NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project
NEWSLETTER DROP-INS

Headlines:
Buy Fair Trade. Support economic and social justice
Buy Fair Trade. Support the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project
Buy Fair Trade. Change lives. It’s that simple
Fair Trade fosters economic and social justice
What does Fair Trade do? Fair Trade creates opportunities for the working poor.

TransFair USA Symbol of Fair Trade Certification

Short Drop-Ins:

What difference does Fair Trade make? “Fair Trade means education for our children, healthcare for our families and better opportunities – above all for women – to organize and make decisions.” Order your Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks at www.labor-religion.org by following the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project. Buy Fair Trade and rest assured that your purchase made difference in someone’s life.

What does a bite of Fair Trade chocolate mean to peasant farmers in the global South? “It opens doors to development and gives children access to healthcare, education, and a decent standard of living.” Now that is one sweet bite of chocolate. Buy Fair Trade and change the lives of others. Order your Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks at www.labor-religion.org by following the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project.

Make your dollar do more. When you buy Fair Trade, you support livable wages, community development, healthcare and education. Order your Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks at www.labor-religion.org by following the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project. Buy Fair Trade. See the impact your dollar can make!

Choose justice. Choose Fair Trade. When you buy Fair Trade, you take a stand against child and adult slavery in favor of fair wages, sustainable development and transparency in business. Order your Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks at www.labor-religion.org by following the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project. Buy Fair Trade and taste the goodness.

Do you know where your money goes? When you buy Fair Trade, you can enjoy your coffee, tea, chocolate and snacks with the knowledge that your money went to those who truly earned it. Order your Fair Trade goods at www.labor-religion.org by following the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project. Buy Fair Trade and feel good about the purchases you make!

Did you know it takes 4,000 hand-picked coffee beans to produce approximately one pound of coffee? Put that in your cup and drink it. Want to make sure the people those hands belong to receive the fair price they are due? Buy Fair Trade. It makes all the difference. Order your Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks at www.labor-religion.org by following the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project.

Longer Drop-Ins:

What does Fair Trade look like?
Fair Trade looks like this:

• Farmers receive a fair price – a living wage
• Consumers receive a quality product
• •Adult and child slavery are strictly prohibited
• Fair Trade farmers can afford to send their children to school instead of having them work in the fields
• Farmers are encouraged to organize into democratic cooperatives, similar to unionization in the Global North. These cooperatives reinvest in the farmer communities using Fair Trade premiums
• Fair Trade encourages farmers to use environmentally friendly and sustainable production techniques
• Working conditions are healthy and safe
• Women’s work is properly valued and rewarded
• Producers and buyers trade under direct, long-term relationships of mutual respect

Order your Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks at www.labor-religion.org by following the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project.

What’s with the ‘Religion’ in the ‘Labor-Religion Coalition’? The Labor-Religion Coalition is a non-profit organization that neither adheres to nor promotes the religious doctrine of any faith group. The word ‘religion’ in the name of the organization refers back to the founding of the Labor-Religion Coalition in 1980 when labor, religious, and community volunteers coalesced to focus on economic justice for workers at a time when large numbers of plant-closings signified the negative impact of globalization on New York State workers. The beliefs of labor and religious groups have historically intersected on the topic of economic justice. The Labor-Religion Coalition spotlights this intersection: its work is driven by a belief in the dignity of work and the right to organize and collectively bargain.

To learn more about the Labor-Religion Coalition and its campaigns for economic justice, go to www.labor-religion.org.

What statement do you make with your money? As a consumer, you make decisions everyday about how to spend your money, and these decisions reveal something of what is important to you. When you buy Fair Trade, you declare your support for a powerfully positive movement in our world. Fair Trade is a trade model that enables producers to lift themselves out of poverty, to invest in their farms and communities, and to protect the environment. Order your Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks at www.labor-religion.org by following the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project. Do more with your dollar. Choose Fair Trade.

Free Trade vs. Fair Trade: What’s the difference?

Free Trade is a trade model based upon the principles of:

• Comparative advantage
• Trade of goods and services without barriers to trade
•Free access to markets and market information
• The free movement of labor and capital within and between countries
• Profit as the only driving objective

Fair Trade is a trade model based upon the principles of:

• Fair prices
• Fair labor conditions
• Direct trade
• Democratic and transparent organizations
• Community development
• Environmental sustainability

In an ideal world, Free Trade would increase the overall production of goods and services around the world, thereby improving the lot of the majority of the world’s population. However, Free Trade in its present-day incarnation does not take into account the market failures often caused by Free Trade policies and the resulting unbridled abuse of labor and the environment.

Fair Trade is a solution to the market failures produced by Free Trade policies. Fair Trade empowers consumers to choose goods and services produced with fairness and justice. While the Free Trade model ignores the damage done by its policies to low-income workers and the environment, the Fair Trade model takes as its objective the defense of workers’ rights and the protection of the environment.

You can support the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project by ordering Fair Trade goods at www.labor-religion.org. Follow the Fair Trade links to the Dean’s Beans and Equal Exchange websites. When you do so, these 100% Fair Trade organizations will make a 10% contribution to help expand the NYSUT/Labor-Religion Coalition Fair Trade Project. Choose empowerment. Choose justice. Choose Fair Trade.

Last Updated: 05/01/2009
© Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State