Calling for workshop proposals for the 2008 USFT International Convergence!

The Convergence is coming up quickly! It's less than a couple months til November and the Big Fair Trade Extravaganza! In case you haven't heard, the Convergence will be taking place November 7-10 in Seattle, WA. We look forward to having an amazing thought-provoking event with great discussion that will inspire student activism throughout this school year!

We know everyone has different experiences with Fair Trade and the movement, and we hope that you will bring those experiences to the Convergence by putting on a workshop! The Call for Proposals has information about this year's Convergence, its theme(s), and what our goals are for workshops. Please don't hesitate to email or call me if you have any questions!

Please click on the files below to find information about putting on a workshop as well as a workshop application. Please send completed applications to workshop.usft@gmail.com by October 17th, 2008. Thank you, and we look forward to reading your proposals and seeing you at the Convergence!!

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Please join us in Seattle this November 7 - 10 for United Students for Fair Trade's 2008 International Convergence!

The Convergence will be an awesome opportunity to meet and strategize with producers from various countries, learn organizing skills in dozens of workshops facilitated by experienced organizers in the U.S. and abroad, and network with over 200 students and youth movement leaders from around the world. The Convergence is open to anyone and everyone with an interest in fair trade or social justice, and we want to see you there!

Students are continuously creating new goals and new interpretations of what Fair Trade is and should be: taking it beyond the limits of consumerism, to critiquing and imagining alternative food systems, to making fair trade more accessible, to exploring participants' visions of trade justice internationally and in the US. The Convergence is a place to share experiences, ideas, and skills in a collaborative learning environment, rather than sitting and listening to lecture after lecture.

This year, the convergence will explore various topics such as the relationship between the Fair Trade model and domestic farmworker rights; organizing around Fair Trade products; cooperative structures and functioning; how students can create more close-knit relationships with producers; how students can work together to build regional campaigns and leadership in the student Fair Trade movement; integrating anti-oppression into our organizing; connecting students with newer Fair Trade certified products such as nuts and olive oil; and much more.

We want you and your friends to join us! Please visit www.usft.org/convergence to register.

We'll see you in Seattle!!!

Hey all, This is Heather... We went to San Ramon this morning after a nice desayuno tipico (traditional breakfast), to meet with the various people and organizations that support us during our time in San Ramon every year. First we met with Dona Nelly, whose rancho we will be occupying during much of our time in San Ramon and whose delicious food we will be consuming, and were greeted with much love and hugs. Alvaro, USFT's faithful friend and driver since 2004, met us at Nelly's and then took us to his mother's house and then to visit his little daughter, who was very excited about the cartoons she was watching. We then went to the UCA San Ramon to meet with Darling, the coordinator of the UCA's fair trade tourism project, and we stumbled upon a meeting being facilitated by Chris Bacon and his wife Mari! It was a joyful reunion, as Chris is a longtime member of the Advisory Board, and we had the chance to chat with him and Mari over lunch. We then met with Elisa from Cafenica, and chatted about the Youth Forum we will be participating in with youth from the 12 CAFENICA cooperatives on the 14th. It looks like it will be an interesting event. The rest of the afternoon has been spent compiling documents needed for the next 10 days, printing, copying, and generally preparing. We are superexcited to meet many members of the CC at the airport tomorrow and getting started on a new year! More this week...

Heather (the new BRIDGE coordinator) and I just arrived in Matagalpa, where we´ll spend the next few days setting things up for this year´s transition summit for the new Coordinating Committee. Things are going very well so far, aside from our having a hard time figuring out what time zone we´re in. Happily, we´ve already met up with Alfredo, who many of you met during USFT´s Fair Trade Month tour last October, and he´ll be able to spend a lot of time working with us this week. We´ll try to make sporadic updates throughout the week as we find time to get to the internet cafe, so come back and follow us as we learn and build together!

We are happy to announce the results from this year's election.

We welcome, Alex Cole-Weiss, Charis Elliott,Lisa East, Meredith Payton, Brian Cesarotti, Jheanelle Brown, Rachel Breck, Natalie Terry, Brittany Taylor, Alli Reed, Meghan Sweet, Heather Putnam, Brian Liou, Claire Karban, Stephanie Adler and Ashley Edens.

Check out the leadership page for contact details. We look forward to a great year.

Elena sent me this 60 Minutes clip about Chiquita's payments to paramilitary groups in Colombia, which ends with the statement that other big banana companies like Dole are probably also complicit. Take a look: This is just one downside of Big Banana, though; as one of the world's most heavily chemically-treated crops, banana production can be extremely hazardous to farm laborers. Might be a good time to look towards Fair Trade options like Oke.

With just days remaining before April 28, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is gearing up to present Burger King with petition signatures from supporters all over the country standing against modern-day slavery and sweatshop conditions in Florida's fields. Every name counts, so please take a moment to join in and add your name to the online petition at www.fairfoodnation.org/petition. Thanks and please spread the word! Background on Petition Drive The CIW launched a national petition drive to demand that Burger King and other food industry leaders work with the CIW to improve the wages and working conditions of the workers who pick their tomatoes, and join with the CIW in an industry-wide effort to eliminate modern-day slavery and human rights abuses from Florida's fields. The petitions will serve as notice that those who sign are "prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now, and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail to do so." The campaign comes on the 200th anniversary of the US ban against the importation of slaves, and echoes key strategies of the early abolitionist movement that helped hasten the end of slavery in the 19th century. For more information, visit www.ciw-online.org.

On May 10 2008, people in 70 countries worldwide will hold events to mark World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) and highlight the importance and benefits of Fair Trade. Fair Trade Resource Network, the coordinator of WFTD in the U.S., is working closely with the newly-launched Fair Trade Towns Initiative and other leading Fair Trade organizations to make WFTD 2008 the largest celebration of its kind. Fair Trade enthusiasts worldwide will host Fair Trade food tastings, house parties, speakers, festivals, concerts, and fashion shows. Many communities are celebrating WFTD over a period of two weeks, from May 3- 18th, America’s First Fair Trade Fortnight. There are a ton of ways you can get involved. A major theme of WFTD this year is "Take A Fair Trade Break!" We are trying to set the world record for the World’s Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break for this WFTD. On May 10, 2008 at 3 pm Eastern/Noon Pacific, people across the country will take a break to enjoy a cup of Fair Trade coffee or other Fair Trade beverage. We will be setting a new record that will serve as a benchmark for future years’ challenges! The Fair Trade Resource Network has provided lots of resources for anyone who wants to hold an event on World Fair Trade Day. They have posters and postcards available FREE, along with some other great tools, here: http://www.fairtraderesource.org/wftd-08/fair-trade-toolkit/ They've also put together an action guide for planning your event, available here: http://www.fairtraderesource.org/wftd-08/fair-trade-break-action-guide/ And, as if that wasn't enough, you can post your event on their website here: http://www.fairtraderesource.org/link-up/events-calendar/ (Even if you aren't hosting an event, be sure to check out that last link to see WFTD events in your area!) Contact your USFT regional coordinator if you need ideas, support, or help in any way. Let's make this the best World Fair Trade Day ever!

Here's something just for kicks - John Oliver (comedian) on his proposal for an "Unfair trade" label. Check it out: http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=165955&title=joh...

