Grab Bag Friday: Maracas!

 Since Fair Trade Month got a bit crowded out on this blog by other pressing matters like clean water and the election (sadly, my friend Fred did not win his bid for town representative, but it was close and he ran a great campaign), I'll linger for a little while on the subject of Fair Trade to tell you about the fun package I got in the mail yesterday.

SERRV has long been one of my go-to spots for interesting handmade gifts. Not only are their products beautiful, but the money I spend there goes to artisans around the world who are trying to work their way out of poverty. One of the first Fair Trade organizations, SERRV:

• Offers prepayments so partners can sustain their business
• Teaches new skills so they can develop their craft
• Provides grants so they can expand their resources
• And of course, pays a fair wage

So, back to my package! I recently got my SERRV catalog in the mail and when I turned to the musical instrument page, I knew instantly what I was going to get all my nieces and nephews for Christmas (I know, I know, it's insanely early to be thinking about this, but when inspiration strikes, I act!) For a mere average of $7 per niece/nephew, I was able to cobble together a Fair Trade family band.

Of course, I had to try out all the instruments as I unpacked them from the box. Not only are they beautiful, with hand stitching and painting, but they are *fun* to play. I like the crazy Sanh Sua Clacker (sounds like loud cricket chirps) best, and right now, it's only $5!

Note: If you're reading this and you happen to be a member of my family, two things. 1) Don't you dare spill the beans. 2) Apologies in advance for the rollicking noise and mayhem you'll be subject to on Christmas morning!

Grab Bag Friday: Fair Trade and Halloween, or Why I Can't Buy Hershey this Year

After much discussion and waffling in my house, here is what we are giving out for Halloween: Endangered Species Chimp Mints, Bug Bites, and a 5 pound bag of YummyEarth Organic Lollipops.



Where are the Heath Bars? The Resees? The Take 5 bars that Kevin and I usually pick out and stash in the cupboard for ourselves? And why on earth would we choose to spend $30 more than usual on Halloween candy?

We admit, it's a crunchy move. Possibly risky (city-boy Kevin is a bit worried about his youthful TP karma coming back to haunt him). But the reality is that you vote with your dollars. And during Free Trade Month, I've learned a lot about big chocolate companies that makes the thought of eating another Take 5 bar more than a little sickening.

Last month, John Robbins wrote an article in the Huffington Post titled Is There Slavery in Your Chocolate? A little sensationalist, huh? Sadly, not really. Robbins writes this about the children who are sold to the cocoa farms that Hershey buys from:

"These children, usually 11-to-16-years-old but sometimes younger, are forced to do hard manual labor 80 to 100 hours a week. They are paid nothing, receive no education, are barely fed, are beaten regularly, and are often viciously beaten if they try to escape. Most will never see their families again."

Then later, he puts it into another perspective:

"Buying cocoa from farms that employ such abusive child labor practices enables Hershey to keep its costs down and its profits up. In early 2010, the company reported a 54 percent jump in profits because of what it called 'improved supply-chain efficiencies.'"

While other candy companies have begun to come around to the idea of free trade, Hershey has been incredibly obstinate. One of my good friends who is an incredible chocolate maker (more like chocolate artist) recently explained it like this "From what I understand, Hershey basically said that its really sad what happens over there, but we can't control what they do, so we are going to buy it from them anyway."

Last month, Hershey tried to do some damage control by putting out a "Corporate Social Responsibility Report," but critics say the report did nothing to change Hershey's policies, their lack of transparency about where they buy their cocoa, or to shift their purchasing power to plantations that employ fair labor practices. Global Exchange put out an official response to the Hershey report, urging them to try harder.

So what can be done? The Huffington Post article outlines a number of actions that you can take and urges us to spend our chocolate dollars wisely. Why not start with Halloween? Here's a list of companies listed by HuffPo:

"Purchase chocolate products from companies who only use cocoa that has definitively not been produced with slave labor. These companies include Clif Bar, Cloud Nine, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Denman Island Chocolate, Divine Chocolate, Equal Exchange, Gardners Candies, Green and Black's, John & Kira's, Kailua Candy Company, Koppers Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, Montezuma's Chocolates, NewLeaf Chocolates, Newman's Own Organics, Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, Rapunzel Pure Organics, Shaman Chocolates, Sweet Earth Chocolates, Taza Chocolate, The Endangered Species Chocolate Company, and Theo Chocolate."

