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.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Bills that would give California's local governments more power to fight Wal-Mart and other huge stores are heading to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, over the objections of the giant retailer, business groups and Republican
Read moreA laughing baby is covered in baby food. He's making a gushy mess, as babies do, but having a grand time. A magic word reassures us--before we've had a chance to worry--that the food itself is wholesome. That word, of course, is "organic." More surprising, to many viewers of this advertisement, will be the origin of this virtuous feast: Wal-Mart. This summer, the mega-retailer launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign with an irresistible promise: "Introducing Organics at the Wal-Mart price." The commercial, which cannily plays to mothers' worries about how pesticides and additives may
Read moreI'm too lazy to find any actual poll numbers on this, so I could be wrong, but my strong guess is that most U.S. consumers involved in the recent growth of organic food are choosing organic for health reasons. One might even think of the organic boomlet as a subspecies of the general American health mania -- the same one that sent customers herding toward fat-free and low-carb food.
If this is true, we wouldn't expect consumers to particularly care about how far the food has traveled or what size farm it was grown on. They see "organic" as
Read moreMy listeners would often applaud the accomplishments I was describing. But then I'd tell them they had been greenwashed.
To greenwash, according to Word Spy, is "to implement token environmentally friendly initiatives as a way of Read more
According to classical economics, when demand jumps, supply should follow, pulled up by the good's rising price. But a funny thing is happening in the certified-organic fields and orchards of California, home to Read more
The sisters, whose order is based in San Antonio, helped down-on-their luck Indians of Mayan descent create a group-owned organic coffee business that in 22 years has Read more
Through one lens, things are looking better than ever. According to a USDA report (PDF), the number of farmers' markets leapt 79 percent to 3,100 between 1994 and 2002. Community-supported agriculture programs -- wherein consumers buy a share of a farm's output before the season starts, sharing the risks and rewards of the harvest -- have followed a similar trajectory. According to one source, North America boasts 1,200 CSAs. Just 25 years ago, the concept didn't exist in these parts.
All that growth aside, Read more
http://action.walmartwatch.com/page/m/poffnl26ki4/m1pEsC
Wal-Mart Defends Itself, This Time to Its Workers [Washington Post] http://action.walmartwatch.com/page/m/poffnl26ki4/bRxF50
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has spent the past year burnishing its public image in the face of slowing sales growth and amplified criticism from labor groups. Now, it is turning its attention inward.
Read more
Pages
for Fair Trade & Social JusticeDownloads
Videos
Scientific Studies
