Today's World Fair Trade Day

greenlagirl — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:07:31 -0500

Hello World Fair Trade Day! Yes, today, May 10, is World Fair Trade Day. And I hope you're reading this before noon (or 3 pm on the east coast) because that's when the World's Largest Fair Trade Coffee Break happens.

Fair trade, in case you're a newbie, is about promoting equitable trade between "developed" and "third world" countries. Business as usual tries to squeeze out cheap labor and cheap exports out of less developed countries, then pretends altruism by donating "handouts" that equal just a fraction of what business unfairly squeezed out in the first place. In contrast, fair trade advocates promote equatable trade, arguing that trade on more equal footing, NOT aid (handouts), will help resolve some of the inequities in our world.

That sounds heavy, but for today, all you really need to do is take a coffee break. Fair trade advocates are trying to set the record for the largest fair trade coffee break ever! That sounds exciting, except that my guess is that this feat won't actually be difficult to achieve, since no such big fair trade coffee break's been planned ever before. I think the idea's that we're trying to set a big, impressive baseline that we can try to beat in years to come.

Anyway -- Fun events are happening all around the U.S. Near me, Los Angeles has a weekend full of activities planned. And in San Francisco, even the mayor's involved! Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition will "proclaim" San Francisco as a Fair Trade City at an event in Dolores park from noon to 2 pm in Dolores Park.

Check out the fair trade events calendar to find out what's going down near you -- even in Appleton, Wisconsin! That's where Megan of That's Swell plans to celebrate.

"Fair Trade is another way you can use your consumer dollars to vote for the kind of world you want to live in," writes The Learning Umbrella. And on a more practical note, Coffee and Conservation's psyched that both Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Grounds for Change are offering discounts in celebration of World Fair Trade Day.

Happy World Fair Trade Day, everyone :)
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BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs for the Los Angeles Times at Emerald City, and at greenLAgirl.com.

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Today's World Fair Trade Day