Fair Trade Sunday – May 9

We join the World Fair Trade Organization in it’s celebration of World Trade Sunday on May 9th.  Fair Trade is a tangible and efficient response to poverty, economic and global food crises and climate change.   A simple commitment by you to purchase fair trade goods, such as coffee, chocolate, and handcrafted items for your home, can contribute to the development opportunities to small producers in the poorest countries of the world.

and speaking of chocolate…..join in a boycott of Hershey products:

In Western Africa, more than a quarter-million children are forced to pick cocoa beans in brutal working conditions. Those beans travel halfway around the world to be turned into chocolate bars — to satisfy the “sweet tooth” of Americans who probably have no idea where their cocoa is coming from.
Some chocolate makers have pledged to purchase only Fair Trade cocoa, which in addition to being free from the bitter taint of child labor, also means a fair price for cocoa farmers and a better standard of living for their families.
However, the Hershey Company has, thus far, refused to make the same pledge. And by their inaction they help guarantee a large, ready and profitable market for all the Ivory Coast cocoa … and more heartbreaking child labor and worker abuse.