
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.
Patagonia founder and “reluctant billionaire” Yvon Chouinard just raised the bar for corporate action on the fossil fuel-driven planetary emergency. The 83-year-old, his wife Malinda, and their adult children, Fletcher and Claire, gave away the company, valued at about $3 billion.
Read moreAs employees of various major corporations have revived the U.S. labor movement this year, workers at more than 200 Starbucks locations have voted to form unions. Starbucks Workers United, labor leaders, progressive lawmakers, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have accused the company
Read moreLast month, the White House announced more than $1.9 billion in “private sector commitments” to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador as part of Vice President Harris’ “Call to Action” to address the root causes of migration from northern Central America.
Read more“It’s completely naive for people to say, ‘Just breastfeed if you can’t get formula.’ It’s not that easy. If you don’t use it, you lose it,” Lena DeGloma, a certified lactation counselor, says. “We need a universal [federally funded and implemented] parental leave policy that is available to everyone without fear of retaliation.”
Read moreHow to match your vacation to your social justice values. Share a meal in a local household, trade off hosting, walk and talk, lodge locally, spend intentionally, tour responsibily, visit a national park- but take the train, do some citizen science, build a trail in Washington state, etc.
Read moreReleased 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.
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