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.
News
July 20, 2006
Bonn, July 20th 2006 -- The International Social and Environmental Labeling Alliance (ISEAL) has declared that IFOAM is fully compliant with ISEAL's Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards, and is the first ISEAL member to achieve this status.
The ISEAL Alliance facilitated the development of a Code of Good Practice Setting Social and Environmental Standards to strengthen the credibility of social and environmental standards on the basis of how they are developed. By adhering to procedures that constitute good practices, standard-setting bodies help to Read more
The ISEAL Alliance facilitated the development of a Code of Good Practice Setting Social and Environmental Standards to strengthen the credibility of social and environmental standards on the basis of how they are developed. By adhering to procedures that constitute good practices, standard-setting bodies help to Read more
News
July 19, 2006
Buying local produce saves fuel, stimulates the regional economy and
helps maintain a sustainable food supply, but growers say there is one
other benefit for consumers.
It just tastes better.
"The main thing is, our stuff is picked that day for the market, so it's vine-ripened," said Larry Nedeau of Budwood Organic Farm in Fallbrook. "The taste of that tomato is going to be that much more significant."
Nedeau said Read more
News
July 20, 2006
The Sobriety Garden, tucked behind Bellevue Hospital Center and
tended by clients of the hospital’s chemical dependency outpatient
program, was supposed to have been paved over by mid-July to make way
for a parking lot.
Ramon Zamora, a client of the chemical dependency outpatient program at Bellevue Hospital
Read more News
July 21, 2006
The farm stand of our dreams looms beyond, over the next hill, beneath the boughs of a pecan tree. It's a lean-to with a packed dirt floor, clapboard walls and a corrugated tin roof. Simmering pots of boiled peanuts line the plywood counter. Rickety shelves hold decommissioned mayonnaise jars full of homemade chowchow.
In the foreground, a customer sniffs a tomato, still warm from the field; she brushes a talcum of soil from a crookneck squash. At the rear, a farmer dressed in knife-creased overalls paces the floor, musing about the weather
Read more News
July 20, 2006
BERNE -- Mark Hoffmann and Susan Walter raise beef cows, pigs, chickens, goats and llamas. They plant vegetables, berries and medicinal herbs. They grow everything without chemical fertilizers or pesticides and are even limiting the number of cows they raise in order to reduce the impact on their 140-acre farm on Switzkill Road.
The couple is farming organically, but if you buy meat or produce you won't find that distinctive "USDA Organic" sticker. Morning Fog Farm is not officially organic, partly because certification is costly and time-consuming.
Hoffmann and Walter Read more
The couple is farming organically, but if you buy meat or produce you won't find that distinctive "USDA Organic" sticker. Morning Fog Farm is not officially organic, partly because certification is costly and time-consuming.
Hoffmann and Walter Read more
News
July 19, 2006
In late 2004, Adam Werbach proclaimed that environmentalism was dead due to the movement's unwillingness to connect with ordinary working people and its inability to effectively grapple with the most profound problem the earth has ever faced, climate change. His diagnosis was clear: In order to build the next liberal majority in this country, environmentalists must create bold new "frames" that will unite us with our working-class brothers and sisters around "shared values."
Werbach argued that to win we must begin by challenging our most basic assumptions. "What if we stopped Read more
Werbach argued that to win we must begin by challenging our most basic assumptions. "What if we stopped Read more
News
July 14, 2006
Major League Baseball's All-Star game is supposed to be a breezy exhibition of the sport's brightest stars. It's also a place for baseball's corporate patrons to be wined, dined and reassured about the current state of the game.
But at this year's All-Star game in Pittsburgh, the party was crashed by a bull-headed group of about seventy activists determined to change the way the corporate game is played. The Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance (PASCA) held a spirited rally outside Tuesday's game at PNC Park followed by a march to Roberto Clemente Bridge. The procession was Read more
But at this year's All-Star game in Pittsburgh, the party was crashed by a bull-headed group of about seventy activists determined to change the way the corporate game is played. The Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance (PASCA) held a spirited rally outside Tuesday's game at PNC Park followed by a march to Roberto Clemente Bridge. The procession was Read more
News
July 17, 2006
Natural and organic food chain Wild Oats has set up a program that will promote locally grown organic products in all its stores throughout North America.
The new initiative - 'Choose Local'- comes at a time of increased consumer interest in the origin of their food.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), farmers' markets have grown 79 percent since 1994 with approximately 3 million visitors each week in 2002. And natural product analysts at the Hartman Group report more than 75 percent of consumers would like to know more about where their food comes from Read more
The new initiative - 'Choose Local'- comes at a time of increased consumer interest in the origin of their food.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), farmers' markets have grown 79 percent since 1994 with approximately 3 million visitors each week in 2002. And natural product analysts at the Hartman Group report more than 75 percent of consumers would like to know more about where their food comes from Read more
News
July 13, 2006
Sandy Horrell, 59, of Crestwood, shops the organic aisle of the Shop n' Save produce section. ( David Carson/P-D)
Grocery chains worried about growing competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are facing a new headache: The giant discounter is launching a 10-month marketing campaign to promote its food operations, starting with organics.
Industry experts see the move as part of Wal-Mart's effort to attract more affluent shoppers while polishing an image tarnished by criticism from labor and consumer groups over its operations and employment policies.
Wal-Mart is a Read more
Grocery chains worried about growing competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are facing a new headache: The giant discounter is launching a 10-month marketing campaign to promote its food operations, starting with organics.
Industry experts see the move as part of Wal-Mart's effort to attract more affluent shoppers while polishing an image tarnished by criticism from labor and consumer groups over its operations and employment policies.
Wal-Mart is a Read more
News
July 10, 2006
MEDIA -- It’s official. Not only is this tiny
borough, the county seat, known as "Everybody’s Home Town," it became
the "First Fair Trade Town in the U.S." as shoppers and strollers
enjoyed Media’s Second Saturday of the Month event.
Councilwoman Monica Simpson formally announced the designation to a crowd of more than 100 people waiting to enjoy the Media Chamber Chorale at the Plum Street Mall.
It came on the heels of a resolution passed June 15 by borough council -- one of five criteria established by the British and European Fair Trade Read more
Councilwoman Monica Simpson formally announced the designation to a crowd of more than 100 people waiting to enjoy the Media Chamber Chorale at the Plum Street Mall.
It came on the heels of a resolution passed June 15 by borough council -- one of five criteria established by the British and European Fair Trade Read more
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