Grab Bag Friday: Fair Trade Month, Tea

October has been declared Fair Trade Month, so I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and highlight a favorite Fair Trade organization each week. First off, to get an overview of what Fair Trade is, how it helps farmers, and how thinking about what we buy really can make a difference, please browse the Fair Trade USA website. Better yet, follow them on Twitter or Facebook. All month, they'll be posting about easy, every day things we can do to support Fair Trade.

Since the fall weather is just beginning to kick in up here in my neck of the woods, I'll start with tea. This week, I ordered some delicious tea from Art of Tea, a company that specializes in organic and Fair Trade teas.

Here are just a few reasons why fair trade practices are so important to Art of Tea (from the Art of Tea website):

• Fair trade practices help producers in under-developed countries have greater opportunities to acquire the resources they need to improve their livelihood.

• Sustainable development protects against land loss by promoting environmentally friendly processes which in turn creates a healthy working environment for producers and their families. 

• Fair trade practices also promote fair wages for workers, build schools and hospitals, create cultural centers, promote gender equality and fights against child labor in tea producing areas.

Art of Tea Fair Trade Video

Alternative Gifts: Gifts that Give Back

This is a very short list of places where you can buy gifts that help someone else. There are many more. If you have a particular favorite, please feel free to post it here. Happy shopping!

Nothing But Nets: $10 of every hat & t-shirt purchase will send a mosquito net to Africa to help fight malaria.

UNICEF: Proceeds from sweet gifts like "My Little Monkey" support "child survival, protection, and development worldwide through education, advocacy, and fund raising." I'm a big fan of the I Never Forget a Face! Matching Game ($13.00).

DonorsChoose.org: This is like a grown-up, education-oriented version of MarkMakers. Teachers from underfunded public schools submit proposals for things they need (everything from a rug for a reading corner and wet erase markers to projectors and entire science labs). You can buy gift certificates for your friends, and they can choose which project(s) they want to fund. Proposals are searchable by total cost, the school's level of poverty, subject matter, and state. You may choose to fund all or part of a project.

Good Magazine: 100% of every subscription purchased goes to one of 12 organizations (like Room to Read, NRDC, and Teach for America)...you choose where your money goes.

Fair Trade goods: Fair Trade helps provide fair pay and regular work to artisans from around the world. Beyond that, buying Fair Trade is a great way to find unique, handcrafted gifts for your friends and family.

There are so many ways to find gifts that give back in personal, innovative ways. Check local arts organizations in your area. My friend Kate's modern dance collective Live Animals, for instance, just sent out an email to their subscribers offering a gift pack of homemade chocolate turtles (made lovingly by the grandmother of one of the dancers!) for a $25 donation. I will definitely be picking up a box or two of those for some chocolate lovers I know!

Alternative Gifts: Last Minute Ideas

Looking for some last-minute ideas on socially concious gifts?

Check out:

Seth Godin's review of Fair Trade Sports

My November Heifer Project review: Chickens are a real value!

Nothing But Nets Blog (You may need to scroll down a bit to see the page)

Alternative Giving: Fair Trade

One of the ways we can give gifts that make a difference this year is by buying Fair Trade goods. Fair Trade organizations work with artisans from disadvantaged and underdeveloped countries to sell their goods with the goal of providing regular work and fair pay. The Ten Thousand Villages website describes their work this way:

Many artisans tell us that fair trade brings them much more than regular work and fair pay. They begin to see hope for the future, earn dignity and respect in their community and experience joy in being able to provide for their families.

Ten Thousand Villages is one of the world's largest Fair Trade organizations, working since 1946 with tens of thousands of artisans all over the world who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. On their website, they sell a huge selection of handicrafts from all over the world, including:

• alpaca blankets from Peru

• beaded bracelets from Guatemala

• leather drums from Kenya

• gorgeous Indonesian kites!

Other fair trade organizations:

A Greater Gift is a program of SERRV International, a nonprofit alternative trade and development organization. SERRV has been working to assist artisans and farmers for more than 55 years.

Equal Exchange is a worker-owned co-op with a new approach to trade that offers consumers fairly traded gourmet coffee direct from small-scale farmer co-ops in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Marketplace: Handwork of India is a non-profit organization working to empower Indian Women artisans through employment opportunities and social change.

You can find more Fair Trade organizations on Ten Thousand Village's Fair Trade Friends page.

You can read the 10 principles of the International Fair Trade Association here.