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:

Enter the contest yourself
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:

Chevron greenwashing ad
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:

Slogan/tagline
Advertisement, up to 8.5×11
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:

Pledge page for film project: Nothing Like Chocolate: A Feature Documentary. Contribute $ to help fund this new film about chocolate
Article: Fair Trade Firsts at Largest U.S. Natural Products Trade Show
Article: Green & Black’s Meets Fairtrade Pledge
Video: TV show Conversations With Great Minds with guest Ian Fletcher speaking about why free trade is a bad idea

—

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.

Fair Trade Webinars are in the Air! Read about what’s coming up, plus how Fair Trade advocates expressed themselves to Hershey’s CEO this Valentine’s Day.

Photo Credit: FTRN

WEBINAR: HOW TO HOST A GREAT WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY EVENT

The Fair Trade Resource Network (FTRN) is producing a free webinar on How to Host a Great World Fair Trade Day Event on March 3 from 8-9pm EST. Yours truly will be moderating this informative webinar aimed at providing info and advice to those interested in planning their own World Fair Trade Day event. The webinar panelists will be Stefanie Colish, FTRN’s WFTD Organizer Coordinator, and Jeff Goldman, FTRN’s Executive Director.

Register for this free webinar here: FTRN website

—

FREE PERKS FOR WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY EVENT ORGANIZERS

World Fair Trade Day events are happening between May 1-15, 2011, and some organizers who register their event (for free) online are receiving fantastic Fair Trade products to incorporate into their event, like these added recently:
•   Theo Chocolate will donate chocolate to 20 events between 200-500 people
•   Lucuma designs will donate 10 gift baskets of crafts to 10 WFTD events
•   10 events with more than 100 people attending will receive $15 gift certificates for clothing from Maggie’s Organics

How do you receive these awesome Fair Trade goodies? Just register your event on the FTRN Events Calendar to receive an email on how to request all special offers. Find complete info about WFTD here.

—

HERSHEY CEO SURPRISE + MUST-SEE KIDS VALENTINES

Hershey CEO David West received a surprise this Valentine’s Day! A box of flowers was delivered directly to West’s office, containing handmade valentines from children outraged at Hershey’s’ continued use of cocoa that has not been Fair Trade certified to be free of child labor or cocoa prices that perpetuate poverty. The valentines ask Hershey to “Go Fair Trade.”

Check out this must-see web page to view nearly 200 cute, funny valentines included in the box or sent directly to Hershey.

This action to pressure Hershey to go Fair Trade was a collaborative effort coordinated by Global Exchange and our Raise the Bar Campaign partners International Labor Rights Forum, Green America and Oasis.

—

FREE WEBINAR: JOINING THE FAIR TRADE FEDERATION

When: March 1, 2011, 1:00pm EST
Interested in having your Canadian or US-based business join the Fair Trade Federation community? Have questions about the qualifications? Learn all you need to know during this FREE Webinar for prospective members.

Learn more and register here.

FREE WEBINAR: WHY BRING FT (F) INTO YOUR STORE

When: March 8, 2011, 1:00pm EST

Own a store? Attend this webinar to learn just how easy it is to bring Fair Trade Federation members’ products into your store, as well as how you can benefit from offering high-quality products with tremendous societal and cultural impact during this Free Webinar. Learn more and register here.

—

Check back each week right here on our Fair Trade blog for more Fair Trade News Round-Ups…your one-stop shop for current Fair Trade news and events. And if you’ve got big Fair Trade news to share, email me!

What started as a once-in-a while blog post is now a weekly series. There’s lots going on in the Fair Trade movement, so look to our weekly Round Ups for current updates. Each Round Up will feature two sections: Fair Trade Movement News and Global Exchange Fair Trade News.

FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT NEWS

Photo credit: Fast Company

Restaurant giant Bon Appetit announced a commitment to introduce Cordillera Fair Trade Certified chocolate in all of its kitchens. Fast Company’s Ariel Schwartz reports on this recent development:

Fair Trade Chocolate hit the big time this week as restaurant management giant Bon Appetit announced a commitment to introduce Cordillera Fair Trade Certified chocolate in all of its kitchens beginning on Valentine’s Day. This is a big deal–Bon Appetit provides cafe and catering services to corporations, colleges, and universities in 400 locations throughout 29 states. When the company makes a change in its food sourcing practices, it has a ripple effect. Read the entire article here.

Fair Trade Resource Network Webinars

–Fair Trade Webinar 105 Community Discussion of TransFair’s Name Change to Fair Trade USA, and Pending Service Mark Application took place on 2/9/2011. Panelists included Fair Trade USA CEO Paul Rice, Equal Exchange’s Answer Man Rodney North and United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries Minister for Economic Justice, Edie Rassell. If you missed it, you can download the webinar for just $5 or wait until March 30th when it will become available for free on FTRN’s website.

–Fair Trade Webinar 106 Minimum Fair Trade Content Standards for Multi-ingredient Products is coming up. Here are the details of this highly anticipated webinar:
Date: February 28
Time: 2:00-2:50pm EST
Investment: just $5!
Details: Minimum Fair Trade Content Standards for Multi-ingredient Products
Presenters: Dr. Bronner’s CEO, David Bronner; Ben & Jerry’s Director of Social Mission, Rob Michalak

World Fair Trade Day 2011 Poster Design

Take Part in World Fair Trade Day
To join in the World Fair Trade Day celebration, the Fair Trade Resource Network is inviting you to host a World Fair Trade Day event during May 1-15 and post your event to their website to help promote it.

Download the free World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) Activities Guide for tips, ideas, and resources, plus order WFTD promotional posters and postcards, and Fair Trade products – most free of charge – all on their website www.FTRN.org.

ILO and Kuapa Kokoo partner to combat child labor in cocoa industry

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has announced it will partner with Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union in a two-year project to assist the government of Ghana in reducing child labour. The pilot will run in 15 cocoa-growing communities affiliated with Kuapa Kokoo, the only Fairtrade certified cocoa cooperative in Ghana. The project focuses on preventing and removing children from hazardous work on cocoa farms. This includes livelihood support for vulnerable families and setting up a child labour monitoring system. Learn more here.

GLOBAL EXCHANGE FAIR TRADE NEWS

Coco-Zen Chocolate Truffles

Fair Trade Chocolate Tasting

Join us this Sunday, February 13th, for a Fair Trade chocolate tasting. San Francisco-based artisan chocolate company Coco-Zen will be providing organic, Fair Trade Certified chocolate to sample this Sunday afternoon. Bring the kids to make Valentines cards, or use our color-your-own Valentines to ask Hershey’s to go fair trade.

When: Sunday, February 13. 1pm-4pm.
Where: Global Exchange Fair Trade Store in Noe Valley (b/t Noe and Castro).
Price: FREE!

Global Exchange Fair Trade Internship
March 7th is the application deadline for summer internships at Global Exchange. So if you’re looking for a Fair Trade summer internship, visit the internship web page for more info and to apply to our Fair Trade department. Global Exchange’s internship program offers great work experience, as well as fun weekly training seminars with dozens of other interns throughout the organization.

Send a Valentine Message to Hershey’s
Make valentines (or print out and color in this pdf) asking the Hershey’s CEO to start sourcing Fair Trade Certified cocoa. Global Exchange will email you a coupon for 10% off your purchase at any Global Exchange store if you scan your valentine and email it to us to be posted online. Deadline to email all valentines is Friday, February 18. Visit our website for more details.

WIN Fair Trade prizes by telling educators about Fair Trade curriculum

That’s right…you can win Fair Trade prizes just by telling educators about Global Exchange’s Fair Trade curriculum. This information helps teachers teach the issues of child labor in the cocoa industry. Educators can win prizes by teaching the curriculum, too. More info here.

Host a Dark Side of Chocolate Screening during National Week of Action.

