Fair trade

[Megan]

Just out of curiosity what do the Nerdfighters think would make an effective campaign towards raising awareness of fair trade produce such as coffee and chocolate to businesses and the general public?

what it's all about for those who don't know what it is/ would like to find out more :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade

equality for everyone is such an important issue in todays society - i'd love to know your opinions on the matter

:) DFTBA

<3

[Clive-φ-Davidson ImagesNM]

Perhaps a sticker to put on such products?

[sabelmouse]

yes.

[Clive-φ-Davidson ImagesNM]

How is this?
I tried some chains in the middle, but I thought this was better.

[sabelmouse]

i like it.

[Captain Jacqui Sparrow]

I freakin love this idea.

It's easy to do, cheap (it's just a label they have to print onto packaging or a sticker they have to stick on), and it'd probably work wonders too.

[sabelmouse]

[Ben Alexander]

I think I went to high school with someone named Emma Watson...

[Yasmin P-K]

My honest opinion is that Fairtrade should be one of the most widely supported charities in the world as it doesn't ask for donations or for you do do anything out of the ordinary. They ask that you buy their bananas instead of the store brand. It's a swap, nothing more.
I my secondary school, I set up a Fairtrade show to sell Fairtrade chocolates and things at parent's evening, fund raisers etc. It took £200 start up but we broke even in 2 years and all profit goes back into the charity. That took nothing more that 5/6 hours a year of my time to do, I don't understand why more people just can't support probably the easiest charity to support.

[sabelmouse]

it's not really a charity. it's paying a fair price instead of near slavery wages, ie. exploiting people.

[sabelmouse]

Selected clips from the 'What Would Jesus Buy' movie released in 2007.

These clips were selected for their important content on the exploitation of workers from third-world countries, as well as a frank look at the horrendous consumerism tied up with Christmas in America. Walmart, Disney, and other large companies are shown to be ruthless in their tactics overseas.

http://wwjbmovie.com/

[sabelmouse]

blackgoldmoviedotcom | 23 February 2007

Black Gold follows an Ethiopian coffee producer's epic journey around the world as he attempts to get a fair price for his high quality coffee. The film highlights that the solution for Africa is in equitable TRADE and NOT AID.

www.blackgoldmovie.com

[Captain Jacqui Sparrow]

In my community, there's a huge push to buy locally-produced produce. It not only ensures that the farmers and workers get their share, but also it helps employ Americans and pays the farmer's bills (monopolies are really killing the local farmers), gives you healthier food, saves money and fuel for shipping, and really helps build the community, I think. We even have a chain of farmstand supermarkets, for a lack of a better term. It's set up like a huge supermarket, but almost everything they sell is grown pretty much locally. Now, all we have to do is figure out how to grow cocoa beans in New York and we're set! But with urban farming with really well-controlled greenhouses becoming more and more possible, once we get out of this stupid recession, I can see them having whole skyscrapers dedicated to growing crops that once were grown using slave labor.

As far as clothes go, I'd love to shop fair-trade/American Made, but I don't want to look like an idiot wearing my American Apparel spandex jumpsuit down the street. I like AA's t-shirts and socks, but their limited sizes (2 sizes do not fit all!), lack of stores in small towns, and weird-ass clothes (other than their shirts) make them a lost option. Local clothing artisans cater to the rich. I don't have 150 bucks to spend on a hand-made skirt. Even if it's hand-made in Connecticut or something, the fabric is probably made in China anyway.

On another note, if I see one more hipster drinking fair trade coffee while wearing head-to-toe American Apparel smoking a joint, I'm gonna flip a shit, I swear. They absolutely won't allow themself to eat a poor, oppressed animal's milk or drink one sip of non-fair-trade coffee, but they have no problem smoking pot where all of the profits go to the corrupt drug lords in South and Central America? That's bulllllll.