly says, just tell her something. So she tells the woman I’ve been married for 5 years. The woman I’m speaking with seems satisfied and re-focuses on her stitching.

Next, I sit down next to a young woman with a beautiful smile covered by transparent neon orange fabric.

#mothersacrossbordersSome of the women are wearing white plastic bangles that start small at their elbow and increase in size up to their shoulder. I ask the woman in orange why isn’t she wearing them: “ Women are given these bangles when they are married. New laws say we are only required to wear them for 3 years after marriage, and I have been married for 12 years.”

The woman I’ve been speaking to is Kamala Devi. She is 30 years old. She has been married for 12 years, and has 3 children, 1 boy and 2 girls. Kamala was born and raised in Chohtan, a small village just outside of Barmer. All of her children are in school, and she says she will teach her daughter the art of stitching- like her mother taught her – in addition to schooling.

I ask Kamala a few questions:

#mothersacrossbordersWhat do you love about being a mother? Being a mother is wonderful. I love my children and want them to  finish school and go on to become good humans.

How did you meet your husband? She laughs, It was arranged by my mother.

Will you arrange your daughters’ wedding? “Yes.”

Who are your best friends? “The women I work with.”

What do you talk about? “We talk about family and our work.”

What do you do in your free time? Kamala laughs,  “After I finish my house chores I come to work. I have no free time.”

What is your art form? “I work in appliqué stitching and metal. I have been working for 10 years.”

What is your favorite color? “Yellow.”

#mothersacrossbordersI look to my left and see that one artisan has pulled a bottle of bright blue nail polish from her blouse and is painting my friend Kelly’s nails. I look to my right and see that my friend Erin is trading her sunglasses for earrings and a sari. Before I leave, I give Kamala a hug. All the other women found this very funny, and want hugs too. When I said “Bye”, it was just too funny.  As I walked back to the bus, I heard the women mimicking me…”Bye, Bye, Bye…”.

I was in Rajasthan for two weeks. I had three Indian women guides, who patiently answered my daily questions about the roles of women in India. What really was beautiful is that in a country that has a caste system, where marriages are arranged and village women have seemingly no choice, there is still a celebration of womanhood.

I saw happiness in the color of their dress, and in their smiles. There is immense strength in their community. I observed the respect that younger women showed for elder women. They bowed and touched the feet of their elders. The artisans I met had a strong eye contact, pride in their work, and joy as they speak. They all had voices, and are empowered by Fair Trade to determine the value of their work by creating the prices of their art.

I asked Kamala “Are you happy” she answered, “Yes”.

tote_buttonTAKE ACTION

WomensDayQuote-300x255The following piece is part of our ‘Women Around the World Inspiring Change’ blog series that will run until Mother’s Day 2014.

So far, we have featured a women’s group in Nogales, Mexico Hogar de Esperanza y Paz/Home of Hope and Peace (HEPAC),  María Estela Barco Huerta, an incredible leader of DESMI (Desarrollo Económico Social de los Mexicanos Indígenas), and a partnership between the Fair Trade company, Equal Exchange, and women in the 10 primary societies of Gumutindo Coffee Co-op in Uganda.

Now, meet the women behind a Fair Trade tagua jewelry business in Bogota, Colombia.

Tagua Artisan and Business Woman Lizzie Zuniga

Tagua Seed Jewelry Artisan and Business Woman Lizzie Zuniga

Arriving from the airport into the Colombian capital city of Bogota, the main avenue is lined with the brilliant color of public art.

Every wall along Avenida Gaitan (named after the populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan) tells a bold story of armed conflict and the resilience of the peoples’ movement for peace and justice.  I was in Bogota to spend time with the artisans who produce the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store’s line of Fair Trade tagua seed jewelry.  In one mural an indigenous woman, wrapped in the cloth of her cultural heritage, outstretches her hands to the cars rushing past.  The word “Esperanza”, or “Hope”, is painted in neon behind her. The women artisans we have partnered with in Bogota are working for just that.

