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Good policy starts at home, as Jimmy Carter demonstrated in his famous 1977 “fireside cardigan chat” when he asked America to join him in bundling up and turning down the thermostat amidst the energy crisis. Fair trade coffee is already served in the US Capitol – why not extend this practice to the White House next door? From Milwaukee, Wis., to San Francisco, Calif., cities across the nation are passing historic resolutions to maximize purchase of fair trade products with public funds and make fair trade products available to consumers. Citizens are making it clearer and clearer they want their dollars as taxpayers to be spent in ways that support fair labor practices and protect the environment. Bringing such conscious consumption to the highest office in the land would set a new, more ethical standard for government procurement, often known for inane and unwieldy rules.
Fair trade-certified products provide consumers the best assurance available that companies pay their workers a living wage, on top of meeting a host of other social, environmental and economic criteria. At a time when at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day and more than 80% lives in countries where income differentials are widening, the issue of global income distribution is critical. Fair trade raises the bar and seeks to level the playing field, one business at a time.
London has already declared itself fair trade capitol of the world, with almost 1,000 retailers and 600 catering outlets selling fair trade-certified products. We in the US have some catching up to do, and the new Administration can help show us the road to ethical consumption.
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Hey April,
I like the idea a lot, and as a resident of DC too, I bet the folks at DC Make Trade Fair would like to jump on board. Their site is at
http://fairtradedc.blogspot.com/
Like so many of us, I am still on an election high, but if I could just add one note of caution....As somebody who remembers Jimmy Carter getting elected when she was in elementary school, I confess to having some worries when we start to compare and link Carter and Obama. Although I revere former President Carter and still get excited when I think about being part of a Fair Trade coffee discussion with him at the Carter Center in 2004, I think he would be the first to admit that he made a lot of mistakes in the White House that I hope Mr. Obama avoids. The cardigan sweater, for example, wasn't a big hit in Tucker, GA where I lived at the time because folks thought the President was not respecting the Oval Office. I imagine that every move of President Elect Obama will be scrutinized (yesterday I heard a journalist saying the landing of the airplane at O'Hara was historic because it was the first landing after the meeting of Obama and Bush, oh please!) So if we are going to push for symbols like pouring Fair Trade java at White House dinners we need to make sure we have can articulate why this is important to farmers in foreign countries but also businesses here at home, how it sets a great example for the Obama children, is a way to reclaim our place as a world leader etc. In other words, I love fun campaigns as much as the next person but I hope we in the Fair Trade movement, especially as folks in the U.S. are struggling to meet mortgages and pay off student loans, undertake our campaigns and actions in ways that pay attention to the complexity of our times and the challenges this administration and our country are facing.
Hope I don't sound like a wet blanket but I just thought I'd through in a certain bit of nostalgia. Good luck with the initiative and, as I say, I will try to help out on my end as a future neighbor of the First Family and the V.P.
Jackie
Posted by Jacqueline DeCarlo on 11/11/2008 @ 06:48AM PST
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Brilliant! Thanks, April! This should be a 2009 effort for DC Make Trade Fair... Let's do it!
Posted by Elizabeth Gilhuly on 11/13/2008 @ 08:49PM PST
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I agree with Jackie, as well, and I think there is a way.
Posted by Elizabeth Gilhuly on 11/13/2008 @ 08:51PM PST
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A wonderful and powerful idea, April!
Posted by Dennis Campbell on 11/22/2008 @ 03:02PM PST
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I do agree April
Posted by Philippe PINAULT on 11/28/2008 @ 02:56PM PST
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fair trade4truc nutz!!
Posted by The Pope on 12/03/2008 @ 07:29AM PST
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What in the world are "Fair trade-certified products"? Won't someone please post a link to a site that explains it? I'd like to know if it is a realistic concept or an extremist one.
Posted by Renny Bosch on 12/04/2008 @ 03:33PM PST
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What a great idea! Let's start with coffee!
Posted by Julie Taboh on 12/06/2008 @ 04:15AM PST
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Thanks for everyone's posts! Renny, fair trade, simply put, is a system of developing more equitable trading relationships between producers of goods made in developing countries and consumers in the so-called first world. Fair trade-certified goods are made by producers who agree to and are held accountable to a comprehensive set of environmental, social and economic criteria. Their trading partners - ie exporters and importers - must also meet certain criteria, such as providing a minimum price for the product, regardless of market conditions.
The Fair Trade Resource Network has a set of FAQs that walk you through the ABCs of fair trade:
http://www.fairtraderesource.org/learn-up/faq/#whatis
You can decide for yourself if it is a realistic or extremist one! :) I would love to start a dialogue here on the topic; I invite you all to add your thoughts to the discussion!
Posted by April Thompson on 12/06/2008 @ 06:05AM PST
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In addition to April's suggestion of the FAQs of Fair Trade Resource Network, I'd also like to invite Renny and others to visit my "Fair Trade Beginner's" blog which helps define Fair Trade and how consumers can get involved.
But the reason I'm logging in is to share that I think I have a pretty reliable source here in DC who says that the White House uses Starbucks as its coffee provider. Would it be enough for those folks voting for this idea to have Starbucks provide one of its Fair Trade blends in the White House? If so, this could be a pretty simple switch and we could spend our efforts using the moment to educate the Obama's and their staff as to why Fair Trade is important.
