Posted on May 5th, 2015 by Angel Calvin
Across Jerusalem and the West Bank, many artisans are performing handicraft work in hazardous and unsustainable conditions. Pollutants generated in squalid workshop environments not only pose a threat to the health of artisans, but their families and neighbors as well, making it difficult for these workers and their communities to maintain a healthy living. World Fair Trade Day is May 9 and this year’s theme is “Be an Agent for Change”. With CRS Fair Trade you can make positive change happen for artisans and farmers every time you host a CRS Fair Trade sale or purchase products from our partners. Through your support, the CRS Fair Trade Fund—together with our partners SERRV and Ten Thousand Villages—contributed $15,000 towards the complete renovation of
Posted on February 23rd, 2015 by Angel Calvin
Shop for a Cause With Ten Thousand Villages Stores on Friday, October 16! This year marks the start of a new and exciting partnership for CRS. On Friday, October 16, we will be holding a community shopping event with Ten Thousand Villages stores nationwide. 15% of all customer designated sales will be donated to the CRS Fair Trade Fund to benefit disadvantaged farmers and artisans overseas, and build the fair trade marketplace in the United States. Established in Pennsylvania nearly 70 years ago, Ten Thousand Villages remains dedicated to enhancing the livelihoods of artisans across the globe. Through building and maintaining long-term buying relationships, this 100% fair trade business provides a sustainable market to artisans who lack economic means within their
Posted on January 5th, 2015 by Courtney
For the Feast of the Epiphany, former CRS West Relationship Manager Jeanine Boucher-Colbert sent us this lovely reflection as we head into 2015. Jeanine had to step away from her work at CRS for medical reasons, but we’re so proud she continues to spread the good news about fair trade! New Year’s abrazos and blessings to each of you! Thank you for your continued prayers for me and my family. I also pray for you all as well as you do your great work in this beautiful and aching world. My in-laws invited our family to the Dominican Republic for a 50th anniversary celebration - a most decadent, privileged and lovely family reunion and vacation, my first in 18 months. It has
Posted on December 17th, 2014 by Courtney
A #YouAreKnown Guest Post by Father Shay Cullen of Preda Fair Trade One of the most well-known success stories of Preda Fair Trade is its action to alleviate poverty and oppose the evil trade of human trafficking by implementing the social teachings of the Church. Living out in action these spiritual and social values is a great challenge to Catholics and Christians of all denominations. Pope Francis has spoken clearly on the need for economic justice in the world. He said that he wants “a Church that is poor and for the poor.” In his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, he grounded this goal in Jesus Christ, “who became poor and was always close to the poor and the outcast.” (186)
Posted on December 3rd, 2014 by Courtney
A Submission by Fair Trade Ambassador Ruby Peters for the #YouAreKnown Advent Contest For a presentation I was giving to a Catholic Women’s group who wanted to do a Community Order, I brought an assortment of CRS Fair Trade products to the meeting so people could see the variety and quality of the items. A mother/daughter pair were looking at the products with Christmas gift-giving in mind. They were checking out the puzzle boxes from India, one of which was a cat, when the older lady asked her daughter if her cat-loving granddaughter would like that as a Christmas gift. Both agreed that she would, but then the daughter suggested she instead buy 8 heart-shaped puzzle boxes, so as to
Posted on October 2nd, 2014 by Courtney
This Fair Trade Month, we are running a campaign called #YouAreKnown. The goal of this campaign is to get to know the folks involved in fair trade - from the farmer who grows your coffee on down to the Catholic who drinks it. Fair Trade Month is also Hispanic Heritage Month (and Respect Life Month), so we thought a good first profile would be the farmers of Las Colinas in El Salvador. Las Colinas was founded after land reforms in 1980, when farmers purchased the land with no credit and no training - just a strong desire to own a piece of Creation and to make a living for their families. They became a fair trade cooperative, and in 1996 began selling to
Posted on September 30th, 2014 by Courtney
Agreement for Artwork Entry Into Contest By submitting an image, video or blog (referred to in this Agreement as “Artwork”) Contestant agrees (a) to abide by the Art Challenge Guidelines listed below this Agreement and which Guidelines are incorporated in this Agreement, (b) that Contestant grants to Catholic Relief Services the nonexclusive rights throughout the world to use, reproduce, publicly display and distribute the Artwork in whole or in part in any and all media of any nature whatsoever, whether now known or hereafter devised, including but not limited to the right to blur, modify, alter, use in composite form or process to create a finished product (c) to indemnify and hold harmless Catholic Relief Services from and against any and
Posted on September 30th, 2014 by Courtney
“Works of love directed to one’s neighbor are the most perfect external manifestation of the interior grace of the Spirit.” -Pope Francis This summer I traveled down the Danube River with my family, and in the Wachau Valley of Austria we were told that apricots were a local gem that could be found in jams, lotions, liqueurs and more. So upon our arrival in the fabled town of Durnstein, I had one goal only: to find some jam! Along the cobbled streets many stores offered unique apricot products, but it was not the stores with factory jars that intrigued us. There was one worn man, perhaps in his mid-eighties, standing alone on the street with a makeshift table full of jars of jam. I
Posted on August 22nd, 2014 by Erin Mackey
Help Combat Child Slavery in the Chocolate Industry with Fair Trade Colleges and Universities Every child deserves an education, but according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), child labor is a reality for 168 million boys and girls in Latin America, Africa and Asia. What if your brother, sister, cousin, neighbor, or YOU had to pick cocoa beans instead of going to school as a child? Can you imagine that reality? It’s easier than you think to make a stand for children. Fair trade standards prohibit child slave labor on certified cocoa farms in Latin America and Africa. Join Us to Combat Child Slave Labor with Fair Trade Colleges & Universities! Our mission is to connect college students to a global movement,
Posted on August 21st, 2014 by Courtney
We all know that economic justice goes beyond the coffee in our cup, and many Fair Traders want to know how to responsibly purchase their clothing. Unfortunately, the complexity of the apparel value chain (from growing cotton, to spinning it, to sewing products, to marketing them to consumers) makes it difficult to determine whether or not apparel items have been ethically sourced. We’ve written a couple one-offs about this before, but we wanted to pull it all together so folks can make educated decisions about their choices as consumers. All of the companies listed below adhere to different fair trade rules and standards, from the Fair Trade Federation to Fair Trade USA. We’re not going to pass judgement on the different certification schemes here, but we will