I did, which you can read about here. We make it easy for you to show this compelling new documentary about the continued use of child labor and trafficking in the cocoa industry. Order a copy plus a screening toolkit for just $6.

—

2011 is finally here. So now seems as good a time as any to take stock of everything we’ve accomplished in the past year, to draw together our challenges and victories and lay them out there for you to see. Since there isn’t space enough to showcase everything, we’ve selected a few of our favorite highlights from 2010 to share with you:

Climate Change

People's World Conference on Climate Change

This year, Global Exchange attended the People’s World Conference on Climate Change in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where 35,000+ people called for a dramatic rethinking of our place on this planet. When it came time for the COP 16 climate talks in Mexico, we knew we would have our work cut out for us. At the end of the day, the progress we made in Mexico was minimal, and we knew the best bet for real climate change solutions was a renewed organizing effort at home and around the world.

Shannon Biggs published this on December 12th to Commondreams.org: “It is time to deliver the message of Cochabamba to the people who are capable of creating change, of creating 1,000 Cochabambas…If we want to be heard at the U.N., then we need to go home and build the revolution of change in the places where we live.”

Want to read the rest? Click here.

Peace

Medea Benjamin speaking out

Is it crazy to act a little crazy to stop something you think is crazy? We think not. When Jon Stewart announced his rally to restore sanity, we had to say something. This piece written by Medea Benjamin appeared on the Huffington Post on October 27th, 2010.

“CODEPINK has been proposing solutions since the day we started. Whether under Bush or Obama, our voices of sanity have been drowned out by a war machine that makes billions selling weapons and hiring mercenaries.”

Read the entire article here, then read how Medea was invited to appear on The Daily Show.

Antonia appearing on Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman

Getting Tough on Big Oil

The oil spill in April opened up a lot of people’s eyes about the horrific dangers of the oil industry. The lives lost, the ecosystems and livelihoods destroyed, plus the billions of dollars in damage were all testaments to the magnitude of the threat posed by this dirty industry. When it came time to hear from the experts, our in-house authority on oil Antonia Juhasz weighed in on the debate. She shared her views on Democracy NOW! and in The Guardian, May 24, 2010 article entitled How Far Should We Let Big Oil Go? where she had this to say:

“The communities most directly harmed by oil’s abuse are organized, networked, and ready. The public is roused, angered, and ready to act. The oil corporations are on notice: the true cost of their operations is simply too great to bear.”

Click here to read more.

Reality Tours

Agriculture in Cuba

This year, National Geographic decided to list Global Exchange Reality Tours as one of their 2010 Tours of a Lifetime. Our Cuba trips, and the unique opportunities they afford travelers to cut through the misinformation and discover things for themselves, caught the attention of this esteemed travel magazine.

National Geographic praised our Cuba trip’s “commitment to authenticity, immersion, sustainability, and connection.”

Click here to read more.

Fair Trade

Hershey’s refuses to go Fair Trade. Despite years of promises, despite the massive evidence of child slavery and other abuses on West African plantations, Hershey’s still won’t budge. So, Global Exchange partners with other organizations to apply some pressure. The result? A CNBC news story covered far and wide, in which Adrienne Fitch-Frankel, Global Exchange Fair Trade Cocoa Campaign Director, shared:

“Hershey’s demonstrates a commitment to children in the U.S. by funding the Milton Hershey School. They can demonstrate the same concern for children and families in the African communities that farm their cocoa by using Fair Trade Certified cocoa for their chocolates.”

Want to read the rest? The article is still cross-posted here.

Speaking Out About Violence in Mexico

Most of us have become all too aware of the gruesome violence that has gripped Mexico over the past year. What is not as well known is the role played by the U.S. government and its allies in the Mexican government in the problems associated with narco-trafficking and arms smuggling. Ted Lewis, director of our Human Rights Program, spoke out in the Seattle Times in September:

“…Any effective prescription to pull Mexico back from the abyss will require cooperation as well as introspection and substantive policy changes from the U.S.”

Read more by clicking here.

