
Fair Trade & Social Justice
OCA's New Fair World Project
The Organic Consumers Association launched the Fair World Project (FWP) in September 2010 to promote fair trade in commerce, especially in organic production systems in developing countries as well as at home, and to protect the term "fair trade" from dilution and misuse for mere PR purposes. FWP fills the critical need for a watchdog of misleading fair trade claims, and a cheerleader for dedicated fair trade mission-driven companies.
Released in honor of Workers’ Memorial Week, National COSH’s “Dirty Dozen” report is an annual list of “egregious” employers, all of whom are accused of exposing their workers to preventable hazards. This year, nearly half of the companies on National COSH’s list are involved in farming or the food industry, and the report highlights serious labor violations throughout the supply chain.
Read moreThe tally of unionized Starbucks locations is continuing to swell. The coffee giant's CEO "Howard Schultz and Starbucks are getting creamed in union vote after union vote," labor journalist Steven Greenhouse tweeted Saturday. By the union's count, there are now 100 stores across the nation that have unionized.
Read moreNespresso, a subsidiary of Nestlé, is now a certified B Corporation. Nespresso is perhaps best known for using celebrity spokesman George Clooney to give a high-end cosmopolitan look to their single-serve coffee pods. Or perhaps they’re best known for a recent string of human rights violations on farms that grow their coffee, from child labor to
Read moreSenator Durbin’s (D-IL) supplement regulation threatening 41,000 supplements is moving forward, and on multiple fronts. We must respond immediately. Urgent Action Alert!
Read moreBig corporations boosted their profit margins over the past two years by charging more for food, fuel, housing and other basics — using inflation as a pretext to raise prices.
Read moreEach year more people die while attempting to protect the world’s most biodiverse places. It’s a trend poised to devastate the planet itself. How can we stem the rising tide of attacks to ensure a safer future for us all?
Read moreCan locally owned delivery squads take on Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash?
Read moreThe ‘father of modern labor journalism’ explores why food system workers are fed up—and why the Starbucks union is such a big deal.
Read moreIn interviews, Starbucks workers tell In These Times that starting a union campaign is the first time they’ve felt hopeful in their adult lives. “A lot of us have gotten used to a sense of hopelessness and helplessness when it comes to our jobs,” says Rachel Ybarra, 22, an organizer at a Starbucks in Seattle. “But unionizing can give you a sense of agency,” Ybarra adds.
Read moreWe’re not putting out a regular issue of Organic Bytes this week, because we want to remind you that we the people united, the global grassroots, have the power to overcome the life-or-death threats pressing down on all of us. But in order to move forward, we need to ask you once again in these calamitous times for your support, which we need now, more than ever.
One of OCA's major donors, Mercola.com, has generously offered to triple every dollar
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