Celebrate World Fair Trade Day in May

World Fair Trade Day is celebrated the first two weeks in May in many places throughout the world. In the United States, World Fair Trade Day is coordinated by Fair Trade Resource Network.  The theme for 2011 Fair Trade Day celebrations is “100,000 Taking a Fair Trade Coffee Break.” Find events near you, resources for planning an event, and materials for education and promotion.  

Fair Trade Resource Network is urging people to plan events and be counted in the 100,000 people who take a break for fair trade between May 1-15.  A fair trade coffee break during your church coffee hour would be a great time to do this.  If your church is already serving fair trade coffee, take this opportunity to highlight why you are doing this and make your coffee hour an educational event.  If you aren’t yet serving fair trade coffee, take this opportunity to look into this through the Presbyterian Coffee Project.

Why celebrate Fair Trade?  For starters, fair trade gives producers a just price for their goods.  But it goes further: products are environmentally sustainable; partnerships are built on mutual respect and reciprocal benefits; workers have the right to organize; and national laws of safety, health, and wages are enforced.  These are great reasons to celebrate!  Learn more about fair trade and just living through Enough for Everyone, part of the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

Enough for Everyone has programs to help bring fair trade goods to Presbyterians: The Presbyterian Coffee Project links Presbyterians with Equal Exchange Coffee, fair trade coffee that is grown sustainably (much of it is shade grown, therefore protecting forests), and is also delicious.  Sweat-Free T-shirts give Presbyterian churches the opportunity to buy fair trade t-shirts sewn at a women’s cooperative in Nicaragua.  With Sweat-Free T-shirts you can rest assured that your shirts were not produced with child labor, and and that workers were paid a just wage.   Learn about other programs offered through Enough for Everyone.

via presbyterian.typepad.com