justicing article, "Fair Trade is beginning to flourish"

Setting up a fair trade table at Catholic Central High School in Troy, NY are students active in the school’s Character Council. Students promoted fair trade throughout the school, sold products ordered through the Labor-Religion Coalition and distributed educational materials developed through the Fair Trade Project.

Fair trade is beginning to flourish

The Coalition’s project with union members is approaching its second anniversary. A party isn’t being planned, but it would surely be another occasion for Equal Exchange chocolate bars, special label fair trade coffee from Dean’s Beans or a gift basket packed with teas, cranberries, and nuts.

Creating opportunities for us all to shop with a conscience is the daily task of Fair Trade Promoter Anne Kelly who joined the Coalition in January. Yasmine Perez, the Coalition’s first FT Promoter, left in December to continue her education.

Kelly designs, puts together and ships fair trade favors for retirement dinners, helps schools and offices conduct fair trade sales, designs posters and creates special promotions for holidays. Soon to be available is a totally fair trade office kit ($20) with coffee and a coffee scoop, sugar, tea and guidelines for ordering more. The kit makes it especially easy for New York State United Teachers regional offices to “encourage and facilitate the use of fair trade products at union meetings, offices, trainings and conferences” (according to a resolution to be considered at the NYSUT Representative Assembly, April 9-12). “NYSUT leadership has a remarkable commitment to fair trade,” said Kelly.

“It enriches my life to know where my food comes from, the stories behind what I buy,” said Kelly. “It’s a simple action—choosing fair trade coffee—that makes an everyday ritual into an expression of solidarity with the people who grow the coffee or cocoa. It benefits us all to have these connections.”

The connections will be experienced at a deeper level this spring when three members of the NYSUT Fair Trade Task Force, along with Anne Kelly and LRC International Project Coordinator Maureen Casey, travel with Equal Exchange staff to a cooperative organization of small-scale cocoa producers in the Dominican Republic. The cooperative, the National Confederation of Dominican Cocoa Producers (CONACADO) has a terrific web site [www.conacado.com.do] where chocolate lovers can see some of the farms, processing facilities and social development projects that the group will visit from April 16-23.