Turning an Idea into a Movement: Paul Rice and TransFairUSA

by Zarah Patriana

Published November 21, 2008 @ 01:28PM PST

I was scanning the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday and how surprised was I when I noticed a story about Paul Rice and TransfairUSA. Paul Rice is the founder and  man behind TransFairUSA. The article tells the story of Rice's Fair Trade beginnings of farming alongside Nicaraguan coffee farmers during the Contra-War, to his work on a Chinese rice field and finally telling the story of how his vision of helping out the coffee farmers eventually turned into a reality that now helps million of small-scale farmers all across the globe.

A Dutch friend then told him about a "strange idea" called fair trade that was just beginning to catch on in the Netherlands.

Hooked on the idea, Rice left Nicaragua to earn an MBA at UC Berkeley, taking his Nicaraguan wife, Marisol Aguilar, and his young son, Emiliano, with him. In an Oakland warehouse, he started a certification and labeling organization for fair trade goods.

After years of fundraising, TransFair USA was born in 1998.

Since 1998, Paul Rice has been tirelessly encouraging consumers and businesses to buy Fair Trade. In 2007, specialty coffee sales reached $13.5 and $837 of those sales were for Fair Trade Certified coffee and Fair Trade coffee is currently the fastest growing segment of the $44 billion coffee industry. Not a bad feat for what first started out as a "strange" idea.

Photo: SF Chronicle

PUMA Produces Fair Trade Soccer Ball

by Zarah Patriana

Published November 20, 2008 @ 07:03AM PST

Some call it a football while some call it a soccer ball. However you choose to kick it, Puma has decided to call their spherical sports balls Fair Trade. Well, some of them at least. According to their website:

Sportlifestyle company PUMA for the first time produced footballs under fair trade conditions in order to endorse a campaign focusing on the prevention of juvenile delinquency in South Africa. In cooperation with the Bavarian government and the Internationales Katholisches Missionswerk missio, PUMA will provide 5,000 footballs - bearing the fair trade certification mark - for the initiative “Club der guten Hoffnung” (Club of Good Hope) to be used in football games at Bavarian and South African schools. For this purpose, PUMA’s long-term football supplier Ali Trading in Pakistan was monitored for compliance to the Fairtrade standards and was certified by the independent certification organization FLO-CERT.

“We are pleased that we can support this initiative with PUMA footballs sporting the fair trade mark,“ said Horst Widmann, Vice President of PUMA. “The football games will bring young people together in a peaceful way and will help curtail youth violence. At the same time, we further improved the working conditions in our supplier’s factory in Pakistan.”

Corporate social responsibility has been in the news a lot lately with Starbucks recently announcing the doubling of their Fair Trade coffee purchases. Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz even made an announcement declaring their determined step toward the goal of being a responsible corporate citizen. Now Puma is next.

Victory for the Fair Trade movement? I wouldn't be so fast as to call it that completely. The statement says that PUMA was producing 5,000 soccer balls that would carry the Fairtrade Certification Mark that were produced in their one factory in Pakistan. While I applaud PUMA's step towards Fair Trade certification it doesn't exactly seem like a long term, on-going commitment.

PUMA has long publicized their long-standing commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen and even have S.A.F.E. Standards in place, or Social Accountability and Fundamental Environmental Standards with principles of human rights, high labor and environmental standards, and anti-corruption. (Ahem, ahem, Starbucks C.A.F.E. standards, anyone?) PUMA uses their S.A.F.E. standards when inspecting and audting their manufacturing factories. However, PUMA has often been reported to engage in some unsavory treatment of their factory workers including excessively long hours for little pay, unsanitary and high risk working conditions and abusive management.

Just this past June, China Labor Watch released a report regarding conditions at a major PUMA supplier base in China revealing widespread poor conditions. Li Qiang, Exective Director of China Labor Watch states that this is "a reflection of Puma suppliers general conditions. Puma needs to refocus its priority and remediate its flawed audit system."

Let's hope that their compliance with international Fair Trade standards at their factory in Pakistan is one step in the right direction and they can truly be committed to being the socially responsbilty corporate citizens they claim to be and use Fair Trade standards throughout their whole supply chain with all their factories across the board.

