Friday, September 13, 2002

Promote Fair Trade in your community Dear Fair Traders, We are writing today to send information about some UPCOMING exciting, easy, and fun opportunities to promote Fair Trade in your communities and demand Fair Trade from big companies like Procter & Gamble (Folgers & Millstone) and Starbucks:

1. Fair Trade coffee day- September 18th 2. Starbucks Global Week of Action, September 21-28

We hope you'll get involved in your community! It's easy to do! We can send you lots of materials, and can also help with ideas and contacts. E-mail if you are interested in participating so we can be sure to send you the resources you need. Thanks for your support of Fair Trade!

1. Fair Trade coffee day- September 18th

Global Exchange and several other organizations are coordinating an exciting nationwide day to promote Fair Trade coffee in our communities and on our college campuses on September 18. This day of education is being organized by Oxfam America, along with Global Exchange, Free the Planet, Fair Trade Resource Network, Campus Ecology. The plan is to get as many people to go out and inform their communities about the importance of Fair Trade coffee and help build demand for it among consumers and big coffee companies like Procter & Gamble, using whatever events and methods you feel are best for your group!

We encourage you to participate in whatever way you can, whether that be through -organizing a petition drive for the P&G (Folgers/Millstone) campaign -giving out free coffee at a campus or community location (including cafes and supermarkets) -canvassing your local cafés to ask them to start selling Fair Trade -holding a film screening and discussion using a film about Fair Trade coffee farmers (ask for our Discussion Guide for Santiago's Story!) -organizing a teach-in with speakers from your group and other experts on the coffee crisis (with Fair Trade coffee and action materials of course!) - This would also be a great day to submit an Op Ed or letter to your local paper! See our web site for samples!

To GET INVOLVED e-mail fairtrade@globalexchange.org. Let us know what your plans are so we can send materials, help you arrange for coffee samples, and more! We can also help you network with others who can help you with ideas and energy! Coffee farmers need you to support Fair Trade on September 18th! E-mail fairtrade@globalexchange.org to get started today!!


2. Organic Consumers Association 5th "Starbucks Global Week of Action," September 21-28!

For the past 18 months, thousands of activists in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Israel and England have protested and leafleted outside of 800 Starbucks cafes and demanded that the company remove GE ingredients from their food and dairy products and brew and seriously promote fair trade coffee in all of their cafes. Grassroots pressure over the past two years has forced Starbucks to partially give in to the demands to ban GE coffee, offer organic milk as an option in their cafes, reformulate some of their products to avoid GE ingredients, and agree to brew Fair Trade coffee one day a month) but we need to keep up the pressure to win this campaign.

WE ALREADY HAVE 120 CONFIRMED LOCATIONS BUT WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO REACH OUR GOAL OF 400 CAFES. ORGANIZE A LEAFLETING EVENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. If you are willing to participate please contact or call 510-525-7054. Please indicate the date, time and location of the Starbucks outlets you will be leafleting, and we will be happy to send you an organizing packet with all the information and materials you need to organize a protest in your town.

WE HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US FOR THIS EXCITING CAMPAIGN. Read more at http://www.organicconsumers.org/starbucks/index.htm

If you'd like to sign up for the OCA's Volunteer Network, please visit http://www.organicconsumers.org/campaign.cfm

posted 10:24 AM