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How You Can Make A Difference Buying Fair Trade

 by Cherie Gough

San Diego Family Magazine - November 2016


Buy Fair Trade
What it means and how you can make a difference
Did you drink a cup of coffee or eat a piece of chocolate today? Choosing fair trade coffee and chocolate can mean five times the pay for a farmer in a developing nation and a safe working environment in industries dominated by child labor.

As San Diego County stores make fair trade items like chocolate, coffee, home textiles and body products more available, shoppers are becoming familiar with the label. But what does buying fair trade mean and who exactly benefits?

Empowering Women and Families


Buying fair trade certified goods provides a helping hand
to people in developing countries. When farmers and factory workers who produce these goods receive a fair trade premium, they decide as a community how to spend the money. Community development projects provide necessities such as health care, clean water and schools, explains Katie Goudey of Fair Trade USA. Purchasing fair trade goods makes a vital impact on women who produce more than half the world’s food, but own very little land.

Good for the Earth,Good for Consumers

Certified fair trade goods benefit the environment and consumers. A third party
certifier such as Fair Trade USA requires goods meet these strict environment standards in order to receive the fair trade label:
• No GMOs
• Restricted use of pesticides

and fertilizers
• No slash and burn agriculture • Proper management of waste,

water and energy Purchasing fair trade goods guarantees products that help protect the natural environment and the health of workers and consumers.

Shop with Heart this Holiday Season
Consider this: The gifts you buy this year could help build a school in a small, rural village; the coffee you drink could make life easier for men and women who picked the beans; the sugar and chocolate you bake with could help protect a fragile environment. You can make a difference with the purchasing choices you make. These local events (and the shops on the previous page) make shopping fair trade easy for San Diego families.

Sunday, Nov. 13, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Resurrection Lutheran Church Fall Festival
1111 5th St., Coronado
www.resurrectioncoronado.com
Resurrection Lutheran’s Fall Festival features gifts from Ten Thousand Villages: hand-loomed textiles, pottery, jewelry, baskets, toys and nativities.

Friday, Dec. 2, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.
Roots of Giving Fair Trade Market
Point Loma Nazarene University, 3900 Lomaland Dr., Point Loma pointloma.edu/experience/academics/centers-institutes/center-justice- reconciliation/roots-giving
Don’t miss this fair trade holiday shopping event. Enjoy an evening with student musicians, coffee and hot cocoa while shopping.
Sunday, Dec. 11, 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Alternative Gifts Expo
St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, 2728 6th Ave., Downtown www.stpaulcathedral.org
Shop for beautiful household items, artisan crafts, stylish women’s clothing and more while mariachis create a festive atmosphere. The Tomorrow Project will sell dry soup mixes assembled by local homeless women.
 
Shop at Local Fair Trade Shops
Around the World Gifts, Old Town www.aroundtheworldgifts.biz
Fair Trade Décor, Del Mar
http://fairtradedecor.com
Dr. Bronner’s Natural Products, Vista www.drbronner.com/DBMS/ SFNT.html
Gifts With a Cause
Online shop www.giftswithacause.com
All Across Africa
Online shop and seasonal kiosks www.allacrossafrica.org
To find more fair trade events in San Diego, visit www.facebook.com/ FairTradeSanDiego or www .lamesafairtrade.blogspot .com/p/shop.html.






















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