Information from Environmental Studies
INFORMATION ON FAIR TRADE
About Fair Trade (GX)
About Fair Trade (Dean's Beans)
Fair Trade Criteria (FTF)
Fair Trade Facts (FTF)
Fair Trade Frequently Asked Questions (FTF)
Fair Trade Fequently Asked Questions (GX)
Fair Trade Principles & Practices (FTF)
Fair Trade Resources (FTF)
Why Fair Trade? (FTF)
INFORMATION ON FAIR TRADE, SHADE-GROWN, ORGANIC COFFEE
American Birding Association on Shade-Grown Coffee
Audubon Society on Shade-Grown Coffee
Defenders of Wildlife on Shade-Grown Coffee
National Wildlife Federation on Shade-Grown Coffee
PBS Frontline on Coffee
Smithsonian National Zoo on Coffee and Migratory Birds
The Songbird Foundation on Coffee and Birds
USA Today Article on Sustainable Coffee
INFORMATION ON FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE
Chocolate and Child Slavery: The Sweet Solution (GE)
Chocolate and Child Slavery: Report (GE)
Global Exchange Info Hub
FAIR TRADE ORGANIZATIONS
Citizens Trade Campaign
Coop America Fair Trade Program
Equal Exchange
Fair Trade Federation
Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO)
Fair Trade Resource Network
Global Exchange Fair Trade Program
International Fair Trade Association
Organic Consumers Association Fair Trade Campaign
Oxfam Make Trade Fair Campaign
Sierra Club Fair Trade Campaign
Sustain Dane (Madison WI) Fair Trade Program
Ten Thousand Villages
Transfair & Transfair Campus Support
United Students for Fair Trade
Wisconsin Fair Trade Association
FAIR TRADE VENDORS
Dean's Beans
Equal Exchange Store
Global Exchange Fair Trade Store
A Greater Gift / SERRV International
Grounds for Change
Higher Grounds / Java for Justice
Just Coffee (Madison)
Peace Coffee (Minneapolis)
Ten Thousand Villages
FAITH GROUPS ON FAIR TRADE
American Friends Service Committee (Quaker)
Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade Program
Church of the Brethren : fair trade coffee project
Church World Service
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance
Episcopal Church: fair trade coffee
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Interfaith Fair Trade Initiative
Lutheran World Relief:
Fair Trade Coffee Project
Fair Trade Chocolate Project
Fair Trade Handcraft Project
Mennonite Central Committee Fair Trade Coffee Project
Presbyterian Church (USA) Fair Trade Coffee Project
Unitarian Universalist Fair Trade Coffee Project
United Church of Christ Fair Trade Coffee Project
United Methodist Church Fair Trade Coffee Project
U.S. Interfaith Trade Justice Campaign
ACTIVISM GUIDES
Equal Exchange Guide: Get Involved
Global Exchange Fair Trade Activism Guide
People and Planet Fair Trade Activism Guide
NEWS AND UPDATES
Global Exchange: Fair Trade in the News
Organic Consumers Association: Fair Trade News Articles
information from Care2
Adbusters - Provocative site with an anti-globalization, anti-corporate message. Superb graphic design define the site, making it a must-see regardless of your position on free trade.
The Economics and Trade Unit of UNEP aims to enhance understanding of the environmental, social and economic impacts of trade liberalization. Their website keeps you up to date on their activities, news, and events.
FTAA FAQ - Articles and a primer on the trade agreement, the Summit of the Americas protests, and the anti-globalization movement.
The Center for Trade Policy Studies - The mission of the Cato Institute Center for Trade Policy Studies is to increase public understanding of the benefits of free trade and the costs of protectionism. Come here for arguments supporting free trade as the solution to environmental problems.
The Global Environment & Trade Study (GETS) seeks to provide better analytical underpinnings for the "trade and environment" debate. Browse the extensive collection of documents discussing trade, environment, and social justice issues.
Global Exchange - Excellent site devoted to fair trade covers a wide range of topics. Find information on globalization, fair trade and human rights.
The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development contributes to a better understanding of development and environment concerns in the context of international trade. To that end, you'll find a dialogue section, and an online document search service.
The Official World Bank homepage - Consortium of five autonomous agencies provides loans, advice, and an array of customized resources for developing countries and countries in transition.
..Real World Bank is an initiative of a group of researchers, NGOs, web developers, and film-makers. It aims to promote a diverse range of views about development issues, particularly those of the people most affected by dominant economic models and excluded from discussions about them.
Tradewatch - News, analysis and resources from site critical of globalization, and free-trade policies it contends are anti-democratic because they take away rights of nations, regions and citizens. Section of Public Citizen website, a public-interest group founded by Ralph Nader.
The U.S. Department of State's news and fact sheet archive, with frequent updates. Look here for the U.S. government's position on the WTO and trade issues.