Will you be near Minneapolis from May 1-5? USFT has a few complimentary passes to the Specialty Coffee Association of America's annual conference (http://conference.scaa.org/), which it turns out is a great place to meet with folks in the Fair Trade movement. It'll also give us a chance to talk with coffee industry folks who should be carrying more Fair Trade. If you're interested, drop me an email at andrew@usft.org

Check out the website of MakeITfair, a European-based NGO doing work with fair electronics and human and environmental abuses related to the electronics industry. ---makeITfair is a European project focusing on the electronics industry, especially on consumer electronics like mobile phones, laptops and MP3 players. We want to let young people across Europe know about the labour abuses and environmental problems that are going on right now around the world – just to satisfy our demand for all the latest electronic gadgets. And we want young people to get active to improve the situation. Together we can hold big brand electronics companies to account – asking them to take responsibility for the labour abuses and environmental damage at the bottom of their supply chain.--- http://makeitfair.org/

Its hard to believe a whole year as gone by; here it is april again and the self-nomination process has begun for electing USFT's new coordinating committee (CC). As I remember well my process of deciding whether or not to nominate myself, I'd thought I'd share some of my thoughts on what it was like being a member of the CC for you all, in case you were like me, and not quite sure what its all about. Highlights: Transition Summit in Nicaragua. This was an incredible experience all around. I loved meeting up with all the other newly elected CC and talking about fair trade, that type of dialogue I always wish was going on in my classes but almost never is, when you are really engaging each other and the world. Seeing how my values could be translated into my work, what solitary can means and how incredible the cooperative movement is -- this was all great. Plus being there with the CC meant we all bonded and collaborated on what we wanted to do this year and how we could make it happen. I returned home empowered, what a wonderful feeling. Redesigning the USFT website. This was my one big project for the Fall semester. With a lot of help from the whole CC in vision and implementation, it was launched in October, just in time for Fair Trade month, when our national coordinators and a friend and student leader from Nica traveled around the country working with the grassroots, visiting campuses. I spent a lot of time on the project, but because I had the support of the CC, we managed to come up with something I am really proud of. Accomplishment was a great feeling. Attending the Fair Trade Action Network conference in Helsinki, Finland was a fantastic opportunity to meet and network with Fair Trade activists from all over Europe. USFT is committed to building partnerships and dialogues, and being able to attend this conference helped me to share what it is USFT does and learn from others committed to the same mission elsewhere. I returned with new friends, new ideas, and new connections. Regional Convergences. Helping out with and attending the Mid-Atlantic regional convergence in April was again, wonderfully rewarding. When you help to plan an event like this, sure the work can be stressful (like, where are 100 people going to sleep and what are we going to feed them and where are they going to come from?) But these questions, due to the hard work of an amazing team of people from the CC and colleges in DC, fell into place. And when they did, the result felt so sweet. It was work I could really dig- bringing people together to talk and learn and meet each other plus learning about myself in the process. Hiring a new National Coordinator This process really helped me learn about how to run an NGO sustainably. Transition in any organization is necessary and challenging, but I think that the CC did a great job in deciding on the hiring process, seeking out candidates, and finding someone for the job. Andrew, our new national coordinator is awesome, and its been great participating in the transition process and bringing in new people to the USFT fold. So I could go on and on about other amazing things I got to do as a member of the CC but I'll stop now and say, NOMINATE YOURSELF, just click here, and I can't wait to meet you. -Meghan, webmaster flash

Baltimore, March 12, 2008 — Lutheran World Relief is offering 15 grants to promote Fair Trade during the week leading up to World Fair Trade Day on May 10, 2008. World Fair Trade Day is an international celebration of the worldwide effort to create a global economy based on justice, dignity and sustainability. Any Lutheran congregation, women’s group, student group, or organization is eligible to apply. Grants of $500, $250, and $100 are available to promote Fair Trade with anything from hosting events that include Fair Trade breakfasts and presentations to music concerts, fashion shows and much more. “This is an excellent opportunity for people to get involved in LWR’s Fair Trade projects, celebrate World Fair Trade Day, and reach out to their community at the same time,” said Kattie Somerfeld, Fair Trade projects coordinator at Lutheran World Relief. “People can creatively engage others to participate in Fair Trade.” This year’s theme is “Fair Trade: For the Planet. For the People.” Because Fair Trade is committed to paying fair prices and working in long-term partnerships, it enables producers to invest in environmentally friendly production. In turn, these initiatives promote environmental awareness locally and internationally. Grant applications are available at www.lwr.org/fairtrade. Applications are due by April 4, 2008; awardees will be announced on April 9, 2008. For more information, please email fairtrade@lwr.org.

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/51562?recruiter_id=1046 Thanks for making this a rocking year for USFT with all your hard work, support, and collaboration. Hopefully many of you are taking a needed break before all the Fair Trade work you've got planned for next semester or quarter, but we need you to take a minute now to help us out. USFT is competing in a fundraising contest on Facebook.com. If we get the most unique donors today, we'll get a $1000 grant - a big help towards our regional convergences this spring and all our activities through the year. Even better, if we get the most total donors by February, we could win another $50,000! If you have facebook, check it out: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/51562?recruiter_id=1046 The minimum donation via facebook is only $10, and it's the number of people donating that counts towards the contest, not the total raised. So please please please call your freinds, start facebook events, and get as many people as you can involved. The top group today only has 19 donors so far, so we can really win this thing! Happy Holidays,

This brilliant and concise video clearly illustrates the tremendous impossibilities of our consumer driven culture and global economic system as well as the negative implications it has on our health and communities. Take a few minutes to see the video and please keep in mind the true cost of our disposable lifestyle during this holiday - and every - season. http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html

USFT leaders, Our campus is initiating a Fair Trade campaign. One of the things we are seeking is for the university to declare itself a Fair Trade University. Over 70 universities in the U.K. have declared themselves to be a Fair Trade University, but I can't find any evidence of this designation being used in the U.S. Are you award of any Fair Trade Universities in the U.S.? I have modified the criteria used in the U.K. to be as follows: A Fair Trade University consists of the following: 1. The university pledges to make Fair Trade foods available for sale in all dining facilities whenever possible and to phase out the sale of sweatshop coffee at those facilities. 2. The university pledges to serve Fair Trade foods (for example, coffee and tea) at all meetings hosted by the university, including meetings arranged by the administration, staff, faculty, and students. 3. The university pledges to work toward serving Fair Trade coffee and tea in all university offices and to phase out the use of sweatshop coffee in those offices. 4. The university pledges to include Fair Trade products (such as coffee beans and jewelry) at university stores whenever possible and appropriate. 5. The university commits to promoting Fair Trade at university functions where appropriate. 6. The university assigns to the Campus Sustainability Council the task of overseeing the implementation of these commitments, of including in its annual report a review of Fair Trade on campus, to update the campus on new developments in the Fair Trade movement What do you think of seeking such a declaration?

