Liz here.  My office-mates are out at the Fair Trade Conference in Washington state or abroad visiting artists, which leaves me to contemplate…. ‘what would I like to post about?’

DIAMONDS!

Not so much because I have in inkling to own one, but because as a new friend asked me about featuring her fair trade bridal jewelry on this blog.  I thought to myself “jewelry!” – that’s an topic unto itself. Now this post isn’t dedicated to those bridal jewelry pieces of Linda’s (the friend) but it is dedicated to a question I’ve had in mind for some time:

“How do i avoid blood Diamonds?”

 I figure if it’s a question I’ve wondered, there’s bound to be someone else out there wondering too.  And so with you in mind, i took action!  In a quick search I found a really interesting organization called the FJA, the Fair Jewelry Action who promotes environmental justice and human rights.

Think diamonds & engagements. Think fairly traded gems. Fairly traded metals.  Customizable pieces. 100% profits to charity.  I’d say that’s a cool thing.  And so…

Behold: The Clarity Project.

Check them out! And, if you know any lovebirds – pass the word along.

Hi Fair Trade friends,
I realize that I am a little slow on the draw – again, but I’m hoping that i’m giving you just enough time to make yours a fair trade Easter.

Last year, I posted about Cadbury eggs (who is owned by Hershey) and the sad truth that they won’t’ participate in the anti-child labor agreement. Unfortunately, the case has not changed and so you can still join the campaign to urge Cadbury & Hershey to sell fair trade chocolate.

I did do a brief internet search to bring you some lovely Easter items, but the most abundant place for Easter things was on Serrv’s website. But I must admit, that Lucuma.com has some great finger puppets and hair accessories for Easter baskets. And, for a more local approach, try out Sweet Earth Chocolates who uses fair trade chocolate for their sweet bunnies and eggs.

And although I was racking my brain for other ideas, I kept coming back to Cadbury eggs. THEN, I remembered something – BAKING. And so, my friends, I present you with an Easter cupcake.

Apricot Lemon Cupcakes from Earthbalance.com

Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
Servings: 12

1 1/4 cup(s) of organic all-purpose flour
1 tsp. of non-aluminum baking powder
1/4 tsp. of sea salt
1 cup(s) of organic fair-trade sugar
1 cup(s) of Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, softened (this is a butter substitute)
4 ounce(s) of unsweetened organic apple sauce
4 ounce(s) of dairy-free lemon yogurt
4 tsp. of grated lemon zest
9 tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. of lemon extract
1 cup(s) of dried apricots, chopped

Steps
1.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. To make the cupcakes, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the refined sugar, 1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, apple sauce, yogurt, 2 tsp grated lemon zest, 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon extract.
4. Combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on low-medium speed
5.Add in the apricots and stir by hand until they are evenly distributed in the batter.
6. Pour the batter into a cupcake tin and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly.
7. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before topping them with frosting.
8. To make the frosting, combine the confectioners’ sugar, 2 tsp grated lemon zest, 6 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread in a large bowl and mix on low-medium speed for 1 minute. Try a bite and if you want the frosting to be even more sour, add in more lemon juice, one tablespoon at a time.
Decorate your cupcakes and eat!

few more inspirational ideas:

Pinterest. Have you heard of it? Well, I just became a fan… not the stalker-i-can’t-get-enough-of-this fan like I keep hearing about, but a fan nonetheless. Don’t tell, but the deep secret mission of mine is to pin beautiful fairly-traded handmade things. Then, the world will see – or at least a few people who normally wouldn’t – and maybe come to understand the value of fair trade. Now personally, I couldn’t figure out how to just make an account for this blog, BUT I did manage to create a board called “Fair Trade & Sustainability” on my personal pinterest account. Follow my account “Liz McTeer” – (although, honestly I’m not yet quite sure how to follow someone…). Doing a quick search on pinterest.com I see a small selection of fair trade goods there (mainly from the UK).

So, i have a challenge for you this week. If you don’t have a pinterest account, get one. And then when/if your pinterest account is ready, find one beautiful fairly-traded gift, food, or decor, and pin it! And when you have to say something about the product, make sure you tell your soon-to-be-viewers that it’s fair trade. Maybe do a litle promotional talk on there too… if you’re feeling like an activist.

Find a beautiful Fair trade something. Pin it! Re-peat! Or at least follow me…

For example, one issue facing Fair Trade at large is labeling and certification.  To quote the awesome Fair Trade Resource Network’s recap of the debate (from FTRN subscription email dated 10/5/2010 – join their list!):

“During a well-attended debate, titled “Value v. Volume: Different Theories of Change in Fair Trade”, two leaders of Fair Trade organizations expressed opportunities and concerns with certifications and volume. Sophie Tranchell, …suggested that major corporations can strengthen the quality of the Fairtrade mark [n.b. Fair Trade Certified label in N. America], but fair-washing is rampant. Michael Conroy…..said that certification extends confidence to audiences not trusting of Fair Trade brands. He added that he would like to distinguish between 100%ers, and companies just dabbling in Fair Trade.”

By the way, Michael… i like your idea. 

 In any case it was an excellent conference.  I wanted to use the pictures from Flckr but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t save them to my computer (and I even had permission to use them!).  So… here’s a link.  Instead, here’s a picture of this cool sculpture in Chicago, which for the moment, is as close to Boston as I can get.  Thanks to all who participated.

you are inside the sculpture looking up. how cool is that?!

In the meantime, September brings a really cool event to Boston, MA.  It’s the Fair Trade Futures Conference, which will be the largest fair trade conference in US history!  Right now, they are expecting 750 shop owners, wholesale suppliers, sustainably minded people, and those just trying to learn.   It’s going to be a pretty neat event with workshops, seminars, debates, a marketplace, and even the opportunity to meet some artisans/producers.  It’s the weekend of Sept 10, so join in if you can!  Details are here.