What’s Next?

Hosting a peace activist in residence, more Reverse Trick-or-Treating, elections monitoring in Mexico, Reality Tours to over thirty countries, Green Solutionaries, Green Festivals, renewable power payments…there isn’t enough room to include everything we’ve got planned for 2011. But I can tell you this for sure: we’ve got big plans.

In September, Hershey’s issued their first-ever Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, yet failed to mention any real solutions to issues of forced and child labor that persist in its supply chain. As a response, Global Exchange and ally organizations, Green America, International Labor Rights Forum, and Oasis USA issued an alternative report CSR report encouraging Hershey to increase its transparency in its cocoa supply.

At the Green Festival in San Francisco this past weekend, Global Exchange and Green America issued the Hershey’s Challenge in order to gather as many petition signatures on the Hershey’s: Raise the Bar campaign. We hoped to target the over 40,000 people in attendance and we’re looking to you to help surpass that goal as we begin to tally up the signatures.

Take action with us as we target Hershey’s CEO, David West and encourage him to Raise the Bar on his chocolate company. Mr. West received a compensation package of over $8million in 2009, while cocoa farmers in West Africa harvesting for Hershey’s were struggling to make ends meet and often employing abusive child labor on their farms. So, join us by signing the Raise the Bar petition and let Hershey’s know that consumers are demanding that they begin sourcing Fair Trade Certified cocoa.

Want to get inspired? These 6th grade students in Joi Chimera’s class in New York are already taking action as you can see in their Raise the Bar drawings asking Hershey’s to take child labor out of the chocolate equation.

So join these students who are speaking up for children in West Africa and demand Hershey’s and the rest of the cocoa industry commit to Fair Trade Certified cocoa.

A special thanks to Anne Kelly at the New York Labor-Religion Coalition for sending over these photos and the amazing work she and the NY Labor-Religion Coalition has done for the Raise the Bar campaign and the Fair Trade movement. Also thanks to Ms. Chimera’s class for getting involved and producing these amazing drawings.

Is any else as excited for Halloween as I am? Great excuse to dress up and pass out Fair Trade chocolate.

This year, we are happy to share that this year, tens of thousands of kids and adults will hand out Reverse Trick-or-Treating kits to 100,000 households in 49 states and the District of Columbia in the US and all over Canada this year! Yes! If you didn’t order an RTT kit this year, you can still get involved by passing out Reverse Trick-or-Treating and Raise the Hershey bar fliers.

You can also help spread awareness about child labor in the cocoa industry by hosting a screening of newly released documentary, The Dark Side of Chocolate.

Other ways to get involved with Halloween this weekend:

Make an ad on Reese’s website raising awareness about forced and child labor in Hershey’s cocoa, and send it to all your friends. If you make the ad by Monday, November 1 and CC it to fairtrade@greenamerica.org, Green America will send the best ads to Hershey.
According to his Facebook page, Stephen Colbert’s “March to Keep Fear Alive” is sponsored by Reese’s (owned by Hershey)! For children in West Africa, Hershey’s/Reese’s are indeed keeping fear alive…the childrens’ fear of being trafficked into forced labor in the cocoa fields that grow cocoa for chocolate bars sold in the US. There is a lot of buzz nationwide about this march, on Halloween eve…join the Raise the Bar Campaign in helping use that buzz to hold Hershey accountable. If you have a Facebook account, leave a message on the wall of Stephen Colbert, the Colbert Report, and the March to Keep Fear Alive, as well as the Daily Show, raising awareness of the connection between Reese’s and child labor. If you use Twitter, here are some suggested tweets:

@StephenAtHome the only thing scarier the #march4fear is the use of #ChildLabor in the production of #Reeses

@StephenAtHome #Reeses does have something to hide and it is scarier than peanuts: #ChildLabor

@ColbertReport #Reeses may contain dairy, peanuts and #ChildLabor.

You can also sign a petition to Stephen Colbert to put pressure on Hershey.

Most importantly, have a safe and happy Halloween this weekend everyone!