Tagua Seed Pod

Tagua Seed Pod

Lizzie Zuniga moved to Bogota from Chiquinquira, a small town in the Western Boyaca Province located three hours north from the capital city.  She and her partner Nicolas survived their first years in the city making and selling tagua seed jewelry in the street.  Tagua seeds grow wild in Boyaca and when Lizzie and Nicolas moved to the city they depended on this natural resource of their homeland to sustain their new urban livelihood.

Whole Tagua seeds that have been died green

Whole Tagua seeds that have been died green

Tagua seeds grow in large pods on the trunk of Ivory Palms.  The seeds remain gelatinous until the pod falls to the ground, where it can be peeled open to harvest the hard, smooth white seeds.  Lizzie explains to me that the harvest cannot be rushed, as the resilience of the seeds depends on their full maturation.  And so her business in Bogota grew, slowly and organically, with the tagua seed at its heart.

In her own words:

“Tagua is where I am from.  It is part of my family and who I have become.  On two different occasions when Nicolas and I had nothing, no shelter or food, we were able to rise and stand with tagua.”

Tagua seeds thinly sliced, dyed and ready to be made into jewelry

Tagua seeds thinly sliced, dyed and ready to be made into jewelry

Today Lizzie runs a sustainable ten-year old business that employs seven artisans in the full-time production of tagua jewelry.  She has partnered with a friend from Chiquinquira, who transports the tagua harvested by local farmers during their off-season, to the city where is it sorted, peeled, tumbled smooth and sliced into slabs in her workshop.

Mother of three, expert dyer, and business woman Sandra Navarette

Mother of three, expert dyer, and business woman Sandra Navarette

Sandra Navarrete has worked with Lizzie for four years in all stages of tagua jewelry production.  She has developed a full knowledge of the trade and considers herself a master artisan and business woman.

In her own words she describes her position:

“I find purpose and possibility in my work.  I am a mother to three daughters and I am very proud that I have developed the capacity and confidence to run a business.  I know all the processes involved.”

She has chosen to work in the dying of the tagua slabs, a highly technical process in which eco-friendly dies are used to set brilliant reds, greens, and indigos. Sandra’s favorite color is purple, though the perfect red is the color she finds the most challenging to achieve.

The Lizzie Penant cut from Tagua Seed and available now is stores or as part of our Mothers Day Gift of Membership program

The Lizzie Pendant cut from tagua seed and available now in the Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores or as part of our Mother’s Day Gift of Membership program

The final product is a sustainably sourced, elegant piece of Fair Trade jewelry that can be sold to sustain a growing community of artisans that have relocated to Bogota from outside provinces.  A large population of people, displaced from rural areas by decades of political violence in Colombia, lives in deep poverty on the outskirts of Bogota.  The women of these communities are rising to create a future for their families through their work as artisans.  In Lizzie’s case, she stays connected to the earth and her origins through the seeds that she works with.  For her, tagua is a seed of hope or esperanza. 

Stop in the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store in Berkeley this Mother’s Day to pick out your favorite from a wide selection of tagua jewelry pieces handmade with love by Lizzie and Sandra.  My favorite is the Lizzie pendant, cut in the shape of a tree from a tagua seed, which comes in all colors.

GX_MomGoM_Eblast_R2

You can make your Mama proud this Mother’s Day by gifting her a Fair Trade ‘Proud Mama’ gift box that includes the Lizzie pendant, along with a Putumayo “Women of the World” music CD, Fair Trade Equal Exchange chocolate bar, and a tin of Proud Mama coffee from Equal Exchange.

Get your Proud Mama Gift Box today!

WomensDayQuoteThe following piece is part of our ‘Women Around the World Inspiring Change’ blog series that will run until Mother’s Day 2014. We started with a women’s group in Nogales, Mexico Hogar de Esperanza y Paz/Home of Hope and Peace (HEPAC).

Our next post, titled, Women’s Equality and Food Sovereignty: Solutions Found in Chiapas, Mexico, featured Global Exchange’s 2014 International Human Rights Award honoree, María Estela Barco Huerta, an incredible leader of DESMI (Desarrollo Económico Social de los Mexicanos Indígenas), based in Chiapas, Mexico.

