Is Fair Trade the perfect system, without flaws? No. But to quote the quotable Ben Harper, what good is a cynic with no better plan? "Fair Trade" is often compared to "free trade" in popular media. Here’s a brief clarification… FAIR TRADE Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that [...]
Archive for August, 2006
Free trade vs Fair Trade
August 30, 2006In the changer 8-29-06
August 29, 2006The windows are wide open and we’re enjoying a brisk Fall-like week here in the Northwest. This week celebrates music from Seattle in our office: Pearl Jam (of course) Modest Mouse Death Cab for Cutie Nirvana (classic stuff) Pedro the Lion (aka David Bazan) This week we have one of our new sample rugby [...]
The child labor issue
August 28, 2006David Batstone from Right Reality recently did a post on child labor based on a trip he did to Peru. A quick excerpt: "Our initial effort is to make a clear distinction between "child labor" and "entrepreneurial children." Political policies that seem so universal in the United States and Europe turn relative in other global [...]
Our Oceania sister company
August 25, 2006We’re already seeing international visitors on our site, so in case you are a Fair Trade advocate visiting from Australia or New Zealand, be sure to check out our sister company there, Etiko Sports. If you are here in the States and want to experience Oceania’s most famous sport, check out the Fair Trade Sports [...]
Respect
August 24, 2006href=”http://fairtradesports.com/gearshop/index.php/cPath/23″> Our tagline is fairly simple. Just the word "Respect." But its meaning is anything but simple. To us, "Respect" means respect for yourself as an athlete. And respect for your competition on the playing field, whether you just trounced them or they trounced you. And – just as important – respect for the people [...]
Fair Trade: a primer
August 23, 2006Our partner in the UK, FairDeal Trading, is run by Dr. Martin Kunz and James Lloyd. Dr. Kunz has been involved with the Fair Trade movement since 1992 (the FTS team affectionately refers to him as "The Professor"). I’m attaching The Professor’s paper, "Fair Trade: how does it relate to other attempts to improve working [...]
In the changer 8-23-06
August 23, 2006Like you, music drives and inspires us. We love iTunes, but nothing beats that reassuring [kerchunk] [kerchunk] between discs on our ancient 5-disc changer. Here’s what’s playing in the Fair Trade Sports office this week: Sufjan Stevens Ben Harper Rage Against the Machine Stan Getz Johnny Cash And of course, music sounds better when you [...]
Fair Trade premiums
August 22, 2006How exactly do your dollars help when you buy a ball from Fair Trade Sports? A significant milestone for Fair Trade is that the producers of a product should earn enough in order to provide for themselves and their families. If adults can pay for shelter, food, clothing, medical needs, emergencies, and expenses for education, [...]
Our children’s charities
August 21, 2006Fair Trade Sports, Inc donates all profits after taxes to children’s charities, both domestically and internationally. Sound familiar? It’s a similar idea to the one behind the Newman’s Own brand. We expect to reach profitability in late 2008. Until then, we are donating $1000 annually to the organizations listed below, which benefit at-risk children worldwide. [...]
