Lead for Change Blog

Purchasing Policies Webinar – Save the Date!

July 17, 2013

Get your town or campus to institutionalize Fair Trade purchasing! In 2012 we rolled out Fair Trade Purchasing Policies in two towns and two colleges in the U.S. and we have used the results to construct new resources that will help campaigns across the country institutionalize Fair Trade purchasing! Model Procurement Policy Opportunity Assessment – for […]

Campaign Spotlight: Fond du Lac, WI

May 17, 2013

Fair Trade has been part of the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin landscape for several years, with First Presbyterian Church, Holy Family Catholic Community, and Pilgrim United Church of Christ leading the way by selling and serving Fair Trade products.  The Just Fare Market opened at First Presbyterian Church; in spite of limited space and open […]

New Organizing Toolkits!

May 15, 2013

Over the last few months the Fair Trade Campaigns team has been hard at work building Toolkits for organizers and advocates. Dozens of campaigns across the country have contributed to create a simple document linking together resources and providing a thorough overview of what it means to organize a Fair Trade Campaign. Now that it’s here, open it up, explore, learn, and share! Within the Toolkits you will […]

Infographic: The Impact of a Fair Trade Campaign

May 13, 2013

Our infographic illustrates the elements of a Fair Trade Campaign and correlates the increasing positive impact your work has on communities in developing countries as you advocate for Fair Trade. Display the infographic at your events as an eye-catching and easily digestible explanation of a Fair Trade Campaign for current and prospective supporters.  

Fair Trade Your Everyday

April 18, 2013

Here are some quick to pamper yourself the Fair Trade way, or easily incorporate Fair Trade into your weekend plans!   Spa Day or Night Every woman deserves a spa treatment.  Fair Trade is a perfect time to do so.  Why not treat yourself and friends to a facial, manicure/pedicure and include aromatherapy products? Here […]

Millennium Develpment Goals Webinar & World Fair Trade Day

March 20, 2013

Join 18 countries in collecting signatures from elected officials for World Fair Trade Day! The Millennium Development Goals come to an end in 2015.  Leaders of the world will come together at the next United Nations gathering in New York on September 23, 2013 to work on a new global development framework after 2015.  The […]

Campaign Spotlight – Chapel Hill, North Carolina

March 7, 2013

FIRST FAIR TRADE TOWN IN N.C. In the summer of 2012 Nadia took her students on a class visit to Ten Thousand Villages to learn about how Fair Trade can be a solution to exploitive labor practices in the fashion industry.  The store manager Keilayn Skutvik mentioned the Fair Trade Towns movement as a possible […]

Webinar: Fair Trade Towns & the UN’s Millennium Development Goals

February 20, 2013

The United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are coming to an end in 2015 – what lies ahead?   The International Fair Trade Towns community will be advocating for Fair Trade to be incorporated into a Post-MDG framework as a way to reform international trade to benefit farmers and workers around the world.  Join Fair […]

Giveaway: Hand in Hand Soap

January 7, 2013

We’re giving away 5 bars of sustainable, Fair Trade suds with our friends from Hand in Hand soap! Check out this great company and enter your chance to win at the bottom of this page. The bath & body brand, Hand in Hand Soap was founded by couple, Bill Glaab & Courtney Apple.  During research, […]

International Fair Trade Towns Conference – A Global Affair

December 13, 2012

By: Courtney Lang, National Organizer – Fair Trade Towns USA It’s hard to know when you’re in Boston, MA or Teaneck, NJ that there are tens of thousands of Fair Trade Town organizers across the globe.  As of December 2012, there are 1,227 declared Fair Trade Towns in 24 countries and 6 continents.  Imagine if […]

Who is Fair for Life?

December 12, 2012

How many of you have enjoyed a delicious Equal Exchange chocolate bar, or woken up to a refreshing Guiyaki Yerba Mate?  Have you noticed the Fair for Life label presented to you on their packaging?  Through this guest blog post, Fair Trade Towns hopes to clarify who Fair for Life is and the key features […]

Post Conference Challenge – Win Free Stuff!!

November 5, 2012

Thank you everyone who came to the conference, you brought incredible energy and enthusiasm. For those of you who didn’t have the opportunity to attend, take heart; we will be posting reflections, resources and various documents from the conference in the coming weeks. Meanwhile please participate in our Post Conference Challenge! We want to head out […]

Hoist the main sail, tharrr be coffee on the high seas!

September 23, 2012

Carrotmob is a new way for people to influence businesses to make them more sustainable. Instead of organizing boycotts, we offer to spend money as a group to support a business if the business agrees to make an improvement that we care about. Everyone wins – businesses get money and we achieve unprecedented social impact. […]

Jenn visiting the artisans of Hajiganj Kaisa Basket in Bangladesh, making the Fair Trade baskets we sell at Ten Thousand Villages.

Campaign Spotlight: Winter Park, Florida

August 24, 2012

Guest Blogger:  Jennifer Shroeder, Co-Manager at Ten Thousand Villages-Winter Park and Steering Committee Member with Fair Trade Winter Park   Here is a blog post from the small, but mighty team in Winter Park/Orlando, Florida.  Winter Park recently became the 27th Fair Trade Town in the USA and here you’ll discover their path to becoming […]

Campaign Spotlight: Pasadena, California

July 26, 2012

Fair Trade Pasadena turned 2 years old in January 2012, where the movement has continued to gain momentum in the historic city bordering downtown Los Angeles. The fervor for Fair Trade is not new to Pasadena. Several years ago many organizations and religious groups, along with several enthusiastic city officials, united to help open a Ten Thousand Villages store on Lake Street, the center of a busy shopping market. The stage was set to become a Fair Trade Town.

RECORDING: Answering Difficult Questions Webinar

July 18, 2012

  On July 10, Fair Trade Towns USA hosted a webinar called Answering Difficult Questions in Your Community.  With the help of two of our National Steering Committee and local lead organizers, Joan Harper (Fair Trade Los Angeles) and Ryan McDonnell (Fair Trade Boston), this webinar helped to bring clarity to the challenges and issues […]

Go Bananas for Fair Trade this October!

July 12, 2012

Take The Challenge We need you to build consumer demand for Fair Trade bananas in your community!  Take the Go Bananas Challenge from noon on October 13 to noon on October 21 by organizing Fair Trade banana themed events.  Campaigns will submit photos and/or number of bananas eaten at their event(s) to win cool prizes.  […]

Save the Date: National Conference

July 10, 2012

  Save the Date: National Conference Friday – Sunday, October 26 – 28, 2012 Chicago, IL   To bring together Fair Trade enthusiasts from across the nation, Fair Trade Towns & Colleges/ Universities will be organizing the 2nd annual National Conference in Chicago on the weekend of October 26-28. The 3-day gathering will focus on […]