This third post highlights a partnership between the Fair Trade company, Equal Exchange, and women in the 10 primary societies of Gumutindo Coffee Co-op in Uganda.

THE MOTHER’S DAY GIFT BOX HAS SOLD OUT – THANK YOU!!

GX_MomGoMThis Mother’s Day, Global Exchange has teamed up with Equal Exchange with a great box of gifts to show your mom, or any mom, some Fair Trade love. By setting her up with at Global Exchange gift of membership for a year, we’ll also send out:

  • a Putumayo “Women of the World” music CD;
  • a dark chocolate with caramel crunch and sea salt bar from Equal Exchange (3.5 oz);
  • a stylish, handmade tagua seed necklace from a women’s Fair Trade cooperative in Colombia; and
  • a tin of Proud Mama Coffee from Equal Exchange (14 oz.)

And this tin of Proud Mama coffee has a story …

When Beth Ann Caspersen from Equal Exchange explains it, she genuinely sounds like she didn’t know what she was getting in to when she returned from her first trip to Uganda in 2010. Working with Equal Exchange, which supports small farmers around the world by participating in the Fair Trade system, she traveled to Mount Elgon to meet with growers who cultivate for various blends of Equal Exchange coffee, including Proud Mama.

3903_FB_Cover_851x315_2100x778_300_RGB

When she returned to the United States, she began to brainstorm about how Equal Exchange could deepen the impact of Fair Trade and support a project that would draw on the existing structures the women were working with, and would be meaningful to family life and sustainable for the community in the long run.

She reflected that while spending time with the women, she noticed:

“[T]hat as the primary caretakers in these villages, the women spend a lot time in the kitchen. As is the tradition in Uganda, the kitchen is an enclosed space that usually lacks light or ventilation. Picture a small fire in the corner of a room that is filled with smoke. It is a difficult place to prepare food for the family; the smoke burns your eyes, fills your lungs and makes it a very unattractive place to work, let alone spend time with your family. Each fire can accommodate only one pot, sometimes two, but to manage both and keep the meal moving is difficult and time consuming.”

img_1481And so began The Stove Project. Starting quickly with the small sum of $4,000 and working with the community and advisors, a small, but focused, project got off the ground to immediately improve health and provide skills training for leaders of the women’s groups, by building energy-efficient stoves in 50 homes in two different communities.

The Stove Project is not just simple one-way charity. In line with Fair Trade principles, the new stoves are more than just a tool for the kitchen. Already, Beth Ann has seen three substantial impacts beyond the hopes of helping women in Mount Elgon.

  • The new stoves have reduced the amount of firewood necessary to cook by 50 percent, meaning household savings have gone up, meaning more support for other needs.
  • The new stoves are a time saver – multiple dishes can be cooked at the same time. For example, women have said that water for tea boils water faster, which means more time to enjoy a break.
  • The new stoves provide a smoke-free and warmer environment that is safer for everyone. With the design addition of a metal pipe that filters the smoke out of the house family members spend more time together in the warm kitchens.

Take-ActionTAKE ACTION

Last month, Global Exchange Fair Trade Store Manager Kara Roguly traveled to India with Handmade Expressions to meet with the artisans who make our Fair Trade tote bags and other beautiful items sold at our stores and also delivered the messages you shared with the artisans as part of our #BagsAcrossBorders campaign. Read on as Kara shares her experiences.

Bags Across BordersOn a bus just outside the city of Barmer, I want to say the landscape changes but really the natural environment becomes visible. Looking out the window, the gross amount of city trash, most notably plastic bottles, disappears into soft tan colored Rajastani earth. I can see Tulsi and Neem trees; small in stature, their shade provides a surprising amount of relief from the desert sun. I see groupings of people and animals breaking from the heat in these sporadic shade pockets.

I am excited for today. Today is the reason that I am in India. Our long-time Fair Trade partner, Handmade Expressions invited Global Exchange to northwest India to meet with a community of artisans who specialize in traditional wood block-printing and the production of our Fair Trade Eco-Shopper bags.

