CRS is the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. Learn about CRS Fair Trade and find out how you can help promote economic justice, reduce global poverty, and protect the environment.
There’s nothing like a healthy, fun competition to get Fair Traders going. Last month, in honor of World Fair Trade Day, 56,892 participants in more than 450 U.S. events (and the Fair Trade Resource Network is still counting) surpassed Finland’s 2008 record of world’s largest Fair Trade break. Here at CRS in Baltimore we had 57 participants.
Let us know how you celebrated!
Or just ask us why Katy is dressed as a mermaid…it is all in the name of economic justice!
Our first World Fair Trade Day dispatch from Jeanine Boucher-Colbert, Youth Programs Officer in Catholic Relief Services-West:
Nearly 2,000 Catholic women and a few brave men gathered for the fourth NW Catholic Women’s Convocation in Bellevue, WA on May 1-2, 2009. On Friday night a group of women volunteers and CRS staff* organized a World Fair Trade Day chocolate tasting for all the participants, thanks to a donation from Equal Exchange, our new chocolate partner. An announcement was made about the CRS Fair Trade Fund support of World Fair Trade Day as the participants enjoyed the chocolate and read about CRS Fair Trade with information cards we provided. Great solidarity moment and effort to help regain the title of World’s Largest Fair Trade Break!
If you want to participate in the World’s Largest Fair Trade Break, be sure and check out the organizing materials of FTRN.
* Far left is CRS Zambia staff Carol Mumba, former CRS volunteeer Margaret Johnson and CRS West staff Jeanine Boucher-Colbert; Far right is Called To Witness alum Ann Labeck. Also in the group: Margie Ames, Archbishop Murphy High School and CRS Cyberbridges teacher, and many Just Faith graduates, friends and parishioners of St, Andrew parish, Portland, Oregon. Photo thanks to Maggie Maggio!
I’m feeling pretty fortunate at the moment, although the story doesn’t start out so good:
This week Katy and I received an email from somebody who was clearly dubious about the value of Fair Trade. He shared some “supply side” arguments and hinted that maybe Fair Trade was a waste of resources. I think I addressed his concerns by explaining how the principles of Fair Trade mirror those of Catholic Social Teaching. I also assured him that the lion’s share of Catholic Relief Services’ budget is dedicated to assisting the poor and vulnerable overseas. I acknowledged that Fair Trade has its flaws, but I also shared that CRS is committed to a variety of strategies to confront global poverty.
Okay, all in a day’s work, right? Except that’s actually not the case. Most of my days are FILLED with people who have embraced Fair Trade as a way to express the values of their faith in the marketplace. The entire economic justice team gets inundated with requests for more information and action items. Truth is, there are a lot of CRS Fair Trade fans like you out there!
And, now, just in time for World Fair Trade Day on May 9th, you can show your loyalty to Fair Trade with a festive sticker. Put it on your water bottle, coffee mug, car bumper or bike. Let others know you believe in Fair Trade and help us promote the CRS Fair Trade website! To order this free resource, send an email with your mailing address to resources “at” crs.org. Please let us know how many stickers–up to 20 each person–that you’d like.
And thanks for making my day!
A big question for any social movement is “Does it actually make an impact?” Next month, consumers in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin will have a chance to hear directly from Peruvian artisans about the difference Fair Trade has made in their lives. Thanks in part to the CRS Fair Trade Fund, our allies at Partners for Just Trade and Green America are celebrating World Fair Trade Day with artisans Evangelina Pizarro and Ayde Riveros. The women are spending several weeks visiting communities in the Midwest. If you are in that region, check out the tour schedule to learn more!
Last week we e-mailed our Fair Trader newsletter that comes out every two months. If you didn’t receive it, please subscribe! This month we featured a variety of stories about CRS Fair Trade:
* Breaking the Record: The World’s Biggest Coffee Break
* Raising Money Right with Fair Trade Chocolate
* Fair Trade = Good News
* Catholics Confront Global Poverty
*The 3rd annual Global Solidarity Conference
We also included news blasts about the wider movement. One of the newsletter stories, about Fair Trade Ambassador Valerie Lizarraga, is also available in Spanish by visiting crsespanol.org
Catholic Relief Services works in about 100 countries and in many of those same places tens of thousands of people will take a Fair Trade break on May 9: World Fair Trade Day. From coffee cupping to drumming circles to health screenings, Fair Traders use the second Saturday of May as a rallying point to cele
brate the principles of Fair Trade and how the movement positively impacts lives.
Here in the United States, the CRS Fair Trade Fund is a proud sponsor of World Fair Trade Day, and we invite you to join us in celebrating the power of economic justice! Fair Trade supporter
s around the country will take a break and enjoy a cup of Fair Trade coffee, a bar of Fair Trade chocolate, bake a cake using Fair Trade sugar, join in a drum circle with Fair Trade musical instruments or participate in a game of soccer using Fair Trade soccer balls. You can create your own event, and the Fair Trade Resource Network provides free resources to help you plan. While you are at it, consider Raising Money Right as an easy way to celebrate AND fundraise for worthy causes.