For a company that is 100% committed to supplying you with Fair Trade sports equipment, I recommend you check out Fair Trade Sports. Zero fouls on the field and the factories.

Another Fair Trade Town on the Map

by Zarah Patriana

Published November 19, 2008 @ 07:51PM PST

Montclair, NJ. Thanks to my Wikipedia skills, I was able to find out that it is the 50th largest municipality in New Jersey, their current Mayor is Jerry Fried, they have two zip codes and one of their sister cities is Laguna de Perlas, Nicaragua. Thanks to guest blogger Shayna Harris, I was able to find out that Montclair, NJ is officially the 8th Fair Trade Town in the United States.

The last place in the U.S. to be declared a Fair Trade Town is my current stomping grounds, San Francisco (also technically making it the first Fair Trade city in the U.S.) and last month London was declared the Fair Trade Capital of the world. Fair Trade is spreading from city to city across the world with more and more towns and people making commitments to Fair Trade. Way to go Montclair. Is your town next?

Prominent Fair Trade Activists Address Starbucks Decision

by Zarah Patriana

Published November 18, 2008 @ 02:30PM PST

In October of 2000, Starbucks officially announced that they would finally carry Fair Trade Certified coffee. The announcement came after a campaign of thousands of activists across the country pressured Starbucks to bring Fair Trade to the mermaid. One of the main organizations behind that campaign was human rights organization, Global Exchange. Global Exchange approached CEO Howard Schultz, petitioned stockholders, organized people to send out faxes and letters to Starbucks demanding they make their coffee Fair Trade and planned scheduled demonstrations in front of Starbucks shops across the country. Starbucks finally gave into the pressure and the consumer demand through the grassroots organization of Global Exchange.

Since then, Global Exchange has continued their campaign to hold Starbucks accountable and have encouraged them to increase their Fair Trade Certified coffee purchases. I approached Global Exchange's Fair Trade Director (and my colleague) Adrienne Fitch-Frankel to see her thoughts on Starbucks' recent decision to double their Fair Trade Certified coffee purchases.

In 2000, activists nationwide dedicated to ending the cycle of poverty among coffee farming families persuaded Starbucks to start selling Fair Trade certified coffee, in a campaign organized by Global Exchange and supported by allies nationwide.  Since that time, Starbucks emerged as the leading purchaser of Fair Trade certified coffee in North America.

Starbucks’ announcement that it will double its purchasing makes it the leading purchaser of Fair Trade certified coffee in the world.  This volume of coffee purchases is significant for its impact on the lives of farmers around the world that are changing their lives, one coffee bean at a time.  It is also significant because Starbucks’ participation in the Fair Trade system started as a response to concerned consumers like you and me…consumers who knew we could make a difference.  Global Exchange commends Starbucks for maintaining and expanding its commitment to Fair Trade certification, the farmers that grow its coffee, and consumers that care deeply about the social and environmental conditions for small farmers that grow the coffee they enjoy.

Global Exchange also calls on Starbucks to continue the forward momentum to increase its Fair Trade purchases.  Additional concrete steps Starbucks can take include (1) brewing Fair Trade coffee in its stores at least once a week (2) supporting the expansion of Fair Trade into more farming communities and (3) sourcing exclusively Fair Trade certified cocoa for all its products with cocoa as an ingredient.  Starbucks currently uses Fair Trade certified cocoa for its stores in Britain and we urge Starbucks to make the same change for its stores in the United States and around the world.

While we appreciate the volume that Starbucks brings to the table, we also want to acknowledge companies like Equal Exchange, Deans Beans, Divine, Alter Eco, and Ithaca Fine Chocolates that purchase 100% Fair Trade ingredients for their products.  These companies set the standard for best practices and we urge consumers to reward their unequivocal commitment to supporting farmers through 100% Fair Trade certified purchasing.  You can find these brands in your local store or online at http://www.globalexchangestore.org.

