Archive for 2008

I’m using the down time of post-World Fair Trade Day events to catch up on some reading, and I see the crew at Oke bananas have launched a new website. With their usual paradigm-busting thinking and quirky humor, these tireless advocates for justice and purveyors of tasty bananas offer readers an introduction into the [...]

Read the entry: Are You Oke? →

The backs have been slapped in congratulations, the hugs of accomplishment exchanged, the coffee mugs rinsed, the crafts packed up, and the soup refrigerated for another day. Such is the satisfying aftermath of a World Fair Trade Day event.

Yesterday I was fortunate to be with the good folks at San Diego Friends of Fair [...]

Read the entry: Reaching Across the World →

During the opening ceremony of the 2008 SCAA in Minneapolis, MN, Bill Fishbein, owner of CRS coffee partner Coffee Exchange and founder of Coffee Kids, made a presentation on the 20th anniversary of Coffee Kids, an organization which helps coffee-growing families improve the quality of their lives. He made the simple but challenging statement that [...]

Read the entry: Specialty Coffee’s Return to Its Roots →

Part of my Sunday morning routine is listening to the Speaking of Faith public radio program. Yesterday I was especially pleased that the guest was Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner who started the Green Belt Movement. The movement began by organizing women who were living the impacts of deforestation through the [...]

Read the entry: Planting the Future →

That’s the slogan for this year’s World Fair Trade Day. As a proud sponsor of World Fair Trade Day here in the United States, CRS Fair Trade is proud to support the activities large and small to make the world a bit fairer through participating in economic justice activities.
On the fun side, we are [...]

Read the entry: Isn’t it Time We Made the World Fair? →

The Pope has been visiting, the Fair Trade Federation had its conference, and now we are all gearing up for World Fair Trade Day. Spring has sprung at CRS Fair Trade!
Our friends at TransFair USA have also reminded us that this Mother’s Day falls only one day after World Fair Trade Day [...]

Read the entry: Honor Mom with Fair Trade Flowers →

As Katy and I hurry to clear off our desks before heading to the Fair Trade Federation conference, I almost forgot this week is National Farmworker Awareness week. Luckily a new report, Children in the Fields: An American Problem, from my colleagues at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, jogged my memory and motivated [...]

Read the entry: Justice for Farmworkers, in the United States too →

Some of my colleagues groaned when they heard the “stomach and soul” title of my talk at the National Catholic Educators Association meeting today in Indianapolis. As regular blog readers know, I try to think of “catchy” titles to attract your attention, and the same principle holds true for workshops I give. Here [...]

Read the entry: Fair Trade for the Stomach and the Soul →

Although as a member of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, I don’t celebrate Palm Sunday as a holy day, I am definitely paying tribute to the ecumenical cooperation manifested through support of Eco-palms, an initiative of Lutheran World Relief. Media outlets, too, are reporting that congregations of several Christian faiths are utilizing these [...]

Read the entry: Putting our Heads Together →

Texas has been in the news a lot with yesterday’s presidential primary, but don’t think the story is over for the Lone Star State. The Fair Trade Federation is hosting a conference from April 4-6 in Austin, and CRS Fair Trade is proud to be a sponsor. The conference will bring together [...]

Read the entry: More reasons to talk about Texas: FTF conference →