Anyone who has spent time abroad will look at the items in a Fair Trade store and say "Hey - I could have bought that in (enter developing country name here) dirt cheap! Where do they get off selling things for a higher price here?" Working at a FT store in Washington, DC this was something I heard repeatedly. So what is the difference between the coin purse you bargained down to $.50 and the one that your local FT store is asking for upwards of $5 for? And what about the cheaper purses from Guatemala that you can buy in the US at a non-fair trade store? Intuitively you can argue that the producer of the good may not have been paid well; the person at the market is most likely a middle man pocketing a sizeable chunk of the profit; labor conditions are unknown; workers are unorganized; children may have been involved in the production process instead of being in school. I found a great explanation of the difference from Colores del Pueblo - a Fair Trade company that works directly with artisans in Guatemala to bring their products into the export market and sell them in the US. (www.coloresdelpueblo.org) They compare two purses (with picture) - one that sells for $0.38 and one that sells for $2.00 through a Fair Trade artisan cooperative. The differences are as follows: * "One costs $1.62 more than the other. * One was purchased in the market in Guatemala and one from a fair trade cooperative. * One helps Guatemalans break out of the continuous cycle of poverty and the other keeps them in it. 1. The weaving of either coin purse requires two hours. 2. The sewing of either coin purse requires ten minutes. 3. Bringing the product to market and/or finding a buyer requires additional time. 4. Both coin purses require $0.30 in materials. Background: The coin purse on the left sells for $.38 in the market. That price leaves only $.08 to compensate all the people who helped to produce and bring the coin purse to market, but only after transportation, energy and sewing machine costs are covered. What will $.08 buy in Guatemala? Only 2 plain corn tortillas, without beans, without anything. Only the tortillas. Not enough to sustain a child for one meal. It seems incredible that anyone would work so hard for so little benefit. But competition in Guatemala is fierce. Artisans and middlemen are poor and desperate. They know they have to sell at the lowest price possible or someone else will. Thus, they are trapped in the cycle of poverty. The purpose of cooperatives is to band artisans together to set prices in order to begin to compensate those who bring the product to market with a reasonable wage. As you can see from the breakdown, the wages are still modest but they can provide the basic necessities that mean the difference between a mal-nourished, chronically ill family and a healthy family." Check it out for yourself, and the Colores del Pueblo company at: http://www.coloresdelpueblo.org/Truth.htm

Food First recently released the report: Fair to the Last Drop: The Corporate Challenges to Fair Trade Coffee by Eric Holt-Giménez, Ian Bailey, and Devon Sampson. You can find it at: http://www.foodfirst.org/node/1794 Fair to the Last Drop gives a great introduction to the history of Fair Trade and then seeks to present the challenge of corporate participation in Fair Trade. The report looks at the evolution of the Fair Trade movement and the push in the last few years led by Transfair for the mainstreaming of the FT movement. As the report notes, this push brings to light core questions facing the FT movement today - are we seeking to provide a radical alternative to the trading system to disrupt the continuation of trading patterns based off of colonial relationships? Or are we simply seeking to benefit the largest amount of farmers possible even if it is only a minimal increase in their daily standard of living? This is the difference as Food First labels it between "movement companies" who source 100% fair trade and are value driven and "corporate colonizers" who are benefiting and perpetuating an unequal trading system but, using Fair Trade, are able to create a "halo effect" (having one ethical product to point to which overshadows the fact that most of the products offered are not ethically produced/sourced). The report covers Alternative Trading Organizations - those movement companies which source 100% Fair Trade and those which have abandoned the label to set their own higher standards. While these are laudable companies, it does point out that they may not have the capactiy to bring Fair Trade to scale to help the largest number of producers. It proposes the following for the future of Fair Trade: "The future of Fairtrade hinges on the degree to which it can bring producers, consumers and roaster-distributors not just into its market, but into the growing social movements for agrarian change. It is axiomatic that movement building depends on a sense of belonging, commitment and substantive participation in decision-making. But because Fairtrade is a business as well as a movement, this participation also depends on ownership. To ensure the politically committed participation of farmers in Fairtrade, they must not only be "stakeholders" in development, but "shareholders" in the business. Giving farmers a majority stake on the FLO board of directors would go a long way towards this goal." I'd like to thank Food First for putting out this thoughtful, well researched critique and the proposals for ensuring that Fair Trade stays true to its values. As a member of USFT, I'm proud of our position as both an agitator within the movement and an advocate for Fair Trade. For the success of this movement - in order to create real substantial change - we all must continue to question and hold each other accountable in creating a fair trading system based off of respect, transparency and solidarity with producers.

College students demand responsible food By Megan Holden October 4, 2007 Way back in the 1960s, university food got political. Across campuses, students boycotted non-union grapes in support of California’s migrant workers. These days, student activists are pushing their dining halls to provide socially responsible, humane, and eco-friendly food. The first category includes fair-trade-certified coffee, sugar, cocoa, and bananas. Fair-trade foods bear seals of approval indicating that the workers and growers who produced the foods were not exploited and were paid a living wage. The University of Notre Dame and the University of Washington both recently joined hundreds of campuses that serve fair-trade-certified coffee. Student groups, including local members of Amnesty International and United Students for Fair Trade, prodded campus dining halls to make the switch. Students interested in the second category — humane food — have rallied around the cage-free-egg movement. The Humane Society has provided critical support to these animal-rights activists with a campaign against battery eggs begun in 2005. Last winter, Harvard students petitioned their school to eliminate battery-produced eggs from its cafeterias. By spring, Harvard had joined Dartmouth, Tufts, and UC Berkeley — more than 150 campuses in all — in switching to cage-free eggs in its dining halls. Finally, students focused on the third category — eco-friendly food — tend to tout the virtues of local and organic food. Brown University’s Community Harvest program brings local apples, cherry tomatoes, and milk to campus along with fair-traded foods. Weekly student harvest crews connect students to local Rhode Island farms. Likewise, Skidmore College recently began buying more local produce in response to student requests for local, organic foods. Of course, cost is a stumbling block to ethical eating on campus. But even here, students have proved a catalyst for change. At Middlebury College, students organized educational events and coffeehouses to spread the word about fair-trade coffee. They agreed to spearhead a “coffee for waste” program in which they educated fellow diners on reducing food waste. After dining halls cut waste by 15 to 40 percent, the college agreed to buy the more costly fair-trade coffee. There’s more to education than just hitting the books. http://www.culinate.com/read/sift/campus_activism

After four years with USFT as a student leader and staff person, today is my last day. I am sad that I will no longer spend every day (and most nights) working with rad students, organizing communities and raising consciousness around empowering alternatives. At the same time, I am so proud of the work we have done together to grow the Fair Trade movement, converting hundreds of campuses to Fair Trade, educating youth across the country around anti-oppression, and pushing the Fair Trade movement to live our values and grow with integrity. This work has inspired and challenged me, and I want to thank you for working with me and USFT... it has truly been a phenomenal four years. As I move on to other things, I am excited to introduce you to USFT's new National Coordinator, Andrew Kohan. Andrew comes to USFT with years of experience in student-led solidarity activism and we are glad to have him on board. He's got a big job, so please please reach out to support him during this transition (email him at andrew@usft.org). So.... thanks again for your commitment to social justice, your friendship, and your support. I hope you will keep me posted on your campaigns and lives! In solidarity, Joe Joe Curnow National Coordinator Emeritus United Students for Fair Trade! Andrew barely survived the tour. Joe, unfortunately, did not....

Check out this short documentary made by a USFTer at SMU: Yay film students!