Bags Across BordersToday I am going to give the map Global Exchange and our members created for this artisan community. The purpose of the map is to show  where Eco-Shoppers live after production and to bring the artisans YOUR messages of why you love your Eco-Shopper.

In a time of bigger, faster, and cheaper production we want to thank this block-printing community for valuing sustainable and holistic working environments, and know that there are conscious consumers who value and love this work. Global Exchange has gifted these handmade Eco-Shopper bags to our members in exchange for their support of our organization and their commitment to Fair Trade.  

While Fair Trade can sometimes feel like an abstract concept, we want to bring to life the connection between the artisan and the conscious carrier of these Fair Trade bags!

Bags Across BordersDriving into small village paths in a massive bus with the words TOURIST across the windshield, and 22 Americans de-boarding, never failed to bring all the locals out of their homes for a laugh and a long stare.

Walking into the court yard of the workshop we are greeted by a large tree and Ranaml Ji. Ranaml, the founder of the workshop, is wearing all white except for a black cap and gold hoop earrings.  To my right I see a water filtration system, which allows water to be reused 15 times; it is next to the indigo fermentation  process and far to my left is a huge rectangle thatched roof where women stitch. Overhead are laundry lines of wet block printed fabric hanging to dry that act as an air conditioner, it feels wonderful when the breeze passes through the wet cloth and blows cold air on you. Inside, I see Global Exchange Eco-Shoppers being block printed and hand sewn.

Bags Across BoardersOnce settled, I get a chance to speak with Ranaml Ji. He was born and raised in Barmer, India, after his father immigrated from Pakistan. Ranaml’s father taught him how to block print when he was in grade 6. He fell in love with the art, and pursued block printing not by force but with passion. Ranaml has four children, two daughters and two sons. One of his sons works with him, making theirs a four generation block printing family.

The community employees 20 full time artisans. I asked how many days a week is typical for work; he replied, “artists work everyday because we love what we do”. Block printing is traditionally a mans art form although younger women are starting to learn the trade, including one woman who prints at Ranaml’s workshop. In general, women apply the finishing and details to the work together under the thatched roof.

Bags Across Boarders

I asked Ranaml what his favorite colors to use are: “Indigo and red, even though I have been wearing all white for the past 15 years”. I also asked Ranaml if he has any words that he would like me to bring back?

“I want people to understand the value of natural dye and block printing.”

Living in an area with no agriculture, block printing is the #1 job for this community; because demand is down and prices are up, the sustainability of their future is concerning for Ranaml.

After lunch, I am walked through the entire process of block printing, from holding a indigo rock in my hand, to seeing our Eco-Shoppers straps being sewn on.

After I meeting the artisans, it’s time to present the map. I invite all artisans to come together outside. Men gather on one side, women on the other. The woman who is featured on the map, Seeta Ji, is here today!

Bags Across Boarders

With Handmade Expressions’s Rashmi translating, I’m able to present to Ranaml Ji, Seeta Ji, and all the artisans who make our Eco-Shopper your messages and photos about what you love about your Eco-Shopper!

Rashmi takes the time to read all the messages to the artisans, and I can see their smiles and feel how proud they are. This map connected the artisans to their work, outside of India, and to their conscious customers. The artisans could see who is wearing their bags, how they wear them, and what they love about them. The connection was a success, the energy was very high and I did not want to get back on that TOURIST bus.

Bags Across Borders

Before I left, Ranaml Ji invited me to block print my very own Eco-Shopper! It came out beautifully, but what can I say, I had a great teacher! I was also able to spend time and connect with one of the women artisans. Her name is Kamala, and I will share more about our time together in my next blog. 

“We are all in this together, and we are all doing good work together” was the mantra that kept coming up for me.

Thank you for participating in this campaign and thank you for shopping Fair Trade.

