Fair Trade the White House!

July 2, 2009 at 4:02 pm | Posted in fair trade happenings, Fair Trade Life, fair trade movement | Leave a comment
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Fair Trade the White House is a coalition of fair trade organizations and vendors  that are inviting First Lady Michelle Obama to join the fair trade movement and make the White House a “Fair Trade Home”. Their hope is that, by making the White House a “Fair Trade Home”, the American consumer (that’s you) will achieve greater awareness of fair trade and want to “Join the Fair Party”. That means buying fair trade instead of the stuff that you know nothing about! So, help the movement by signing the petition here and send it to everyone you know! Watch this video to find out more…

Fair Trade and Sustainability an Answer to Fashion Industry’s Waste?

July 1, 2009 at 1:47 pm | Posted in fair trade fashion, Fair Trade Life, fair trade movement, green/eco-friendly | Leave a comment
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It seems that we are a nation  descended from the “Veruca Salt”  tribe…”I want it now!” we cry and we don’t care who it hurts. The fashion industry is a case in point…they  “cunningly tempt us with the latest “it” bag or stunning pair of Manolo Blahniks, and lure us in to spend our money and buy into a system that seeks ever-faster production of ever-more worthless turnover.

Fashion does not have to be about buying, consuming, and needlessly depleting the earth’s precious resources on a seasonal whim. The pace of fashion consumption has fast outstripped the rate at which natural resources can be replaced, and time has come to ask some fundamentally important, and at some times difficult, questions like “How can we be smarter about this?” and “What steps can we take to reduce our wastefulness?””. To find out more, click here.

Seven Ways to Have a Fair Trade Day!

June 30, 2009 at 8:31 pm | Posted in acts of random kindness, Fair Trade Life, fair trade movement | 3 Comments
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Incorporating fair trade into your day has never been easier!

  1. Begin your day with a piping hot cup of fair trade coffee or tea. Add some fair trade sugar to your coffee. Eat fair trade bananas on your cereal. You can buy fair trade coffee or tea from  Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s or (dare I say it?) Wal-Mart (hey, if it helps those coffee and tea farmers…). Or, if you’re in a rush, you can pick up a cuppa fair trade joe at Bruegger’s, Caribou Coffee (ask for the fair trade blend) or Einstein Bagels (ask for their Global Village Fair Trade blend). You can buy the sugar for your coffee or tea (or for that Peach Cobbler) at Wegmans or Whole Foods Market. Bananas can sometimes be found at your local supermarket or health food store. If any of these stores don’t have fair trade, ask “why not?” And always request that they get fair trade items that you want.
  2. Use fair trade beauty products. Buy Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps for your shower or to wash your hair. You can pick it up at your local health food store or online. Most beauty products that are fair trade certified are from the UK and are certified by the Fairtrade Foundation A list can be found here. And these are the websites: Bubble and Balm, Boots, Essential Care, Lush and Neals Yard Remedies. Other beauty products that adhere to fair trade policies, but that are not certified per se can be had at: The Body Shop, Planete Monde and Weleda.
  3. Wear fair trade (and organic) cotton t-shirts. Carry a fair trade hand bag. Buy fair trade cotton t-shirts online at Lightning Fast, a hip, extremely ethical shopping website. And get a fairly traded, extremely ethical hand bag to go with it at Blue People Fair Trade.
  4. Snack on fair trade chocolate, fair trade nuts or fair trade dried fruit. You can find fair trade snacks at your local health food store, at Whole Foods Market or online at Divine Chocolate or at Equal Exchange.
  5. When you go shopping, instead of paper or plastic, carry your own fair trade, recycled bag to bring home the bacon and your treasures. Buy a hip, recycled rice bag, big enough for all your shopping needs at Blue People Fair Trade.
  6. Bring your honey fair trade flowers…just because. You can find fair trade flowers at Whole Foods Market and Sam’s Club.
  7. Sip fair trade wine at the end of the day. And now that you’re completely knackered (really, really tired), it’s time to find a really comfortable chair, put your feet up and sip some refreshing fair trade wine. From Pinot Grigio to Cabernet Sauvignon, your favorite can be found, fairly traded, at Target, Sam’s Club and Whole Foods Market.

As you can see, it’s as easy as can be to incorporate fair trade into your day. So, what’s stopping you??? Get out there and DO IT!!!

Investing in Fair Trade

June 22, 2009 at 3:17 am | Posted in fair trade movement, Investing in Fair Trade | Leave a comment
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While I was in the UK working with the Fairtrade Foundation, I came across an incredibly unique entity. This entity is a lending co-op that aims to reduce poverty in the world by providing FAIR and JUST financial services! This is a rare, almost unheard of, thing in the US, especially since the US banking system seems to only care about making their CEOs wealthy. But Shared Interest works with fair trade businesses all over the world, both producers and buyers, providing credit to help them trade and develop.

Shared Interest provides financial services and business support to improve livelihoods and living standards for disadvantaged communities in some of world’s poorest countries.
They also work with people who share their commitment to fair and just trade. Together they take and share risk, because they value the difference that sustainable trade makes. Shared Interest seeks to provide for the needs of producers as they work their way out of poverty while also aiming to meet the objectives of their investors/donors who want to support the producers.