After 4 long weeks, 40 schools, and a million miles, Andrew, Alfredo, and I returned to DC yesterday! We are SO exhausted, but more importantly, SO IMPRESSED with all of the amazing work that is going on across the country. We're hoping to have the final report up by Thanksgiving, so keep checking back here! Thanks so much to everyone who supported the tour!

Thursday we attended a meeting of Calvin's Social Justice Committee. We did a pop ed activity and then talked about their organizing on campus and in the Grand Rapids community. They are really interested in forming coalitions with other groups on campus and in the community to work on Fair Trade and farmworker rights, as well as with other USFT affiliates who also have Creative Dining Services and Gordon Foods to increase the availability of Fair Trade products.

More than 50 people joined us at Grand Valley this week. We spent our time doing a fun pop ed activity, exploring power and the potential of the cooperative movement. We also talked about solidarity organizing and the work Students for Fair Trade is doing on campus. Two food service administrators joined in the activity, and we were impressed with how GVSFT rockstars have educated them and been able to work with Aramark for more and more Fair Trade options.

This morning, we had the crazy opportunity to spend time in Grand Rapids' Spanish language immersion school in the fourth grade. We played a game with hot chocolate to demonstrate the unfairness of the supply chain before Alfredo shared his experience with the classes. Then, we talked about opportunities to get involved as a class...... Definitely the most enthusiastic audience we've had yet!

In another amazing feat of clumsiness, we arrived 45 minutes late for an hour long class at DePaul in Chicago. We had planned to facilitate a class for the Fair Trade class, but things didn't work out quite as we planned.... Also in Chicago, we met with Northwestern professors who are interested in supporting student activists and integrating Fair Trade into their curricula. We met with Interfaith Worker Justice, too, for a great lunch. We're talking about how to connect seminary students with USFT's core mission Last, we met with Nancy from Chicago Fair Trade and got caught up on the exciting news in Chicago. Look for updates from them on the Fair Trade city resolution that they've been drafting.

Many thanks to the Loyola Chicago crew for their patience and greatness! After some craziness at the airport, we made it to Loyola an hour late, but they stuck around to talk with us. Alfredo shared pieces of his story and we talked about solidarity organizing in Chicago. They;re getting off the ground and it's exciting to see! We're looking forward to our time in Chicago... and really looking forward to not driving for a day and really really looking forward to sleeping more than 3 hours!

The Fair Trade Coffee Coalition at the University of Washington, a campus affiliate of United Students for Fair Trade, is thrilled to announce the full conversion of all espresso offerings from Tully's Coffee company to 100% fair trade. Our coalition of student groups began a dialogue with Tully's Coffee almost two years ago, shortly after we initiated our campus campaign for 100% fair trade coffee at the UW. Over this time, we were pleased to see Tully's create a new blend of fair trade drip coffee, as well as a blend of fair trade espresso, which was originally sold only on the UW campus. We cannot say how gratifying it is, as students, to see our countless actions, hours of early morning tabling, and months of lobbying pay off in such a powerful way - to see that our passion has contributed to the broader movement for global economic and social justice. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Tully's Coffee for their continued commitment to these principles, which USFT was founded upon. And we hope that this victory will help to open the eyes and ears of other coffee companies and food service providers to the voices and desires of students around the country. Students, know that your efforts on your campus are not in vain and that you do have power. You will be heard if you keep fighting for what you believe in!

Wondering which colleges are greenest? The Sustainable Endowment Institute has released its second College Sustainability Report Card, grading the environmentaliciousness of the 200 U.S. colleges with the largest endowments. Two-thirds of the schools got better grades this time than last; the average overall grade was a C+, and six schools received an overall A- for their efforts -- Carleton College, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Middlebury College, University of Vermont, and University of Washington. The colleges were graded on transportation, administration, climate and energy, food and recycling, green building, and investment priorities, as well as endowment transparency and shareholder engagement (both of which most schools solidly failed). Among the encouraging statistics: Around half of the schools have committed to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, more than two-thirds have green building policies, and more than 80 percent source at least some cafeteria food locally. Read the report

Tuve la oportunidad de conocer a USFT en mi propia cooperativa, Matagalpa, Nicaragua en el 2004, antes solamente nuestra relacion con comercio justo estaba vinvulada con los compradores de nuestro producto, pero despues del 2004 hubo una gran conexion con USFT, no solamente para mi si no para muchos jovenes cooperativistas de todo el norte de Nicaragua...Desde ese entonces teniamos un espacio que construir como jovenes y hacer alianzas fuertes con esta nueva organizacion.... Muchos jovenes han participado en diversas actividades relacionadas al comerio justo y intercambios que ha permitido a la juventud, habrir un camino lleno de muchas emociones y metas.. Ahora estoy siendo participante de un tour de comercio justo acompañado por USFT y ha sido una Gran opotunidad de terminar de Descubrir con mas exactitud la otra parte de comercio justo,,,, Ha significado un Gran avance, que tambien para mis demas compañeros en Nicaragua, poder compartir nuestras experiecnias y hacer mas alianzas, con muchos estudiantes que estan conociendo la organizacion a travez de este Tour... Es un avance saber que solo este modelo de justia y solidariadad nos ha dado una mayor participacion a Todos y todas, nos necestiamos los unos con los otros y que al final construimos barreras invencibles. Gracias por permitir no solo este espacio, toda la partipacion tnato para los jovenes como para nuestros padres de quien estamos super orgullosos¡¡¡¡ Esperando que esta semilla que hoy se esta sembrando en todos los corazones que hemos visitado pueda germinar con la mayor alegria que sea necesaria y poder tener nuestros futuros arboles para sostener este movimiento que ahora se esta manteniendo en alto... y que esta conexion que hemos construido siempre se este fortaleciendo cada dia. Gracias¡¡¡¡¡ por hacer un viaje de muchas aventuras, y experiencias... Con Amor. Alfredo Rayo. En representacion de todos los pequeños productores cooperativistas del Norte de Nicaragua....