YES, your purchase is the action that gives opportunity to communities like this one to thrive. This artisan community, Handmade Expressions, SETU, and the group of Fair Trade American retailers were all connected through this powerful action of acknowledgement.

tote_button

TAKE ACTION

Justice-Gingerbread-houseHappy wintertime (just about),

In this Fair Trade Roundup, you’ll learn about actions you can take to encourage chocolate companies to go Fair Trade. Don’t forget the “News to Peruse” section towards the bottom to get caught up on the latest Fair Trade news from around the globe.

Happy New Year to you!

Roundup Sections:

  1. Featured Fair Trade Update: Green America Challenges Godiva to go Fair Trade
  2. Global Exchange Update: 2013 Highlights & What’s Next for 2014
  3. Fair Trade News to Peruse

—

Cocoa beans Photo Credit: Green America

Cocoa beans Photo Credit: Green America

1) FEATURED FAIR TRADE UPDATE: Green America to Godiva: Protect cocoa workers and West African children by going Fair Trade
Green America is urging folks to sign a letter telling Godiva to go Fair Trade. Here’s more about this from Green America’s website:

One thing that hasn’t changed in recent years is Godiva’s failure to protect vulnerable workers at the beginning of its supply chain.  While other high-end chocolate companies use third-party certification to ensure that their products aren’t tainted with child slave labor and the exploitation of cocoa-producing communities, Godiva does not.  

The company insists that it requires its suppliers “to be in compliance with labor laws,” and donates some of its growing profits to organizations providing charitable work in cocoa-producing nations, but these efforts are no substitute for actually building a fair supply chain.  For this reason, we are urging Godiva to go Fair Trade.  No West African child should be forced to endure grueling cocoa-field labor for low or no pay so that American children can enjoy Godiva-coated Oreos.

What YOU can do:
Please sign Green America’s letter to Godiva telling them to go Fair Trade.

Color-in postcard to send to Ghirardelli's

Color-in postcard to send to Ghirardelli’s

2) GLOBAL EXCHANGE FAIR TRADE UPDATE: 2013 Highlights & What’s Next for 2014

In 1988, four friends co-founded Global Exchange to fight a worldview based on greed, domination, and unvarnished worship of power. We envisioned building a robust U.S. movement capable of creating change from the grassroots, powered by people-to-people ties. This year we celebrated our 25th anniversary, and we are proud to honor the dedication of people like you who have sweated and sacrificed to forge a working alternative from the ground up.

Your continued pressure on Hershey’s after it announced it would buy 100% certified sustainable cocoa by 2020 last fall, paid off, when it announced a third of its supply would be Fair Trade certified.

And you took that energy and continued to advocate for Fair Trade through October – Fair Trade month – taking action daily from our Fair Trade Your Halloween calendar. Then you also wrote to both World’s Finest Chocolate and Ghirardelli to urge both companies to go Fair Trade certified, and trust us, your voice is being heard.

Here’s what YOU can do next:

  1. To keep the pressure on Ghirardelli, download this color-in postcard to send to Ghirardelli’s CEO, Marty Thompson demanding the company let us know where its cocoa comes from and to make it Fair Trade.
  2. We’re proud of what we’ve done together. But to achieve the visions we set out all those years ago, we’re going to need your continued support. Please consider donating to Global Exchange so we can continue working to make trade fair.

Fair-Trade-News3) FAIR TRADE NEWS TO PERUSE

pointing-fingerTHE FAIR TRADE ROUNDUP AND YOU!

• Subscribe to our Fair Trade blog to receive new Fair Trade blog posts automatically.

• News to share? If you’ve got big Fair Trade news to share, email Tex Dworkin.

• Enjoy this Fair Trade Roundup? Then click the Like and Tweet buttons on the top right of this post to share with others. Thanks!!

Gift of MembershipLet’s talk gifts.

This time of year, there’s almost no getting around it. You have people in your life you care about. You want them to know you’re thinking about them. So you seek out holiday gifts for them that are in line with your values.

Gift-of-Membership-web-vers

Global Community Gift Package

Lucky for you, Global Exchange has two Gift of Membership Packages full of Fair Trade goods from around the world for you to choose from this year, just in time for #FairTuesday and #GivingTuesday December 3, 2013!

1) The Fair Trade gift package includes Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, and a beautiful block printed tote bag from India.