And, they do all this while:

  • working to recognised fair trade standards;
  • respecting the diversity of different cultures;
  • valuing and engaging their members and supporters;
  • placing partnership at the heart of what they do when working with others; and
  • working with people and encouraging their commitment, talents and energy in an environment of mutual respect.

Watch this video to find out how Shared Interest is making a difference…and then invest to help more people!

Re-Launch of Blue People Fair Trade!FINALLY!

June 22, 2009 at 2:44 am | Posted in beginnings, fair trade happenings | Leave a comment
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It’s been a long time coming (for me) but Blue People Fair Trade is FINALLY launching our new and improved website and we want to thank you for your patience while we continue to go through our growing pains. For the rest of June, if you sign up for our newsletter, you can get 10% off anything in our store. Anything. So, please sign up. And, if you don’t receive the code, send me an email at lisa@bluepeoplefairtrade.com. Thanks for being there for all the artisans that depend on us and  you!

PS We are extending the 10% off discount for anyone who signs up for the newsletter, so PLEASE go here and sign up for our monthly newsletter to get discounts and to learn more about fair trade.

Why Organic and Fair Trade Chocolate is a Sweeter Deal

June 14, 2009 at 4:06 am | Posted in fair trade movement, green/eco-friendly, trade injustice | Leave a comment
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It’s comforting to know that in these uncertain times, there’s some good news about something you love. Not only can chocolate be good for you, but it can also help raise developing world farmers out of poverty, and be gentler on the environment! Chocolate comes from the roasted and ground seeds of the Latin American plant known as cacao, which has been cultivated for at least three millennia. In Mesoamerican times chocolate was mostly used in drinks, although today of course it is found in many different forms, and enjoyed all over the world. It is grown widely in Latin America and West Africa and is a keystone product in the organic and fair trade movements, which seek to build a more equitable, cleaner planet. Check out more about fair trade and organic chocolate here.

Help Fight for Trade Justice!

June 11, 2009 at 4:35 pm | Posted in trade injustice | Leave a comment
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Right now, the European Union is desperate to finalise a trade deal with Central America which could increase poverty and inequality in a region where 40% of the population live on less than US$2 a day. The World Development Movement, one of the Fairtrade Foundation’s founder members, is trying to put the brakes on this deal – read more and take action here. Even if you live in the USA, you can let EU leaders know how you feel. Take action!

ARK: Change Your World

May 26, 2009 at 6:54 pm | Posted in artisan stories, trade injustice, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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Fair trade is a movement. A movement of people who believe that we should all be treated with respect and dignity….not just people in the West, but ALL people. To this end, the Blue People Fair Trade blog will be featuring other people (yes, even competitors!) who are doing amazing things.

Cameron Stewart is one of those people. He was tired of corporations motivated for personal gain, so he decided that the world needed a company with a purpose other than profit. It was while selling clothes on Ebay that he saw the true power of fashion to create change:

“I started looking around and saw that people weren’t just buying t shirts, they were buying an identity to adopt a way of life. Instead of putting on clothing to be someone great, why couldn’t you could wear clothing to do something great?”

From this unique vision, Ark° came to life. A clothing company with one simple, yet powerful idea: Every time you wear the  Λº logo, you perform one Act of Random Kindness. Ark’s mission is to spread and inspire kindness globally. You can check out Cameron, Ark and their projects at www.arkchangeyourworld.com.

And, since fair trade IS a movement, let’s get this party started! Demand and buy fair trade…because it matters!

Murphy’s Law

May 21, 2009 at 7:10 pm | Posted in Falling Down | 1 Comment
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I believe wholeheartedly in Murphy’s Law…no matter what, it’s always there to remind me that, no matter what, if something can go wrong, it will. And it did. I have been working feverishly to re-launch Blue People after it’s great new design…and, the day before the launch was scheduled to take place, my computer died. Completely. Totally. With all my files held captive. I know that many of you have experienced this, but it was my first time. And it felt like one of my relatives had died…OK, one of my pets. At any rate, I now have to order a computer and the launch could be as late as a month. I will keep you posted…and thanks to all for your support of fair trade and your patience.

BIG BANG! Circling the Earth On World Fair Trade Day

May 11, 2009 at 6:39 pm | Posted in fair trade happenings, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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By all accounts, World Fair Trade Day was a BIG success, with over 70 countries particpating. This year’s theme was “Big Bang! Beat Poverty! Beat Climate Change! Beat Financial Crisis!” World Fair Trade Day 2009 started with a lone drummer in the Chatham Islands at sunrise and ended with drumming in Samoa at sunset. You can follow the drumming as it circles the earth for Fair Trade here.

Proposals for a Sustainable Fair Trade Economy are due to be reviewed at the G8 Summit in Italy this July. These global initiatives are supported by the World Fair Trade Organization, who helped organize World Fair Trade Day and is a leading global authority on fair trade.

Blue People Fair Trade, alas, did not get to re-launch on WFTD due to glitches…but look for a re-launch, coming soon!

Remember to continue to buy fair trade, wherever you are!

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