OR, we could first get the agreement for Fair Trade coffee period, and then suggest a cupping so the Obama Family could chose their own preferred blends, including options from the fully committed world of Fair Traders who roast nothing but Fair Trade.
Thoughts?
Posted by Jacqueline DeCarlo on 12/12/2008 @ 12:23PM PST
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Jackie, thanks for the inside scoop and great ideas! I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this. Personally, I think the idea of a cupping (blind taste test, of course - just like the old Folger's commercial!) would be a fun media/awareness raising opportunity that would also open the door to communicating some of the nuances of fair trade certification -- such as the confusing fact that it is not a company being certified per se, but a specific product, and hence there is a wide range of levels of commitment to fair trade amongst companies.
Posted by April Thompson on 12/12/2008 @ 02:30PM PST
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Hey There,
The Obama team used to drink the coffee that our co-op (Just Coffee Co-op in Madison, WI) does with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless during the '04 campaign. The coffee is fairly traded, organic, and benefits an amazing organization that Mr. Obama is very familiar with. If you all are interested in getting some more for the new pad, please contact us at JC or Jose at the Chicago Coalition.
Thanks,
-Matt Earley
Posted by matt earley on 12/17/2008 @ 11:34AM PST
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Oh,
we are at www.justcoffee.coop.
Thanks again!
Posted by matt earley on 12/17/2008 @ 11:36AM PST
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Well everyone, I only want to ask if coffee beans are grown in western states? If they are, WE MUST BUY AMERICAN before we buy from anywhere else. Yes fair trade is fine, but we are hurting and AMERICANS needs WORK including AMERICAN countries!!!
Posted by Denver Prophit Jr. on 12/19/2008 @ 04:25PM PST
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Hi Matt, Great to learn about it -- I'd love to talk with you and learn more!
As for Denver's question, which is a good one, actually Hawaii is the only place in the US where coffee grows. And given that the US consumes 1/3 of the world's coffee, Hawaii alone could never satisfy this nation's caffeine addiction unfortunately!
However, there is plenty of work to be had importing, roasting, marketing, and distributing the beans here on US soil, given our coffee habits!
I suggest you check out Zarah Patriana's Change.org blog on fair trade -- she discusses the local vs. fair trade debate there: http://fairtrade.change.org/blog/view/local_and_fair_trade_two_sides_of_the_same_coin
Posted by April Thompson on 12/20/2008 @ 05:42AM PST
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It is great to see that Just Coffee has a connection to the Obama's also. This seems like another good reason NOT to just push for the White House to convert its current Starbucks option to Fair Trade but to create an opportunity to have the First Family choose which coffee they want brewing.
However, for that to happen, we need to get A LOT more votes for this idea. Could Just Coffee and Equal Exchange and others in support of this spread the word among their networks?
Jackie
P.S. In response to the buy local question: I hear that there is coffee from Puerto Rico too. The island is like Washington, DC, not exactly a state but part of the USA.
Posted by Jacqueline DeCarlo on 12/22/2008 @ 10:56AM PST
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Free Trade doesn't mean selective contracts. All companies compete for the contract based on price and service. If Starbucks beats out a small guy, it's only because they lost in a FAIR market competition. They all have equal opportunities using their CAGE CODE to submit a bid for government contracts. That would include coffee supplied to the DOD as well.
To that end, ALL military bases have a small contracts office and the government has a Small Business Initiative project for such a thing. Use the resources already available to you.
Posted by Denver Prophit Jr. on 12/22/2008 @ 08:07PM PST
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About six months ago, I had good fortune shine down on me for a day. It was then that I decided to put my money where my opinion is regarding Hemp. All through the Internet, I purchased a great pair of tennis shoes (100% Hemp) , A new pair of Blue Jeans (100% Hemp) , a long sleeve pull-over shirt (100% Hemp) , an Over-shirt to match the long sleeve (100% Hemp) , a new Wallet (100% Hemp) and a pair of socks (100% Hemp). When the packages arrived, I was pleasantly surprised that the vendor had included another pair of sock (100% Hemp) and two Chap stick tubes (100% Hemp) for free.
President Obama needs to answer why it is, the jobs in creating all these products are found in Canada, throughout Europe, and Asia while Our family farms go into foreclosure, our factories shut down.
Reauthorizing the Industrial production of non-THC producing Hemp could be a boon to our domestic economy.
Elsewhere on this site I have a proposal asking President Obama to consider supporting the use of Hempcrete on all these road and bridge projects he's proposed.
Unfortunately, I'm in 14th place.
Posted by Richard Owl Mirror on 12/23/2008 @ 12:41AM PST
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Richard, thanks for sharing your experience. There are a lot of good ideas here on change.org, and even if our efforts don't "win" I think there is value in having discussions. BTW, I have a great hemp wallet myself.
As for your comment Denver, I agree that a competitive bidding process can be a free and fair approach to getting coffee (and other Fair Trade products) into the White House. I appreciate the lead on Small Business Initiatives. One of the great things about the internet is that we can share "resources already available". I appreciate your helping me upderstand some of the possibilities.
Be well.
Posted by Jacqueline DeCarlo on 12/23/2008 @ 05:03AM PST
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