2) The Global Community gift package includes the Fair Trade items mentioned above PLUS candles from South Africa AND a pendant from Cambodia – both made by co-operative producers.

Of course, both the Fair Trade and Global Community gift packages include a one year membership to Global Exchange and when you give the gift of Global Exchange membership, you’re connecting someone you care about with an international movement to build a better world.

You pick the gift package and we’ll take care of the rest. Once you place your order, we’ll send the gift package directly to your recipient. It’s that simple.

So give a Global Exchange Gift of Membership to somebody you care about today. You’ll make someone special very happy, and you can feel good knowing that you are supporting important international human rights work!

FairTuesdayHappy Fall Ya’ll!

In this Fair Trade Roundup, we’re excited to share news about #FairTuesday and how YOU can participate, plus an announcement about our annual holiday party at Global Exchange’s Fair Trade stores in Berkeley AND San Francisco. Rounding out our Fair Trade Roundup is our trusty gathering of Fair Trade related articles below.

Hope you enjoy!

Roundup Sections:

  1. Featured Fair Trade Update: #FairTuesday is Happening December 3rd
  2. Global Exchange Update: Global Exchange Fair Trade Store Holiday Party
  3. Fair Trade News to Peruse

fair tuesday logo1) FEATURED UPDATE: #FairTuesday is Happening December 3rd

#FairTuesday is an ethical shopping movement in response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday to feature fair trade, ethical, and eco-friendly brands. It’s happening on December 3rd, 2013 and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it! Their site explains:

The goal of #FairTuesday is to inspire conscious consumerism and show how an everyday purchase can change lives in a whole community. #FairTuesday features fair trade, ethical, and eco-friendly brands and invites other businesses to take a step towards sustainability.

Here’s a short n sweet video that pretty much spells it out:

Global Exchange is excited to participate in #FairTuesday alongside like-minded fair trade, eco-friendly sustainable brands and organizations, and we hope you participate too! (Check out  pics of Global Exchange staff supporting #FairTuesday on Instagram.)

Here’s how YOU can participate in #FairTuesday:

Visit the #FairTuesday website to find out more ways to support #FairTuesday this December 3rd.

Global-Exchange-Fair-Trade-2) GLOBAL EXCHANGE FAIR TRADE UPDATE: Fair Trade Store Holiday Party

Join Global Exchange friends, staff and supporters for the annual Global Exchange Fair Trade Store Holiday Party! Enjoy some holiday cheer and find gifts for your loved ones, while creating a more sustainable and just world.

Where: Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores in San Francisco AND Berkeley, CA
Berkeley: 2840 College Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705
San Francisco: 4018 24th St., San Francisco, CA 94114
When: December 4, 2013 – 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Contact: http://www.globalexchange.org/fairtrade/stores/locations

Save on Shopping: For this one special night Global Exchange members get 20% OFF*!!
(Not a Global Exchange member or need to renew? You can sign up today right here.
*no cross promotions apply

RSVP/More Info: On Global Exchange Facebook page.

Fair-Trade-News3) FAIR TRADE NEWS TO PERUSE

pointing-fingerTHE FAIR TRADE ROUNDUP AND YOU!

• Subscribe to our Fair Trade blog to receive new Fair Trade blog posts automatically.

• News to share? If you’ve got big Fair Trade news to share, email Tex Dworkin.

• Enjoy this Fair Trade Roundup? Then click the Like and Tweet buttons on the top right of this post to share with others. Thanks!

I had the good fortune of being welcomed to Global Exchange as a sales associate at the San Francisco Fair Trade Store a few weeks before Global Exchange’s 25th Anniversary celebration. I met many new people and felt an inkling my new job would suit me in ways I didn’t know yet.

Since then, I’ve learned more about how Fair Trade works than I imagined I could. While buying Fair Trade products has always been a way for me to support sustainable economic and environmental practices for workers whose livelihood depends on it, it’s now a way to connect with people in a way I didn’t before. I’m beginning to feel the love.blue andes gifts

I like things: fashion, texture, beautifully crafted, soulful goods I can wrap around my shoulders, press my cheek to, or bounce thoughtfully in the cup of my palm. But things are things. I thought, Fair Trade products are still things.

