
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
June 20, 2006
WASHINGTON - June 20 - Local and national groups across the country this week will take the following message to the streets in front of Starbucks locations in 23 cities: Stop serving hormone-laden milk to your customers. Their efforts are part of a national campaign, coordinated by the consumer group Food & Water Watch, which since March has been urging the Seattle-based coffee leader to stop buying milk made with artificial growth hormones.
Citing evidence of harm to dairy cows and questions about human health impacts, 30 groups will hand out flyers in cities ranging from Read more
Citing evidence of harm to dairy cows and questions about human health impacts, 30 groups will hand out flyers in cities ranging from Read more
News
July 1, 2006
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Eden Foods has been recognized with the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance's (MOFFA) 2005 Community Service Award.
This Community Service Award "recognizes extraordinary efforts to educate and inform the general public about the importance of local, organic food systems in Michigan."
In a letter to Eden's President, Michael Potter, MOFFA Board Chair Jim Bingen wrote, "Eden Foods has been a generous contributor to various community and farmer events throughout Michigan Read more
Eden Foods has been recognized with the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance's (MOFFA) 2005 Community Service Award.
This Community Service Award "recognizes extraordinary efforts to educate and inform the general public about the importance of local, organic food systems in Michigan."
In a letter to Eden's President, Michael Potter, MOFFA Board Chair Jim Bingen wrote, "Eden Foods has been a generous contributor to various community and farmer events throughout Michigan Read more
News
June 18, 2006
POCO FUNDO, Brazil – Rosevaldo Jose Pereira has never been to Wal-Mart. The name doesn’t mean anything to the lifelong coffee farmer in this remote village in southeastern Brazil.
But Wal-Mart Stores Inc. knows who he is. And the world’s largest retailer is changing his life.
Wal-Mart is in the midst of overhauling its tightfisted image to win over shoppers searching for more than low prices.
That effort has taken the company that built an empire on the principle of high volume and low costs into previously uncharted territory, into the realm of trendy apparel Read more
But Wal-Mart Stores Inc. knows who he is. And the world’s largest retailer is changing his life.
Wal-Mart is in the midst of overhauling its tightfisted image to win over shoppers searching for more than low prices.
That effort has taken the company that built an empire on the principle of high volume and low costs into previously uncharted territory, into the realm of trendy apparel Read more
News
June 14, 2006
Dear Friend,
Wal-Mart proudly boasts of over 2,600 stores and half a million employees outside the United States. But have you ever stopped to think about what that means?
If Wal-Mart has such a difficult time living up to Sam Walton's vision here in the US, one can only imagine the conditions and practices in places like China, Guatemala or Mexico, where labor and environmental abuses are far more common.
That's why organizations across the globe have joined the growing coalition around Wal-Mart Watch's "Handshake With Sam" agreement. Just like you, these Read more
Wal-Mart proudly boasts of over 2,600 stores and half a million employees outside the United States. But have you ever stopped to think about what that means?
If Wal-Mart has such a difficult time living up to Sam Walton's vision here in the US, one can only imagine the conditions and practices in places like China, Guatemala or Mexico, where labor and environmental abuses are far more common.
That's why organizations across the globe have joined the growing coalition around Wal-Mart Watch's "Handshake With Sam" agreement. Just like you, these Read more
News
June 16, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO - Major international footwear companies would be wise to pay as much attention to the plight of their workers as their marketing campaigns during the World Cup, said the international human rights group Oxfam, which ranked each of the world's major sportswear companies for a new report, ''Offside! Labor Rights and Sportswear Production in Asia.'' According to Oxfam, workers making clothes, shoes, and other goods for global sports brands have been dismissed or threatened with violence when they have organized unions to lobby for better pay and conditions. The report said a Read more
News
June 14, 2006
After saturating its target market of working class, bargain-hunting consumers, Wal-Mart is ratcheting up its low-price strategy to appeal to more upscale shoppers by expanding its merchandise lines to include organic foods, better wines, high-end consumer electronics and new fashion-oriented apparel. It's an approach that carries some risk, say Wharton faculty and analysts, but that is dictated by intense competition and the lack of other opportunities for growth.
The changes come as Wal-Mart -- the world's largest retailer with annual sales of more than $300 billion -- has Read more
The changes come as Wal-Mart -- the world's largest retailer with annual sales of more than $300 billion -- has Read more
News
June 13, 2006
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Police wearing riot gear moved into an urban Los Angeles community garden on Tuesday to evict tree-sitting celebrity Darryl Hannah, along with other campaigners trying to save it from destruction.
At least 25 immigrant farmers and their supporters were arrested on trespass charges, police said, but Hannah, an actress best known for playing a mermaid in "Splash," remained perched 40 feet up a walnut tree in the 14-acre (5.7-hectare) fruit and vegetable garden in gritty south Los Angeles.
In the past three weeks, folk singer Joan Baez and anti- Read more
At least 25 immigrant farmers and their supporters were arrested on trespass charges, police said, but Hannah, an actress best known for playing a mermaid in "Splash," remained perched 40 feet up a walnut tree in the 14-acre (5.7-hectare) fruit and vegetable garden in gritty south Los Angeles.
In the past three weeks, folk singer Joan Baez and anti- Read more
News
June 12, 2006
When one thinks of Fair Trade, coffee might percolate as an item on your socially- and environmentally-conscious shopping list.
But you wouldn't be erroneous if you slipped bananas into that Fair Trade mix either.
And a couple from Byrne Road, near Morell, recently wrapped up a three-month Canadian Crossroads International placement in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the West Indies helping banana growers to continue their progression into the Fair Trade market and organic production.
"I don't think I could pinpoint just one memory because the entire trip Read more
But you wouldn't be erroneous if you slipped bananas into that Fair Trade mix either.
And a couple from Byrne Road, near Morell, recently wrapped up a three-month Canadian Crossroads International placement in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the West Indies helping banana growers to continue their progression into the Fair Trade market and organic production.
"I don't think I could pinpoint just one memory because the entire trip Read more
News
March 28, 2006
These analyzes are in a corporate tracking database from AgInfoLink, Inc. and reflect current, actual real-life steps in the "chains" that are typical in today's food systems. Food tracking has not been done historically, but over the last 5 years, food traceability is increasing significantly because of food security and other issues.
This is a real example, and obviously does not include the other ingredients: MILES TRAVELED BY WHEAT FOR CAKE MIX Read more
This is a real example, and obviously does not include the other ingredients: MILES TRAVELED BY WHEAT FOR CAKE MIX Read more
News
June 4, 2006
If you live in the town of Athens in southeastern Ohio, there are politically correct reasons not to eat a California strawberry. Think of the pollution and the global warming caused by its transport. Think of the ascendancy of corporate agribusiness over family farms. Think of the loss of nutrients during a weeklong journey from soil to supermarket. But to Barbara Fisher, an Athens cooking teacher, there's a more primal motive for choosing a homegrown variety over the "beautiful, flavorless, plastic" kind shipped from California: "When people bite into ripe strawberries from a local farmer Read more