Fair-trade products fare well More businesses are selling the coffee, tea and sugar that help make faraway farmers' lives better By JENALIA MORENO Catalina Coffee Shop's exposed brick walls are decorated with black and white photographs of Guatemala — owner Max Gonzalez's homeland and one of several nations producing the fair-trade coffee he pours. At Té House of Tea, owner Connie Lacobie measured fair-trade teas from India one afternoon at the serene shop filled with bags of tea, teapots and aprons. And several Houston chefs now add fair-trade sugars sold by Sugar Land's Wholesome Sweeteners to their cocktails and desserts. More and more Bayou City businesses are helping farmers earn a better living with each cup of fair-trade coffee, tea or spoonful of sugar they sell. "It's really wonderful to be able to know that with my little coffee shop in Houston, I can actually promote a better global economy just one bean at a time," said Gonzalez, owner of the Washington Avenue coffee shop where more than 70 percent of its coffees bear the fair-trade label. Nearly a decade ago, a few U.S. retailers began selling Fair Trade Certified coffee, with 76,059 pounds of coffee imported in 1998. Last year, 64.8 million pounds of fair-trade coffee were imported to the U.S., and the majority comes from Latin America. Over the years, Oakland-based TransFair USA, the national organization that certifies fair-trade products, has added tea, cocoa, rice, fresh fruit, sugar — and most recently, vanilla and fresh flowers — to the list of goods it guarantees were raised by farmers and workers who receive fair prices and wages. Coffee prices have climbed recently, and Friday's price for washed Arabica, the highest quality coffee, was $1.21 a pound on the Intercontinental Exchange, the futures market formerly known as the New York Board of Trade. The Fair Trade minimum price is set at $1.21 per pound for now, plus an organic differential of 20 cents per pound if the coffee is certified organic. The fair-trade farmers also receive an extra 10 cents per pound to invest at the individual farm, cooperative or community level. This price is set by an international organization, which also certifies fair-trade operations. More than 700 businesses These days, more than 700 U.S. businesses — including several in Houston — serve a dose of global consciousness with their food products imported from Africa, Asia and Latin America. "Now, we're really seeing an acceptance in more of the mainstream arena," said Anthony Marek, communications director for TransFair USA. For October's Fair Trade Month, several national and local retailers marketed and launched fair-trade products. On Oct. 1, warehouse retailer Sam's Club began selling fair-trade coffee grown by Brazilian farmers. To celebrate fair-trade month, Starbucks Coffee Co. served fair-trade blends of Latin American and African coffees as its "Coffee of the Week" for three weeks in October. "The more Fair Trade Certified is mainstreamed, the more we can help farmers around the world," Marek said. "The most powerful vehicle for change is the shopping cart." In Houston, both nonprofit and for-profit stores report growing sales of fair-trade goods. At the nonprofit Taft Street Coffee House in the Montrose area, the operators are considering buying a coffee farm in Nicaragua. They plan to teach people how to run it and then turn it over to a cooperative that would supply them. "We want the people who buy our coffee to know the specific farmer, the specific village being impacted by someone who pays more for a cup of coffee," said Scott Snodgrass, a Taft Street manager. Rice University students run a nonprofit Rice Coffeehouse that serves only fair-trade brews. And at the Ten Thousand Villages in Rice Village, sales of colorful Peruvian pendants, Bangladeshi bags, Vietnamese vases and other arts and crafts should surpass $612,000. Every year for the past seven years of its operation in Houston, sales increased at the local outlet of the national nonprofit organization. Ten Thousand Villages is a member of the International Fair Trade Association, a global network of fair-trade organizations trying to improve the livelihoods of artisans in developing nations. "People have been very supportive in Houston with fair trade," said Cassandra Martin, manager of the Houston store. "I think there's a real interest in it. There's an increased awareness of it." On the for-profit side For-profit businesses in Houston are also increasingly stocking fair-trade goods. Té House of Tea opened in 2006, and it sells fair-trade teas from India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Kenya. Consumers spend 30 cents to $1 more for fair-trade tea at the shop versus the restaurant's nonfair-trade drinks. "If you spend a dollar extra, it benefits the workers," said Lacobie, who is originally from Hong Kong. "The main thing is that the consumer knows this is important. If the consumer does not demand it, how do you stimulate the merchant to provide it?" Esteban Tovar, who is the southwest coordinator for University of Houston Students for Fair Trade, recently visited Nicaragua and believes consumers can help coffee growers. "Consumer choices can make a very, very big impact," said Tovar. He enjoyed a cup of coffee at Catalina, which opened six months ago. Owner Gonzalez doesn't charge more for his fair-trade coffee drinks. He buys his beans from Houston's Katz Coffee, which sells both fair-trade and nonfair-trade coffee. "It seems like in the last year, we've definitely seen a nice increase in our fair-trade sales," said Jeremy Williams, who works at the four-year-old Katz Coffee. Several Houston-area coffee and sugar importers are also stocking fair-trade foods. In the last two years, Wholesome Sweeteners paid more than $500,000 in the form of premiums to farmer cooperatives in Malawi, Paraguay and Costa Rica. "You can be an ethical company and still have a very profitable business model," said Pauline McKee, marketing director for Wholesome Sweeteners, which sells fair-trade sugar to upscale restaurants. "The more profitable and the more successful we are, the more money and success we can share with the farmers and producers." Wholesome Sweeteners and several other Houston companies recently showcased their fair-trade products at a University of Houston event organized by Students for Fair Trade, which seeks to teach students about fair trade. "This campus has people from 112 countries. A lot of our group members are from these countries," said Timothy O'Brien, who founded Students for Fair Trade. "I think that's the unique opportunity for these undergrads to enlighten other undergrads."

Friday afternoon, Alfredo, Alli, and Andrew jammed with the good folks from UW Seattle about their recent HUGE victory with Tully's.....

After a surprisingly (though not completely) painless drive from midnight to 10:30am, Andrew, Joe, Alfredo, and I arrived at Willamette University in Salem, OR. We facilitated an event at the weekly convocation address, which, despite some time constraints, ended up being really energizing and positive. There was a game that demonstrated the basics of the coffee chain from the points of view of plantation owners, farmworkers, and small coffee farmers, and then Alfredo spoke about his experience with Comercio Justo. It ended on a very motivated note. Willamette is absolutely gorgeous, and there are some pretty cool people here, too. After an hour to nap (who am I kidding, we just spooned), we all headed over to the Ten Thousand Villages store near campus and had a discussion of Fair Trade with the TTV board members. Alfredo answered some questions about how his community has been affected by Fair Trade, and the board members answered questions about the products they sold and the artisans who made them. It was a great way to see an alternative resource for student organizers - don't forget about the Fair Trade stores in your area! The TTV really supported Willamette students and has apparently been a big help in a lot of the students' efforts on campus. We are all now running on very little sleep and a delicious home-cooked meal - I don't expect we'll be conscious for much longer.

Holy buckets! Last night we had the biggest event ever-- more than 115 people turned out at USF for their launch of a fair trade coffee campaign... there was incredible energy. Todd, Andrew, Alfredo, and I were joined by a handful of other movement folks from Thanksgiving Coffee, TransFairUSA, ENGAGE and others. We worked through an engaging activity around the cooperative movement before we dug into solidarity organizing and USF's strategy for campaigning. Then we had an incredible dinner. All the food was prepared with chef's from a local vegan restaurant and was all vegan, organic, and locally grown.... Phenomenal! After a stopover at the fair trade after party, we jumped in the car to drive all night (again)....

After a great weekend of cupping coffees and hiking around the mountains, we flew to San Diego and we've been on the go ever since. Todd, USFT's West Coast organizer, met us at the airport and we headed over to UCSD to jam with One Earth One Justice. We sat around their 100% FT Cafe to plan strategy and get to know one another before going to the progressive coalition meeting. The meeting was super exciting-- bringing together progressive student leaders from across campus and across issues to define points of unity and strategizing about collaboration. The next morning we headed to Chapman University in Orange, CA. There we met with some rockstars and did a popular education Fair Trade 101 blended with some organizing training. They're doing neat stuff and we're looking forward to working with them more as they expand their campaign and anti-oppression work. Then we headed back to the airport to pick up Alfredo, a youth organizer from CECOCAFEN in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Alfredo was finally able to get the visa and join us on the tour! We're so glad to have him with us! Next we busted out to UCLA where we joined Students for Social Justice. We jammed on their history of Fair Trade organizing and the impacts Fair Trade and coopertivismo has had on Nicaraguan (and other) communities. This morning, we got up early to drive up Highway 1-- superamazing and a great introduction for Alfredo to the US American coast! We spent the afternoon at UC Santa Cruz. First we hung out at the Community Agroecology Network, then headed to teach a class on Participatory Action Research. Afterward, we had a local food dinner with students and rolled over to an awesome event in the Red Room.... We made connections to CAN and USFT's history with UCSC. Now we're back at Bacon's house... exhausted and (almost)ready for a big day tomorrow at University of San Francisco, the Tides Center, and TransFair USA. Keep following our progress and let us know how your events are going!!