That’s the nature of it, but there’s also that feeling you get knowing the story behind each handmade item…the love. For example, when you hold an Andes Gifts alpaca wool hat in all its squish-soft, insulating gorgeousness, and you know it’s making a positive impact on people’s lives and the environment, it becomes more than a thing, it becomes a gift.

challenge-header-2Andes Gifts, based in Davis, California, provides free knitting instruction, as well as successful micro-loans to increase earning capacity, to women in rural indigenous communities in Bolivia and Peru. Within some of the most economically impoverished areas in the western hemisphere, Andean communities often unravel due to disjointed childcare, work, and family structure.

The opportunity to knit colorful, intricate designs and make a living through Andes Gifts helps these red andes giftscommunities stay together.

Knitters work in their homes or in co-ops where they have access to the resources they need, and work as much as they need to at their own pace. Women can stay close to their children and participate in local traditions. Knitters provide for themselves and their families, and make statements like, “I plan on knitting until I’m a grandmother”. That’s a loving thing for all it’s implications.

Take-ActionTAKE ACTION!

We invite you to visit our Fair Trade stores in Berkeley and San Francisco, CA to see for yourself the beauty of Andes Gifts.

green sign sfThe harmful effects of modern day consumerism is not a secret, we see and feel the negative effects in communities around the world. At the Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores our commitment to environmental standards that protect our local habitats and those of our artisan partners from India to Guatemala are central to our work everyday.

So we are proud to announce that the Global Exchange Fair Trade store in San Francisco has met the highest standards of the San Francisco Green Business Program, and we are now an officially Certified San Francisco Green Business!

We are a Green place to shop, and our Berkeley store is next!

 What Makes Us a Certified San Francisco Green Business:

  • We use all LED light bulbs

    LED lighting

    LED lighting

  • We use NO chemical cleaning agents: To clean we mix ¼ white vinegar with water
  • We recycle and compost everything we can
  • We re-use supplies: rubber bands, envelopes, paper etc.. (and so do a majority of our vendors)
  •  We buy 100% recycled paper, from printer to toilet paper
  • We are a host site for 3 organic Community Supported Agriculture farms
  • We are a non-profit, Human Rights Organization that fights for ecological justice
  • We sell recycled, up-cycled, re-purposed, handmade, and Fair Trade products

Our precious planet can only take so much abuse. So I’m happy to see consumers paying attention to the ecological impact of corporate industry and caring about the effect their purchasing decisions have on the world.  

 At Global Exchange we take environmental concerns seriously because we share them. We are here to promote ecological awareness, provide a positive consumer alternative and participate in building a healthy and clean future. The Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores are part of a growing number of retailers providing products that are both good for us and good for the environment. This is a good thing!

Check out these innovative Green products:recyceld mag multi

Looking to become a greener shopper? Here some some keys to green buying:

  • Research where products come from and what they are made of

    Tagua Earrings in Stunning Spring Time Turquoise

    Tagua Earrings in Stunning Spring Time Turquoise

  • Know who your money is supporting
  • Support the use of recycled or renewable raw materials
  • Buy clothing and products that are free of harmful chemicals and dyes
  • Buy quality products with lasting power
  • Use your purchase power to positively affect the system 
  • Buy local and Fair Trade
  • and of course, Shop at the Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores:)

The process to certify our store was straight forward, free and educational. I worked with a supportive Green Business Specialist from the SF Dept. of the Environment. I even applied what I learned from greening my work to greening my home.

Come in for a taste of Organic Fair Trade chocolate!

Come in for a taste of Organic Fair Trade chocolate!

If you want to know more about how this process unfolded, come visit me at the San Francisco Global Exchange Store. (And while you’re there, enjoy a free piece of delicious Fair Trade chocolate!)

I wish you health, happiness and prosperity.

P.S Pick up a copy and check us out in the Nov. issue of SF magazine (there’s a great shot of the recycled sari throws we carry!)