U.S. Network for Global Economic Justice is a coalition of over 200 U.S. grassroots, women's, solidarity, faith-based, policy, social - and economic- justice, youth, labor and development organizations dedicated to the profound transformation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
West Coast Environmental Law provides this helpful breakdown of the World Trade Organization as a guide for environmentalists.
The Western Hemispheric Trade Information Center's objective provides an electronic repository of full text documents from select publications, covering trade and commerce information in regard to NAFTA, and Central and South America.
World Trade Organization - The official homepage. Find their latest news, plus archived legal texts and over 100,000 official documents produced by or for the WTO's councils, committees, working groups, etc.
WTOWatch.org focuses its highly critical eye on the actions of the World Trade Organizations. If you're looking for a good skeptic's perspective on the latest trade news, this is the place to find it.
This profile is directly linked to my family's website Organic Fair Trade
The following information is from OFT's blog.
Organic Fair Trade grew from the idea that making a living for our family, and making the world a better place could be one in the same.
We felt that the only way to counteract the negative relationships in the world, such as those between poor producers and rich consumers, was to promote our own vision of loving relationships. We wished for everything in our home to be either fair trade, organic, or both. But this seemed impossible as the products were either not available where we lived, or were too expensive.
We knew that this would only change if we ourselves began to devote our energies toward increasing quality in our world—quality of lives, as well as quality of products. So beginning in March of 2006, we began forming relationships with others who shared our vision of a peaceful, healthy, and equitable world.
We know that these industries are under great pressure by economic forces, large companies who wish to minimize cost and capture their share of this lucrative market. Primarily young teenage women across Latin America, Africa and Asia carry most of the burden, working long hours in usually unsafe conditions for less than minimal wages.
However, fair trade products are different in that they represent the work of small collectives of people who have voluntarily agreed to work with small importers in the United States, with the mutual guarantee of reasonable working conditions, good pay, investments in long term growth, and an honest, carefully produced product.
We are based in Lafayette, Louisiana, and are currently undergoing a transformation within our business. The products on our site are offered in respect to our former vendors and we hope that if you find something you would like to purchase you would check out the manufacturer page to order.
If you would like to get in touch, please visit us on the web at www.organc-fair-trade.com. We can also be reached by phone at (337) 255-3355 or by email at [email protected].
Thank you for business, and thank you for supporting fair trade!
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Free vs Fair trade
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So why Fair Trade? Fair trade is about all about quality: Quality of life, as well as quality of product.Fair trade is a response to the much-repeated political rhetoric about "free trade." "Free trade" is nothing more than a nice-sounding word used to conceal a reality that is anything but nice. Under "free trade," only the multi-national corporations are "free"--free to set up production abroad with little to no regard for environmental, safety or labor concerns. This is truly a "lose-lose" situation, for although consumers in higher income countries such as the US can buy goods cheaply, the real price is paid by the loss of domestic jobs as well as the erosion of communities abroad.
Fair trade embraces the idea of the exchange of products across borders. The difference is the emphasis upon equality within the exchange. Producers of fair trade clothing determine their own prices and working conditions. Consumers in high income countries still enjoy the benefit of the economic margin between the countries ($10 is, in fact, worth more in Mexico than it is in the United States) while supporting a more sustainable model of exchange and cooperation between countries.
The producers who set their own conditions take great pride in their work, which is why fair trade products is the highest possible quality. Because the makers of fair trade clothing and other products are paid more for each product, they can place greater emphasis upon quality rather than struggling to meet an unreasonably high production quota. Fair trade is truly a win-win situation. To learn more visit Organic Fair Trade .
Fair Trade is, as defined by the International Federation for Alternative Trade, a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. Basically, it is an alternative to international trade where both, producer and consumer, get what they want.
Fair Trade companies and organizations work directly with the farmers and producers of various foods, coffees, and other products to insure a fair price for the product being sold. The International Federation of Alternative Trade wrote that "the Fair Trade movement has itself the goal of improving the position of disadvantaged producers in developing countries. To achieve this, certain criteria have been and are being formulated which a product has to meet in order to be granted the right to use a specific label and be marketed".
Fair Trade labelling, as defined by the International Federation of Alternative Trade, is a brand designed to allow consumers to identify goods (especially agriculture products such as coffee) which meet agrees standards of fairness. Fair Trade or the trade justice movement is the fight for fairness for consumers and producers. Everybody BENEFITS!! It even benefits the environment which is taking a slow but definite detrimental turn for the worse.
There are thousands, if not more, families who are living in terrible conditions because the products that they produce aren't generating sufficient income and yet, the coffee that you may drink was grown in their backyard. Is that Fair? Is that right? Is that humane? Can something be done? All you have to do is choose a better life for yourself and others.