Last night, after another long drive, we joined up with the crew from Colorado College and BuyWell International to celebrate BuyWell's launch. We got to reconnect with some good folks there and do a cupping of their new coffees. It was a really fun event and it's exciting to see what old USFTers are up to. Check them out at www.buywell.org

We spent Wednesday night with students from UNM. We missed their big event (I would have much preferred to have been there than spending 10 hours in the car!), but got to reflect on it with their team. We spent a lot of time talking about recruiting-- something that has come up time and again with the grassroots on the tour as a challenge. From these experiences, we're going to try to post some useful spots about organizing and recruiting... look for them soon!

Students from George Washington, Georgetown, Catholic and American joined forces for a dinner and discussion with farmers from the Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative called "A Taste of Justice". In conjunction with the Divine Chocolate tour, the women from Kuapa Kokoo treated the audience to lively music and spoke about their cooperative and cocoa production in Ghana. Attendees seated at round tables got to know each other and collectively come up with questions for the speakers. Directly following, the women asked the audience questions. The dialogue touched upon how Fair Trade benefits the coop but still stands at only 3% of sales, gender dynamics within the cooperative, organizing farmers, farmer ownership through Divine and how students participate in the Fair Trade movement.

Also, can't forget the food. The crowd munched on a delicious array of appetizers and sandwiches kindly donated by our friends at Java Green (www.javagreen.net), as well as some yummy baked goods.

This event helped raise about $300 for the upcoming Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference. Speaking of NEMA, a friendly reminder to register at http://www.usft.org/fairtrade/registerNEMA.

With about 50 people in attendence, engaging discussion and good food, the event was a great sucess, or better yet, pa pa pa! (the best of the best!)

Look out DC, word on the street is the Mid-Atlantic crew is thinking about another event for spring semester... contact Mid-Atlantic Coordinator Christina Lizzi (christina.lizzi(at)gmail.com) or myself (domesticft(at)gmail.com) to get involved!

fair trade love,

Ashwini

 

 

 

 

 

So, Andrew and I are hanging out at Kix on 66... a small diner in New Mexico... somewhere between Dallas and Albuquerque. We're taking a break from the insanity of driving from Florida to SC... then through NC/SC/GA/AL/MS/LA to get to the events in Houston. We're definitely getting to see the country though.......... Yesterday, after our event at TCU, we went to Southern Methodist Univerity for an event with International Relations Club. We jammed on solidarity and explored the parallels between colonization, neo-colonialism, and "development". We had an interesting conversation about Fair Trade and how it has the potential to be an alternative to top-down development. Most importantly, we talked about how we can act in solidarity as students and explored ways to integrate an analysis of power and solidarity into all the philanthropic events on SMU's campus. As we finish up our greasy spoon lunch, we're prepping for an event at University of New Mexico. Look for a post tonight or tomorrow and we'll let you know how it goes! PS - here's the flier for the SMU event - love the design!

Soooo Joe is making me write a blog tonight, and as an obedient movement liaison, I now comply.... Today, Joe, "Koko," and Esteban came and visited my lovely campus--none other than Texas Christian University--and we got to play. Playing is my favourite. We played Theatre of the Oppressed. (Side note: this spell check does not acknowledge the British-like persuasion of my spelling.) During Theatre of the Oppressed, we addressed what I believe is a problem on all college campuses: COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Theatre of the Oppressed... A group puts together a skit that addresses a difficulty they've encountered in organizing. Once they've finished, the other group identifies what the problem was, and the two groups discuss that problem for a bit. Then the first group does the skit again, but this time the other group joins in to offer support and work on the problem. This is my absolute favourite learning process. It is super-awesome because a) it is interactive and b) it allows people to address their specific needs in their specific context while allowing them to come up with their own solutions rather than pursuing a cookie-cutter approach. This works infinitely better than a lecture scenario that is expected to be universal. Much was learned. Ideas were sprouted. Enthusiasm flourished. One of our friends in particular enjoyed the activity, and now has a lot of good ideas for how we can organize better on campus. Now I shall tell you something that I believe all of us should know. Koko is Andrew's nickname from eight grade. How, you may ask, did he acquire said nickname? It is a little known fact that our brand spankin' new N to the C was once, back in his youthier youth, an aficionado of that brilliant card game we all know as Magic. He and his nerdier yet vibrant friends would use the cards and then run about in the wooded terrain of his childhood wielding PVC fashioned and foam-padded swords, determining who swung the more powerful and accurate swing by that time-tested device called "rock, paper, scissors." He and his friends then decided that their super-hero magic wizard code names would be based upon the first syllable of their real-life names. For instance, Michael became Mimi. John evolved into Jojo. And Andrew? He became Koko. Obviously. Peace, Love, and Fair Trade, Kate Lewis (your friendly Movement Liaison)

Yesterday 15 of us met up with Cecillia and Cecillia from Kuapa Kokoo at the No Exit Cafe in Chicago. And let me first of all rave about how great the No Exit Cafe is. The food was delicious, the location intimate and trendy, and a staff of intelligent, thoughtful, beautiful people. Some of you may remember the No Exit Cafe from two and a half years ago, when it was the second destination for our Chicago Convergence celebration party. That party started at the equally amazing Heartland Cafe (the main attraction, who's owners also run No Exit) which is located just 100 feet to the North. Cecillia and Cecillia shared their stories and their songs with us. They also shared some of their delicious chocolote. Let me tell you something, if you haven't tasted Divine Chocolate GO OUT AND DO IT RIGHT NOW!! It is a dark little piece of heaven. I remember the first time I came home with a Divine chocolate bar two years ago. My friends and I gathered around it like we had just been delivered a secret new treat from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I wonder... is singing the secret ingredient in good chocolate? Gene Wilder sang. Cecillia and Cecillia sang. I think I'm onto something... Kuapa PA PA PA PA! I'm excited about the potential in Chicago. We've got a lot of people in the city who are working on Fair Trade and a lot of those people are students. Julia and I look forward to trying to harness this energy for some really radical Chicago area campaigning. Chicagoans - look ahead to a meetup in November. We're gonna rock it.

Today we did a short strategy session with students from UH Fair Trade and the national coordinators from USFT. We started off by talking about the mid-west academy model and went through the different aspects of the model and covered goals, organizational considerations, allies/opponents, targets, and tactics. We had a really good conversation on tactics. We talked about how tactics should be built off of each other and with a clear pattern of escalation. Home demos (where you show up at someones house in the middle of the night and make alot of noise) are on one end of the spectrum and then a one on one with a fellow student will be on one end. Both have a clear purpose but there is a time frame and an overall vision should definitely be a part of framing tactics. More from TCU and SMU tomorrow -esteban tovar, southwest

Thank you to everyone who helped making the Strengthening the Roots conference in DC a success.  I really appreciate all the awesome energy, ideas and experience people brought.  The sense of community among participants was inspiring - and I hope that those ties will continue throughout the semester. 