While I think I can live with it being S’mores Day everyday during the summer, Hershey’s has designated August 10th as National S’mores Day. That’s tomorrow! We’re encouraging everyone to participate in National S’mores Day with Fair Trade chocolate with our Summertime S’mores campaign.

Enjoy this delicious holiday while also calling on Hershey’s to value social justice, the environmental and put an end to child labor in the cocoa industry by going Fair Trade.

For sweet activity ideas, organizational charts, checklists, and flyers to plan your own Fair Trade S’mores party, visit www.globalexchange.org/smoresaction.

No doubt you’re like me. Daydreaming about the weekend once, uh, Monday morning rolls around. Well, now that it is Friday, the weekend is just within our grasps so it’s perfectly alright to start plotting out your weekend activities.

Plowsharing Crafts picnic

Whether you’re at summer camp, having a backyard BBQ or having a beach bonfire, you can bring some social justice into your summertime activity by participating in Global Exchange’s Summer Fair Trade S’mores Campaign.

We are calling on Hershey’s and the rest of the cocoa industry to go Fair Trade by making a statement with our Fair Trade S’mores. It will be the most delicious political action you will ever take.

Can I get s'more?

All you have to do is grab your S’more ingredients (marshmallows, graham crackers and of course Fair Trade chocolate) gather your friends, Fair Trade s’more it up, have everyone sign the petition making a note of how many s’mores were consumed and send it in to us. Then we deliver it to Hershey’s and let your voices be heard in the name of Fair Trade.

Your fellow Fair Traders have already been joining in all the social justice fun. A few weeks ago, our friends at Plowsharing Crafts had their 25th Anniversary picnic Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, MO and had tons of yummy s’mores.

Ziming Yao having her first s'more ever

Earlier this month on our People to People blog, we spoke about our first ever U.S.-China Exchange where our Green Alternatives department promoted collaboration between the United States and China, particularly around the green economy and sustainability. So, four program participants flew in from China and learned about the local green economy in the Bay Area. Along with visiting green businesses and meeting SF government officials, the crew took a break one evening and tried their first ever s’mores! Not the biggest fans of sweets, they enjoyed the activity and learned all about the concept of Fair Trade.

Before embarking on your own Summertime S’more activity for the weekend. See our video of Global Exchange’s S’more event at Golden Gate Park last year. A typical San Francisco. Foggy and cold. But we loved every moment of it.

Have a great weekend, y’all!

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

Join Global Exchange and organizations around the country today to help get Hershey’s to go Fair Trade in honor of World Day Against Child Labor!

PHONE NUMBER:

1-800-468-1714, Dial “0”

You may need to push Zero three times to get to an operator. Press 2 if you do not want to participate in survey. Back-up number is 717-534-4200.

HERSHEY CALL-IN SCRIPT:

“Hi, my name is ___ and I’m calling from ___ (city/state). I am a huge fan of [insert your favorite HERSHEY candy here]. This Saturday is World Day Against Child Labor. I am calling today in recognition of this event, asking Hershey’s to be a leader in ending the problem of child labor on cocoa farms by purchasing Fair Trade Certified™ cocoa for your candy bars. With a label from an independent third party certifier, consumers have a way of knowing that Hershey is working to respect farmers and the environment, and end abusive child labor in the cocoa industry. Fair Trade is the only label that gives farmers a fair price for their cocoa beans so they can support their families and escape poverty.

I also want to know that all the workers who had a hand in making my chocolate – from bean to bar – were treated fairly. Will Hershey take this opportunity to be more transparent about your supply chain and do more to protect the rights of workers in the fields?

Thank you for your time!”

With your help we can put pressure on Hershey’s to stop abusive child labor and environmental degradation, and help lift thousands of cocoa producers out of poverty. Call and be heard today!

For more information about Fair Trade chocolate, please visit www.globalexchange.org/cocoa

For responses to Hershey’s arguments, visit: www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/fairtrade/whatyoucando/hershey.cfm.