Fair Trade Campaigns in the Media – Fall 2017

Kylie Nealis December 12, 2017

Our campaigns have been making great progress all over the country, and getting a lot of media attention for it! From newly declared Fair Trade campaigns to Fair Trade educational events, there’s a lot of good news to share.


Texas A&M Becomes Largest Fair Trade University in the U.S.

Texas A&M Today, September 14, 2017

Texas A&M is the 46th and largest university in the nation, and only the second in Texas, to earn official designation as a Fair Trade University from Fair Trade Campaigns, a national initiative that engages students in issues of global poverty. Read more.


Fond du Lac businesses help make a Fair Trade Town

Fond du Lac Reporter, December 1, 2017

Three local businesses have been recognized for their efforts in creating a fair trade consumer environment. Natural Healthy Concepts, Annie’s Fountain City Cafe and The Artisan Salon-Barber were all honored by Fair Trade Towns Campaigns, a nonprofit aiming to mobilize conscious consumers locally.Carol Smith, committee member for Fond du Lac Fair Trade Town, said being a fair trade destination sets Fond du Lac apart as a progressive community caring about not just its citizens, but the rest of the world as well. Read more.


UNC Asheville Dining Services receives Green Restaurant, Fair Trade designations

 Mountain Xpress, September 13, 2017

UNC Asheville has just become the first higher education facility in the state of North Carolina to be designated as a Fair Trade University by Fair Trade Campaigns. UNC Asheville Dining Services worked together with a committee of student, faculty and staff volunteers to achieve this designation. Fair Trade is an economic system that ensures products were grown, harvested, crafted and traded in ways that improve lives and protect the environment. Fair Trade Campaigns officially recognize schools in the United States committed to educating students about the issues of Fair Trade and sourcing Fair Trade products like coffee, tea, and sugar. Read more.


UNR’s First “Fair Trade Fair” Targets Worker Abuses

KTVN, October 11, 2017

It was an historic day for activism today (Wednesday) at the University of Nevada, Reno: the very first Fair Trade Fair on campus….Students walking by the exhibition might have thought they were passing a geology display. Nope…this had a much more serious message. Advocate Marissa Crook, founder of UNR’s Students to Abolish Sex Slavery club told us the point of the fair was “to educate students about how they can use their purchasing power to end demand for goods made with forced labor.” Read more.


Houston, Texas Commits to Anti-Trafficking and Fair Trade

3BL Media, November 29, 2017

Fair Trade Campaigns is proud to announce Houston’s designation as the first Fair Trade Town in the state of Texas, the second largest Fair Trade Town in the United States. Houston is also the first major city to announce a zero tolerance human trafficking policy in city service contractsHouston joins over 45 other municipalities across the United States already recognized as Fair Trade Towns, including Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia. The movement, which started in England in 2000, today encompasses over 2,000 Fair Trade Towns in 29 countries around the world. Read more.


Meet Kendra Penry of Fair Trade Houston

Voyage Houston, December 6, 2017

Fair Trade Houston started as a response to the outpouring of concern over the issue of human trafficking in Houston, the US, and the world. Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of someone for the purposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Human trafficking affects every community in the United States across age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds. Most people when learning about this issue want to take action, but there is little that a civilian can do. We cannot rescue victims or prosecute criminals. What we can do, though, is examine how the actions we take and the products we buy either promote the act of trafficking or a solution to it.  Read more.


RU Green Throws Halloween Bash for Students 

The Torch, November 5, 2017

Yessenia Balcazar, sustainable studies major and president of RU Green, said “RU Green is working to make Roosevelt University a fair trade university.” Balcazar said the way RU Green is working to make this happen is by putting on an event every semester that features fair trade products. “We decided to stick with the Halloween theme to have this party and incorporate fair trade candy.” Read more.


Roots of Giving Fair Trade Fair

Loma Beat, November 30, 2017

“The Roots of Giving” is a fair trade gift fair that offers students a chance to get a jump start on holiday shopping from 6-10 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 1. Caf lane will be transformed into a bazaar of booths, selling goods and musical performances. The Center for Justice and Reconciliation is sponsoring the event in an effort to support socially conscious businesses. There will be a total of 32 vendors and five musicians, with many being PLNU students.  Read more.


MIIS students assemble socially conscious event for holiday season

Monterey County Weekly, December 7, 2017

As shoppers make their way through this holiday season, there is an uncompromising maxim they may or may not want to remember: “Fast fashion is a disaster for women and the environment.” That’s the title and the assertion of a piece reprinted in Forbes in July 2017 – originally posted to Quora by socially conscious entrepreneur Ayesha Barenblat – about the “fast fashion” business models of retailers like Zara, H&M and Forever 21, which mass-produce runway styles to capitalize on trendiness. But to move those clothes to market quickly, tens of millions of poor people will suffer low wages and abusive labor practices, and the environment will pay with toxic byproducts, and disposable clothing clogging landfills. Read more.

 


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Kylie Nealis, National Organizer for Fair Trade Colleges & Universities

Kylie brings over 5 years of community organizing and non-profit experience to Fair Trade USA, previously working with Global Exchange and Sierra Club. At Global Exchange she took on a variety of roles including Community Rights Program Associate, Fair Trade Campaign Coordinator, Fair Trade Store Sales Associate and Interim Director of Operations. For the past two years she worked in the Executive Office at Sierra Club providing support to C-level staff and the Board of Directors. Kylie is knowledgeable and passionate about Fair Trade, climate and energy issues, human rights and social and economic justice. Kylie graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a BA in Community Studies and Politics. She also lived in Thailand for 5 years and is conversational in Thai and learning Spanish. In her free time, Kylie enjoys being outdoors, hiking and traveling.