 Of course - there is always room for improvement and I've already gotten a lot of great suggestions from folks on how to make the conference better in the future.   This was the first time we did a regional conference (and my first time spear-heading organizing a conference) so I really appreciate any feedback. If you were there, please fill out this survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=O7mxYgCb59_2bKd0cyDQ_2bqWQ_3d_3d

 

 

We thought we'd share Regina's closing speech with y'all..... "When a child is born, his parents and his community celebrate. They are happy to see the long anticipated hump transform itself into a child. However, from the child's perspective, his birth is not a celebration. Instead, he is ripped from his comfortable home and thrown into a world where his needs are not automatically met by his umbilical cord. Now, he must wait for his parents to know the right times to feed him. "Now, you are wondering what does child birth have to do with you or me.... No, I am not pregnant, but childbirth directly relates to your experience this week at the conference. Some of you, like me last year at Engaging Our World at U of L, were comfortable and complacent before you came to Wofford. You knew about some social justice issues, or maybe you didn't, but through your experiences this weekend, you have become more aware of some of the global issues on a greater scale. "You, like the baby, were comfortable in your womb, whether it was your lifestyle, campus, or your beliefs. However, after this weekend, you are no longer in the womb. You have been thrust into the realization of this not-so-just world, where people daily are discriminated against and thrown out of their homes because of their ethnicities or where people live on less than a dollar a day. You wonder why this unjust world exists and you wish to return to the womb. "However, while you are sad, people outside this conference are celebrating. Why are they celebrating, you ask? Yesterday, most of the presenters came up to me and told me how engaging you were. While you are struggling with your disillusionment, they celebrate because they see the greater good of what you are initiating today. You all have the power and the passion to change the world. And you will."

Andrew, Lisa, and I have had the amazing privilege of participating in the Engaging Our World Conference at Wofford College this weekend. It has been an incredible opportunity to connect with student organizers from across the South who are working on everything from Fair Trade and local food to climate change to Burma... In our Theater of the Oppressed workshop, we had a chance to explore the challenges of tabling and apathetic campus environments and collectively surface creative and fun ways to do our organizing better. In our Fair Trade 101, we talked a lot about the challenges students face with Food Service Providers and began to talk about strategies for campaigns. Our afternoon culminated with a rad popular education activity that included 40 students as we delved deeper into the experience of power and powerlessness in coffee communities. Then we got to work, talking about our roles as student solidarity organizers and making commitments to action when we return to our communities. Working with such awesome people has been very motivating and makes me even more excited to continue across the country for Fair Trade Month. Keep following our progress, things are getting exciting!

University of Florida's Students Making Trade Fair introduced us to Hare Krishna lunch before heading over to an awesome panel discussion on the future of Fair Trade and how U of F students have been involved and continue to fight for Fair Trade options on campus cafes. Owners of Sweetwater Coffees and Alternatives, a Fair Trade store in Gainesville, shared their experiences within the movement. Check out the cool work they're doing at http://fairtradeuf.blogspot.com/ !

Tonight we hung out with an awesome crew at University of South Florida! More than 50 students came together to jam on fair trade, the cooperative movement, and how they can hold Aramark more accountable. Here's a piece of what rockstar organizer Lauren Maxwell shared with the group: "Tonight we are here to learn about FT. We all always have something new to learn about it even if we’re already familiar with the movement. We’ve all heard the overwhelming stats about poverty. The majority of people living in poverty are farmers- from coffee growers in Ethiopia to banana pickers in Guatemala. Living on ridiculous wages, having to deal with labor exploitation. We are the ones who rely on them everyday for our daily conveniences. Like our cheap products but what about what it is costing farmers all over the world? What can we do about such a huge problem like global poverty? We can do something- support FT! Helping to eradicate global poverty, transformation, empowering. Not just foreign aid or charity to the developing world. "I want to close with why we (InterVarsity) chose to co-sponsor this night. As Christians we believe that God gives His followers a strong call to love the poor, to fight against oppression, and seek justice. We believe that God longs for His righteousness to come into this world and He is the only hope we have for that happening. We do not believe that God calls us to complacency but rather to action. Jesus never stood by and ignored the forgotten. Rather He was the one reaching out to the marginalized of the society He lived in, to the prostitutes, the sick, the tax collectors, to women. The poor in the developing world are ones we tend to forget about very often. Jesus has not forgotten about them. We should not settle for allowing unjust trade systems to work against them but rather we need to think about how God would have us love them, empower them and remember them. Fair Trade is a movement we can become involved in such small ways. It is a way to bring justice, to bring transformation. It is a way to love our brothers and sisters in the developing world. I want to reference Micah 6:8 and Amos 5:24 in here as well. That is the basic idea of what I want to say…it will be a lot more neat and organized than this, this is just the basics. Not just a cool movement but it is about the love of God, how He calls us to love our neighbor, yes, even the ones we will never meet on the other side of the globe."

Tomorrow USFT's staffers hit the road to start our fun and exciting Fair Trade Month tour! We're everly excited to hang out with lots of folks at the grassroots and see firsthand the rad organizing that's out there. Look under the FT Month tab to see our calendar of events to follow us. We'll do our best to keep you posted on what we see, so keep checking back for our daily updates (assuming we have internet access!). Also, please email us with your event details, pictures, articles at ftmonth@gmail.com so we can celebrate with you!

You're Invited to Strengthening the Roots: Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference Registration is now OPEN for the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Conference at New York University, in New York City November 9-12 2007. Join us in New York for a weekend of skill building and networking with other regional Fair Trade activists and movement leaders to ensure that the 2007-2008 school year is our strongest one yet! You'll meet and network with other student leaders throughout the region, learn more about fair trade, and gain organizing skills that are applicable for any leadership position throughout your life. Register TODAY at http://usft.org/fairtrade/registerNEMA USFT Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions: Northeast MA, ME, NH, VT, CT, NY, RI MidAtlantic NJ, PA, DC, MD, DE, WV, This event is for anyone interested- high school, undergraduates and graduate students and non-students with an interest in Fair Trade organizing. The cost is $60 but financial assistance is provided for those who express need! This includes food for the Convergence and is collected at the event or payed online- details to come on paying online. Housing is not included but we will be offering group-discounted rates at hostel. Questions? email strentheningtheroots@gmail.com We look forward to meeting you! -Midatlantic and Northeast Organizers

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Fair Trade Pavilion at Greenfest this weekend! It was great to see y'all!

Hello USFT from Finland's International Fair Trade Conference! I am here representing USFT and meeting others from countries all over Europe including: Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Estonia, UK, Finland, USA, Canada, France, Hungary, Italy. Check out the website here for information about the organization, Fair Trade Action Network, and the conference they're putting on. It's really exciting to be networking with others from all over Europe. In Finland, over 80% of the population knows about Fair Trade. They have Fair Trade bananas, oranges, pineapples, mango, coffee, tea, wine, cocoa, flowers, sugar, and more. Definitely an exciting list of products! If you want more information about what's going on in Europe on Fair Trade or to get in contact with anyone here at the conference, please contact me at sweet.usft@gmail.com.

