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Fair Trade Conference Recap

lucumadesigns — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:35:09 +0000

Last month closed off on the largest fair trade conference in history… and it was a smashing success! All reports I heard were good, and I know our team came back recharged and proud to be involved in the fair trade movement. There were some lively debates and good discussions about victories and problems facing stores, suppliers, and the movement at large.

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?!

Filed under: Fair Trade Helps People, Other

Fair Trade Futures Conference

lucumadesigns — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:38:43 +0000

Well, if i thought it would be worth anything… i’d say “sorry”. Long time, no post. Agh..(that’s a sigh).. one day I will get better at this blog posting thing. Lately, so much has been going on at the office, it’s been hard to keep up with anything! We’ve just wrapped up the last of 4 gift shows. Fingers crossed all the new business will keep our artists busy and able to help more people in their towns.

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.

Filed under: Other

Fair Trade the Whitehouse

lucumadesigns — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:10:46 +0000

Many of our Fair Trade friends and business buddies are getting involved with this new grassroots organization called “Fair Trade the White House”. Its goal is to petition First Lady Michelle Obama to join the fair trade movement, and bring social sustainability into the spotlight of US homes. Not a bad thing! I was reading just today from the Fair Trade Federation’s North American Market Trend Report and discovered that according to a study 88% of consumers considered themselves “conscious consumers” and “socially responsible”… but at the same time only 6% (yes, you heard me!) could name a single Fair Trade organization without help, less than 10% had purchased from a Fair Trade Organization, and less than half could identify any principles of fair trade.

http://www.fairtradewhitehouse.com

Much of the country is out of sink with Fair trade and what it means to be “socially responsible” . Let’s help bring it to the forefront. Sign the petition!

Posted in Other