If you live in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, or Wisconsin you have a special chance to hear directly about the power of Fair Trade when artisans from Peru visit a community near you. A Fair Trade artisan tour organized by Green America and Partners for Just Trade, is bringing Evangelina Pizarro and Ayde Riveros to the Midwest to share their stories of how Fair Trade has changed their lives. On their US tour – Resonating Change: Connecting Communities Through Fair Trade – Ms. Pizarro and Ms. Riveros will give first hand accounts of how the purchase of Fair Trade products directly improves the lives of farmers and artisans in the global south. The tour is supported in part by the CRS Fair Trade Fund and you can find products from Peru in our crafts catalog.
We’ve finished the first full week of 2009. How is it going with those resolutions? Have you shown up regularly at the gym? Written in your journal daily? Been nicer to that grumpy neighbor? Cut back on unnecessary energy usage?
One strategy I’ve heard for keeping on track with your aspirations is to set benchmarks to chart progress. Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade has developed a checklist tool to help you stay on course for economic justice all year long. Inspired by the efforts of our friends at Global Exchange and the success of parish-based resolutions from California Fair Trade Ambassador Kevin Olin, we have come up with some suggested resolutions tied to the liturgical calendar. Starting off with a prayer for our brothers and sisters struggling in poverty, and highlighting national events such as Fair Trade month in October, this one-pager can give you ideas for a whole year of Fair Trade. We’ve also added some ideas for service and legislative advocacy. Here’s a PDF of our 2009 Fair Trade Resolutions: 2009-resolutionsfinal
Another tip for sticking with your goals is to enlist the support of others. This blog can be your spot for asking for resources or celebrating success. Don’t hesitate to comment and to connect with fellow Fair Traders. You can start by letting us know what YOUR resolutions are to promote global solidarity!
The backs have been slapped in congratulations, the hugs of accomplishment exchanged, the coffee mugs rinsed, the crafts packed up, and the soup refrigerated for another day. Such is the satisfying aftermath of a World Fair Trade Day event.
Yesterday I was fortunate to be with the good folks at San Diego Friends of Fair Trade. They are a rather young (meaning the coalition has been around for about a couple of years) group of volunteers who want to build awareness of Fair Trade in the San Diego community. Whether volunteers from Christ Lutheran Church, small business owners from Karma Mart, or students from US San Diego, the group is united by genuine concern for marginalized producers overseas and how their local community can reach out to “make the world a better place” as coalition president Carolyn Lief said. Reach out they did!
Hosted by Cafe Moto, a family run coffee business that is committed to continuous improvement in its volume of Fair Trade coffee purchases, the coalition packed a bunch of great activities into a beautiful sunny California morning. There were presentations (from yours truly and representatives of the coalition), a coffee supply chain skit performed by students from the University of San Diego and, of course, our effort at being involved in the World’s Largest Fair Trade coffee break.
As somebody who has been organizing World Fair Trade Day events for about six years now, it was inspiring to see how this energized band of volunteers created a unique celebration of Fair Trade values. It was a perfect mix of uplifting Fair Trade principles for our brothers and sisters overseas while working to promote economic justice locally.
After we raised our mugs in solidarity with coffee farmers and sampled Fair Trade chocolate with origins in Ghana and Peru we enjoyed soup from The Tomorrow Project of Catholic Charities. The project collaborates with well-known San Diego chefs to develop recipes for gourmet soups that are then created by homeless women learning culinary and workplace skills.
Usually I say it is an honor to be invited to speak at these events, and it sure was! But it was also a real pleasure to hang out with a hundred or so citizens of San Diego who so sincerely want to live out the theme of the day: transforming lives through Fair Trade.
That’s the slogan for this year’s World Fair Trade Day. As a proud sponsor of World Fair Trade Day here in the United States, CRS Fair Trade is proud to support the activities large and small to make the world a bit fairer through participating in economic justice activities.
On the fun side, we are gearing up to participate in the World’s Largest Fair Trade Coffee break at 3:00 Eastern Time on May 10. Participating is easy, so visit the Fair Trade Resource Network to learn how and order a resource packet. Also check this blog for updates from some of the other events CRS is participating in, such as the Chicago Fair Trade Coalition celebration and the San Diego Friends of Fair Trade seminar.
The Pope has been visiting, the Fair Trade Federation had its conference, and now we are all gearing up for World Fair Trade Day. Spring has sprung at CRS Fair Trade!
Our friends at TransFair USA have also reminded us that this Mother’s Day falls only one day after World Fair Trade Day on Sunday, May 11th. You can take the opportunity to celebrate Fair Trade with your mother by buying her a bouquet of beautiful Fair Trade Certified roses. Fair Trade Certified Flowers are already making a difference for women and mothers around the world and your purchase means not just fair wages, but increased employee benefits including 12 weeks paid maternity leave and childcare and equal representation for women in leadership roles.
According to TransFair, Fair Trade Certified Flowers are now available regionally at Giant Food Stores, New Seasons Market, Roche Brothers and UKROPS and on the web at 1-800-Flowers, and Organic Bouquet. The TransFair USA partnereship with FTD means new independent florists are adding Fair Trade flowers every day! To view a complete list of where you can buy Fair Trade Certified flowers this Mother’s Day, please visit at the website.