[image credit Jasmin Chua, at www.worstedwitch.com]

Fair Trade Federation Conference 2009

by Zarah Patriana

Published November 18, 2008 @ 10:55AM PST

The Fair Trade Federation Annual Conference is coming up and it's going to be a special one because the FTF is turning 15. Did somebody say Quinceañera? Although, I don't think there will be a choreographed dance, it will definitely be a celebration of Fair Trade. Details below:

Fair Trade Federation Conference 2009

March 27 - 29
Doubletree Hotel
Portland, OR

Early Bird Registration Closes January 5!

Come Celebrate FTF's 15th Birthday! 
From March 27 - 29, 2009, we hope that you will join FTF members and partners for practical seminars on the business of fair trade and excellent opportunities to network during the 2009 Fair Trade Federation conference. We will also mark 15 years since FTF's incorporation in 1994!

COSTS
FTF and IFAT Members - $100 / person before January 5 ($150 / person afterward)

Non-Members  - $250 / person before January 5 ($300 / person afterward)
    Conference fees include most meals, conference materials, and other benefits.

ACCOMMODATIONS
FTF has blocked a limited number of rooms at the Doubletree at a reduced rate of $109 / night for standard rooms; $119 / night for premium rooms. Reservations can be made by calling the hotel directly at (503) 281-6111 or by calling our toll free reservations hotline at 1-800-996-0510. Reservations can also be made online at:  www.portlandlloydcenter.doubletree.com/. Select your dates under "Check Availability", click "GO" and enter your group code which is: FTF. Reservations must be made by March 1, 2009.

Questions? Contact FTF at conference@fairtradefederation.org

Conference Call with a Cocoa Farmer

by Zarah Patriana

Published November 17, 2008 @ 01:50PM PST

This weekend had me immersed in the Fair Trade world. I met with Fair Trade vendors, Fair Trade Federation members, people in the movement and the like at the Green Festival. I'm still trying to take it all in, but all in all it was an amazing experience and really brought home the fact that the green economy that includes the Fair Trade movement is vibrant and growing.

I also got to taste a lot of delicious Fair Trade treats including a lot of chocolate. Someone was also kind enough to mention to me that tomorrow, November 17th, there will be a conference call with a cacao farmer in the Dominican Republic. For those interested in finding out more about Fair Trade chocolate, I encourage you to take part in this call and get the story directly from the farmer. Information below.

Where
Virtual

When
Nov 18   starts at 4:00 pm EST

Victor Diaz, a cacao farmer from the Dominican Republic, will visit Equal Exchange to speak firsthand about the impacts of Fair Trade on him, his family and community, and about how consumers make a difference when they choose Fair Trade.

Everyone is invited to join this conversation by dialing into the call on Tuesday November 18 at 4:00 PM.

Call this conference call number: (218) 339-4600
Participant Access Code: 1048071#

RSVP to Virginia Berman by Monday, November 17, 2008.

Green Festival Weekend

by Zarah Patriana

Published November 14, 2008 @ 04:51PM PST

The Green Festival is rolling into town this weekend in San Francisco. Dubbed a "party with a purpose", the Green Festival is the largest sustainability event in the world bringing together individuals, businesses and community leaders to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad. The Green Festivals bring people together to find solutions to help us live healthier lives socially, economically and environmentally.

The Green Festivals take place in cities throughout the country including Chicago, Seattle, Washington D.C. and this weekend it is in San Francisco. It's a joint project of my compatriots Global Exchange and Co-op America where you can see tons of speakers, see the most recent developments in renewable energy and green technology, sample Fair Trade products, learn how to invest in your community, green your home and avoid products made in sweatshops.

There are tons of Fair Trade companies that are going to be there so check it out and mingle with the movement. If I haven't convinced you Bay Area Greenies to go yet, I will also be there. So, if anything come see me! I will be there most of the weekend working and rubbing elbows with the best of them. Really looking forward to meeting some Fair Trade peeps in person including Scott James of Fair Trade Sports and Equal Exchange as well as hearing some speakers including Mr. Van Jones, Dr. Cornel West and Chuck D himself!

For those of you who won't be able to make it, I will definitely be giving an update of the events including photos and maybe even video blogs. VLOG! So, time to close up shop and head over and get my green on.