Moving On...

Published April 01, 2009 @ 05:39PM PT

Friends.

After about six months of working on the Change.org Fair Trade community and having it up and running, it is time to take a little break. For the past several months, this community has been a place for Fair Traders new and old to gather and learn about Fair Trade, to find out the latest news in the movement, to start discussions and debates surrounding the topic and to find out ways to make a difference. We've seen major victories, challenges, growth and some setbacks and we all did it together as a Change.org community and I am happy that you let me be part of it. Going back to the terrible nautical puns of my first entry, I've never seen myself as the captain of the ship guiding you through the Fair Trade seas, but rather it was a collective effort that every one of you made possible and for that I thank you all for the support. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, words, skepticism, questions, knowledge and especially your stories.

While the Change.org Fair Trade community is taking a break, motion around the Fair Trade movement continues. In the face of an economic downturn and the failures of neo-liberal and free trade policies becoming more apparent, Fair Trade and fairer trade policies are needed more than ever. Although President Obama has yet to make major decisions on key trade policies, we've seen his Administration give hints of reform by declaring the need for fairer trade policies. Bigger companies are starting to bring more Fair Trade into their models and the community continues to debate and shape the discussion around this involvement. Fair Trade towns continue to pop up around the world and Fair Trade sales are also continuing to rise in countries like the UK despite financial hardships. People are using the power of Fair Trade to bring some light into the darkness of conflict and people are also using Fair Trade principles to tackle climate change and the global food crisis. Fair Traders are mobilizing and having their voices heard and pushing for more talks of trade policy reform from the G20 summit to the steps of their own government. Producers and artisans are starting to build a bigger voice and fighting for a bigger stake in the game. Fair Traders are always moving and shaking and really can't be stopped.

As for me, I'm nowhere near stopping. My work with the Fair Trade movement continues through Global Exchange and through my work with different players in the community to continue to bring the movement together and strengthen our ties. So, I'll be around. I'll still be writing here, updating there and working everywhere. Just look for me. Again, thank you all for your continued support and I look forward to running into you again around the Fair Trade community.

[ No, this is not an April Fool's joke. :) ]

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Comments (11)

Zarah, you and this blog have been loved and appreciated, and you will be missed. Fair Trade is a powerful and important issue, and I know it will continue to live on as an important issue. Best of luck in all your future endeavours!

Posted by Amanda Kloer on 04/01/2009 @ 05:54PM PT
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Good luck with everything. Thanks for your hard work!

Posted by Jen Nedeau on 04/01/2009 @ 08:40PM PT
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Good luck and thanks for the blog - I've really enjoyed reading it.

Posted by Helen Bode on 04/02/2009 @ 02:03AM PT
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I'm sad about this. You know that already, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it. You've done a remarkable job with this blog, and we've all been lucky to have you doing it. You (and your posts) will be missed. Big hugs and good luck with all the excellent work you're still going to be doing. :)

Posted by Stephanie Ernst on 04/02/2009 @ 10:54AM PT
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We'll greatly miss your blog posts, Zarah but thanks for all the hard work and useful insights! Best of luck in your Fair Trade activism!

Posted by Global Goods Partners on 04/03/2009 @ 09:10AM PT
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So I'm a little confused - does this mean that change.org is dropping the fair trade blog, or that someone else is taking over?

Posted by David Crump on 04/03/2009 @ 11:25PM PT
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Oh Zarah, where are you when we need you most? Mars has announced going "sustainably" sourced by 2010. We need you to see through the green-wash and clarify things... I miss the Fairtrade Blog!

Posted by Helen Bode on 04/09/2009 @ 03:14AM PT
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Thank you for your passion and committment Zarah. I'll miss the informative blog posts. Good luck with Equal Exchange and all your continued work.

Posted by D W on 04/18/2009 @ 04:44PM PT
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I really support what you are doing, and 100% fully support fair trade products here in the UK.

I would apreciate your opinion on: www.onestopbuildshop.co.uk

Posted by chris kaye on 06/22/2009 @ 11:04AM PT
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Thanks for the great blog Zarah--it will be missed!

Please check out this Fair Trade blog I have started posting to--I would love your comments!

http://Solidarityclothing.blogspot.com/

Posted by Karina Walker on 07/24/2009 @ 11:37AM PT
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Greetings!

Unfortunately, the term "fair trade" is misused more often than not. Please research how a company will use money from your purchase. If they don't tell you, then it's probably a scam. If they only give 10% of the money back to the artist, that's no different than any other corporation donating money for a tax write-off. Make sure you know what you're supporting so you can feel good about helping those in poverty through your purchase!

Fair Trade should be more than a marketing buzzword, and at Village Markets of Africa, we make fair trade our core philosophy. We pay fair market prices directly to producing artisans and eliminate any exploitative middlemen. After sales, we return 50% of our profits to the artisans in the form of microloans, job training, machines and tools. How is anything less than 50/50 fair?

For more information, please visit our website.

www.villagemarketsofafrica.com

Posted by Village Markets of Africa on 08/06/2009 @ 08:24PM PT
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Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Zarah is the Operations Manager for the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store, a project of the international human rights organization, Global Exchange. Alongside her work with marginalized communities from all over the world to get their products into the international market, Zarah serves to educate and inform the public about a more just and sustainable trading system.