This weekend, USFT will be hanging out at Greenfest in DC! Join us to explore the Fair Trade Pavilion, the awesome speakers, and all the rockstar sustainability folks! USFT will be facilitating these workshops 4pm Saturday with Creating Change on Campus Carlos Jimenez, Christina Lizzi, Luke Swarthout, Shadia Fayne Wood in Room 3. 4pm Sunday Campus and Community Organizing for Fair Trade with USFT and Coop America in the Fair Trade Pavilion. We'll see you there! Show Hours Saturday 10AM - 8PM Sunday 11AM - 6PM Venue Name and Address Washington D.C. Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW Washington, DC 20001

It happened with coffee, tea and chocolate. Now, a pilot group of farmers and co-ops hopes to bring to the Midwest the international fair trade movement that lobbied for worker equity, environmentalism and production standards. “Coffee was the originator of the fair trade movement,” said Liz Haywood, general manager of Bluff Country Co-op in Winona. “Domestic fair trade is the new frontier.” In 2001, members of the Local Fair Trade Network started discussing ways to reconnect growers, sellers and consumers in the upper Midwest to promote “agricultural justice.” Agricultural justice — creating standards for fair food prices to meet production costs, livable wages for workers and long-term contracts with groceries — isn’t just a global notion, said Erik Esse, the network’s coordinator. “We saw the improvement of lives of coffee farmers in Latin worker and thought we could use same concept for farmers here,” Esse said. “Farm workers — those working in big dairies, outside laborers and meat-packing — have some of the worse situations, not only in pay and respect. It’s grueling conditions.” The Minneapolis-based organization started a pilot project with four organic farmers and two food co-ops, including Bluff Country Co-op, and Keewaydin Farms in Viola, Wis., in 2002 and are currently in the process of rolling out labeling and advertising in the stores. Rufus Haucke grows 100 kinds of vegetables on five acres at Keewayden Farms. The 29-year-old, who has been organic farming for four years, works directly with Haywood at Bluff Country to set produce prices and settle on what products can be available throughout the year n offering stability for both businesses. In return, he promises to offer his one employee $8 an hour as well as housing and to limit his exposure to pesticides. As part of the certification, the Local Fair Trade Network audited Haucke’s farm and the Bluff Country Co-op n looking at finances, talking to workers and checking for safety guidelines and production practices. “It represents someone not just squeaking by,” Esse said. “Because a one-third to half of the farmers are undocumented and if they’re being screwed they can’t go to authorities.” Centro Campesino, a non-profit migrant farmworker organization in Owatonna, Minn., offers help to nearly 500 members in the upper Midwest with civil rights issues, income tax preparation and disputes with worker compensations. “Most of our farm workers don’t have minimum wage,” said organizer Ernesto Clara. “It depends on the farmer because there’s no minimum wage for a farm worker.” Wages are so low, he said, many have to work longer hours or increase their production speed. He estimated farm workers make an average of $7 to $8 an hour with no benefits. While dropping off tomatoes and celery at Bluff Country Tuesday afternoon, Haucke said farmers often get stuck in the middle because of low produce prices in a competitive market. “We can’t make food too expensive or people won’t buy it, but we want to pay our employees living wages,” he said. “It’s a real fine line.” Winona Daily News

After a year and a half of negotiation the new International Coffee Agreement (ICA), which provides the mandate for the International Coffee Organization, has been agreed upon. Notable inclusions in the new ICA include: * Recognition of the relationship between a sustainable coffee market and achievement of the Millenium Development Goals; * Objectives to develop a sustainable coffee sector in economic, social and environmental terms and enhance the capacity of local communities and small-scale farmers to benefit from coffee production; * Acknowledgement of the importance of establishing and strengthening cooperation with NGOs; * A new article on the ICA's project work, which has included efforts to improve farmers' productivity and sustainability; * Creation of a new 'Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance' which will bring together experts to discuss finance and risk management with a emphasis on the needs of small and medium scale producers and local communities; and * Expansion of the ICO's role in disseminating information about the coffee supply chain with emphasis on facilitating access to information by small coffee producers to assist them in improving their financial performance. For those interested, the new ICA can be found here: http://dev.ico.org/documents/wpwgfa3r8e.pdf

Hello again Fair Traders, Our Fair Trade Month event calander is up on that super cool new website and has a number of events already posted. However, I know that there are a lot of other things going on out there that are not yet up. Soooooooo... If you are hosting an event email ftmonth@gmail.com and send me a blurb with the time, date, location, and a brief description of your event so we can post it online! Let's make this Fair Trade Month the best ever! -Rory Phillips USFT BRIDGE Coordinator

University of Houston's campaign is heating up... check it out! http://media.www.thedailycougar.com/media/storage/paper1206/news/2007/10...

Happy FT Month to all! So I wake up this morning, fetch the paper, and what do I find? See for yourselves...PICK UP A COPY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES TODAY AND TURN TO THE BUSINESS SECTION, FRONT PAGE. Or, see this link... It totally made my morning. Hope it does the same to you all!

Let's celebrate another year of organizing around student and cooperative empowerment! Huzzah! USFT is superexcited to launch an exciting month of events with our new website! Please look around at all the new tools, including easier-than-ever affiliation, mapping the movement, the new fall kits, and everything you need to know about Fair Trade Month events and USFT's national tour! Check the new site out and log in to the forum to let us know how cool you think it is! Also, a HUGE thank you to Christina Watkins and Justin Childress for their awesome design and Robert Soden for the construction of the site! We Very much appreciate all your work and are excited to launch the new look! Throughout the month, please keep us posted on the rad events you are planning at the grassroots-- You can use the forum or email your regional organizer to post them on the site! Let's get rockin'! With all of our participation, this will be the biggest Fair Trade Month yet!

We hope that everyone is off to a great start this semester. In October we're celebrating Fair Trade Month with our most ambitious and exciting fair trade tour to date. All across the country, USFT affiliates will have the opportunity to host and attend grassroots events in their regions. Since there will be no Convergence this school year, this is one big chance to build relationships with producers, learn new skills, and network with other fair trade activists in your area. Find your regional coordnator and contact them for more information about how you can get involved with Fair Trade producer interaction, skill building workshops, community builders and how to host an event of your own with the support of USFT. Then check back October 1st on our new website to find out about upcoming events in your region and throughout the country!

Make Sure Your School is Affiliated with USFT! If you haven't affiliated already, start the school year off right and do so. Affiliating with the USFT means you're plugged into a national network of students working to make their campuses and cities fair. Through USFT listservs, your campus will stay updated about fair trade groups and movements throughout the country. You'll also receive information about opportunities to take your own campaigns to the next level. As a national organization we need you to affiliate, because the more support we have, the stronger this student movement becomes. Affiliating is quick, simple, and a great way to strengthen your activism work! You can affiliate by contacting your regional organizer here or by filling out the Affiliate Form.

United Students for Fair Trade recently completed an e-survey focused on the theme of corporate engagement in the fair trade label, in order to sound out our affiliates' opinions and positions on issues related to current debates within the fair trade movement on corporate engagement. Thank you if you took the time to fill out the survey; your responses were immeasureably helpful! The results of the survey are available here and reflect a very clear cue from our grassroots to the USFT Coordinating Committee about how it should stand in regards to the engagement of large transnational corporations in fair trade certification.