From: Melissa Schweisguth (melissa@globalexchange.org)
Date: Wed Nov 07 2001 - 20:08:25 EST
Hi
I'm the Fair Trade Coordinator at Global Exchange. I'm contacting you to
see if you might be interested in coordinating on a nationwide Fair Trade
"day of action" we're planning during December. The official announcement is
included below. Here are the basics:
The day of action will be December 8th, and the focus will be education
about/promotion of the concept of Fair Trade, and linking it to holiday
gift-giving options. Participating groups could do things like handing out
flyers about Fair Trade Coffee and where Fair Trade Coffee could be
purchased, or holding a Fair Trade Coffee sale.
Right now, we're collaborating with the Nicaragua Network, the Mexico
Solidarity Network, the Organic Consumers Association, Equal Exchange,
Oxfam, STARC, and a few other national organizations to plan the day of
action. We'd love to have USAS groups from across the country get involved.
Please let me know if you are interested and we'll go from there. If you
have any questions, etc., please let me know as well.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Melissa Schweisguth
Fair Trade Coordinator, Global Exchange
Fair Trade Coffee: Choose Justice in a Time of Crisis
JOIN THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN A FAIR TRADE COFFEE DAY OF ACTION
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8!
While the world confronts a terrorist crisis, Mexico and Central America are
facing a severe famine intensified by a crisis in the international coffee
market. Today's world market prices for coffee are at their lowest point in
history. While coffee companies reap huge profits, millions of coffee
farmers and workers face unemployment, land seizure, and starvation. An
alliance of concerned organizations (see below for sponsors and endorsers)
invite you to support the world's coffee farmers by taking part in a Fair
Trade Coffee Day of Action December 8 and promoting and/or purchasing fair
trade coffee in your local stores and cafes.
***Fair Trade Coffee Day of Action - December 8, 2001***
Thousands of people across the country will take part in our day of action
as organizations and individuals. We urge you to participate in one of the
following ways:
1) Spread the word by joining other volunteers in front of local supermarket
or cafés to educate the public about the crisis, promote Fair Trade coffee
and/or raise humanitarian aid for Central America. For assistance and
more information, please contact Morgan Guyton of the Nicaragua Network at
202-544-9355 or nicanet@afgj.org or Simon Harris of the Organic Consumers
Association at simon@organicconsumers.org or 510-525-7054.
2) Host a Holiday "Fair Trade" Gift Fair to educate people about the value
of Fair Trade and raise money for your community group. The Mexico
Solidarity Network is providing Fair Trade starter packs from Casa Bonampak
for about $300 that include coffee, crafts, t-shirts, stickers, magnets,
pins, and other items, including literature about fair trade. Contact the
Mexico Solidarity Network at 415-621-8100 or msn@mexicosolidarity.org for
more information. You can also contact SERRV International, which provides
fair trade coffee, chocolate, crafts, and all the tools needed by community
organizations and others to hold a Fair Trade Holiday Bazaar. Consignment
and wholesale options available. For more information contact 800-423-0071
or check the website at www.serrv.org.
3) Buy a pound of organic Fair Trade coffee from your local store or café
(see www.transfairusa.org for a list of stores or websites that carry Fair
Trade coffee) If you don't consume coffee, consider purchasing a Holiday
gift of Fair Trade Coffee for a friend. Please send an email to
fairtradeday@yahoo.com to report your purchase and request more information
about Fair Trade.
4) Join the ongoing campaign to promote Fair Trade coffee. Contact Melissa
James of Global Exchange at melissa@globalexchange.org or 415.255.7296 for
an Action Pack for organizing your community to support farmers. Check out
www.globalexchange.org/economy/coffee for action ideas, newspaper clips, and
stories from farmers about the importance of Fair Trade to farming
communities. You can also contact Liam Brody at Oxfam America
(lbrody@oxfamamerica.org) to get involved in Oxfam's Fair Trade campaign.
5) Forward this email to your friends and colleagues and post it on your
organization's website or in your newsletter.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND FOR SPREADING THE WORD
THIS ACTION IS SPONSORED BY: Nicaragua Network, Global
Exchange, Mexico Solidarity Network, Organic Consumers Association (OCA),
Equal Exchange, Oxfam, Coop America, and Fair Trade Federation.
OTHER ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS:
International Forum on Globalization (IFG), Friends of the Earth, NISGUA,
CISPES, STARC, Consumer's Choice Council, International Indian Treaty
Council/Indigenous Trading, Witness for Peace, Cooperative
Trading/Friends of the Third World
Background
As a result of the low coffee prices, tens of thousands of Mexican coffee
farmers have fled their fields in search of incomes to feed their families.
The Salvadoran government acknowledged the loss of over 30,000 jobs due to
the price slump. In Nicaragua, thousands of displaced coffee workers have
set up makeshift refugee camps in regional cities to demand work, land, and
food for their families. Some 30,000 Panamanian indigenous families, who
depend on seasonal coffee-picking wages, face hunger from plummeting prices.
The World Food Program has estimated that 150,000 refugees have been created
as a result of this crisis. Hundreds have died, and thousands may follow.
The good news is that consumers have the power to make a difference in
farmers' lives NOW! If we act together to educate consumers and promote
organic Fair Trade Certified coffee, we can expand the desperately needed
market for fair trade coffee and send a powerful message to the coffee
industry that consumers demand coffee free from social and environmental
exploitation. Due to a lack of demand, very few coffee producers who strive
to meet laudable labor and environmental standards are able to sell their
product at the fair trade price.
Fair Trade:
ˇ Ensures farmers receive a fair price for their harvest
ˇ Creates direct trade links between consumers and farmer cooperatives
ˇ Provides access to affordable credit, helping farmers stay out of debt
ˇ Promotes sustainable environmentally sustainable practices
Currently, Fair Trade Certified coffee is independently monitored by
TransfairUSA (www.transfairusa.org).
USAS webpage: http://www.usasnet.org
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