Competition to Win Caribbean Trip & Year’s Supply of Fair Trade Ice Cream

We're holding a competition to raise awareness of fair trade in Boulder and give away some awesome prizes...

• 1st Prize: Trip to Dominican Republic
• 2nd Prize: Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Every Week for 2012
• More prizes from Alfalfa's Altitude Spirits, Dsenyo, BeadforLife, Momentum, prAna, SlowColor and Third St Chai

Get the scoop on our competitions page and in the press release and poster below...
Fair Trade Boulder: Trip Competition Poster 2011 Fair Trade Boulder: Trip Competition Press Release 2011

What is a Fair Trade Town?

Media, PA is the first Fair Trade Town in the USA and their video gives an excellent introduction to what a Fair Trade Town can become...

A Guide for Congregations to Support Fair Trade in Boulder

A couple of months ago we sent out a letter (see below for template) to congregations in Boulder and included this guide to help them see what they can easily do to support fair trade.   Fair Trade Faith Groups Boulder Guide







The template letter is also included for other Fair Trade Towns to use...

Fair Trade Faith Groups Letter Template

Churches & Communities: Engaging through Fair Trade

Fair Trade Towns USA has put last month’s webinar about Churches & Communities Engaging through Fair Trade online. It’s a one-hour discussion from different perspectives.  As a part of the webinar Billy Linstead Goldsmith gives a presentation on how Fair Trade Town campaigns can reach out to local churches and faith groups.  I’ve summarized it below.


Webinar: Churches & Communities Engaging Through Fair Trade from Courtney Lang on Vimeo.


Why Churches?
Churches are important for fair trade town campaigns, because many of them were pioneers in fair trade and so are a key part of the fair trade movement.  Fair trade also sits well with religious values, so it is a natural combination.

First Steps to Reach Out to Churches
Start with people you know - ask other members of your steering committee who goes to church.  Also ask whether members know friends or family who are church goers.  Church goers can then inquire at church about what the church is doing and who would be the most relevant person to speak with.  The church could well have a social justice committee and so this would be a good starting point.  Find out what the church is already doing with respect to fair trade and questions of social justice/global trade.

Search on the internet to find churches that are already active in fair trade.  Googling may well help you find churches that already serve fair trade, promote it in educational/informational events or sell fair trade products through the church or perhaps in its cafe.

Clergy associations or interfaith groups offer opportunities to get the word out to a range of churches.  You can think of it as the spiritual equivalent of a chamber of commerce - a forum for meeting a variety of faith groups.  

Conversing with Churches
Start by talking with individuals who you think/know will be interested in fair trade.  Invite them to steering committee meetings so that they can find out more about the fair trade town campaign.  

Putting together an informational session will help churches become more acquainted with the concept of fair trade.  Although many churches have been active in fair trade for some decades, the local church itself may be quite new to fair trade.  Presenting fair trade to the churches will help them see how it fits with their value system and yet also offer a way to find out what they are already doing and what they already know.  

So these conversations offer routes to inform the churches and also to explore where their interests lie.  So you should include basic information about fair trade (facts, talking points, examples, pictures, case studies, links to fair trade information from their national body); you should also see it as a way to learn more about them and what motivates them.

From the Church’s Perspective
Churches are busy, focused, have a unique culture and they are frequently asked to support campaigns.  Sit it is important to not give up at the first try.  It is also particularly important to find out what drives them and how they operate.  

Consider how the local fair trade town campaign will benefit the church.  What opportunities are there for the church to reach out to the community via fair trade?  Are there opportunities to increase their visibility?  How exactly does fair trade and the fair trade town campaign relate to their spiritual values?

Supporting Churches
You will most likely connect with a specific individual.  yet this person may not be as familiar with fair trade as you are.  It is important to support them by providing information that they need when talking with their colleagues at the church.  Consider what materials they would benefit from when they are discussing the initiative with out you.  Moreover you may like to offer to be present so that they can draw upon you for specific questions about fair trade.  

Programs, Events and Resources
What events are there (or will there be in the future)?  What plans do you have?  How many people are likely to attend?

Consider also events and resources at a national level.  Billy recently toured the country with a producer, which allowed churches to hold events linked to this.  

Webinars and other resources are available via www.fairtradetownsusa.org and elsewhere to help churches become more involved with fair trade.  For example, do they need assistance with introducing fair trade into the church Sunday school curriculum?  

Summary
In short, churches offer considerable opportunities for a fair trade town campaign to reach out to those who will have a natural interest in the cause.  However, we need to be careful to foster a mutually beneficial relationship, where the congregation and fair trade campaign cooperate together.

Update on progress toward Fair Trade Town status

We're getting closer to gaining the status of being a Fair Trade Town.  There are 5 hurdles to jump and we have cleared two of them.  To be a Fair Trade Town, Boulder needs...

1. steering committee (achieved), 
2. media attention (achieved)
3. at least 20 retailers selling Fair Trade products (we're documenting this)
4. at least 20 community organizations such as schools, universities, faith groups that promote Fair Trade (we're starting to make contact with them) 
5. a resolution supporting Fair Trade passed by the city council (we're working on this)

In yesterday's steering committee meeting, we decided to focus on the retailers and we'll be reaching out to them over the next couple of weeks to document exactly where you can buy Fair Trade in Boulder.  If you are a retailer offering Fair Trade products - please do contact us to get included in the online map and to participate in this initiative.  

Stay up to date with the Fair Trade Town Boulder campaign online via…

• Facebook
• Twitter
• This blog (www.boulderfairtrade.org)

You can reach me by email (boulderfairtrade [at] gmail.com).

Howard Vickers

Fair Trade Town Boulder Coordinator

Fair Trade Crawl Saturday

Hello Everyone -

We are just a few days away from our Fair Trade Crawl around Boulder!  Just a reminder that this Saturday (5/14) from 10am-3pm, 10 fun-filled locations will be featuring their Fair Trade products. 

Crawl around to at least 3 locations and you're eligible to enter drawings for prizes -- And! we've add more prizes due to interest in this event!

To print a drawing form with location info including their events and drawing rules, click on the image below.  Note: You may need to enlarge the image under your print settings options.

Prizes include:

Fair Trade gift bags from Whole Foods • Cycling Jersey from The Cup • $35 gift certificates to Dsenyo.com and Wanderlustjewelry.com • One free month of Bhakti chai and an eco-grocery tote • Fair Trade Tea tins from the Tea Spot • Coffee from Boulder Organic Coffee • Fair Trade ornaments from Rabbit Brush Gallery • Jewelry from BeadforLife • $25 gift card to Sunflower Farmers Market • LÄRABARs with Fair Trade ingredients • Iced tea and chai from 3^rd Street Chai • Zambeezi t-shirt • Fair Trade gift bag from Ideal Market • Scarf by SlowColor


We'll wrap up the crawl with live music at BeadforLife (2336 Canyon Blvd, Boulder) at 3:30pm by Madziva Mana!

Happy crawling!

Fair Trade Towns Boulder

Fair Trade Towns Boulder Crawl

In honor of World Fair Trade Day, Fair Trade Towns Boulder would like to invite you to join with us in our excitement as we have created a unique opportunity for our community to explore Fair Trade offerings in Boulder.  On May 14, 2011 we will have a Fair Trade Towns Boulder Crawl; a chance for our community to learn about providers of Fair Trade goods.

All participating locations will be offering demos and samples of their Fair Trade items. 

And other perks?  WIN prizes for crawling around town!  Prizes include:

Fair Trade gift bags from Whole Foods • Bakti t-shirt • $35 gift certificates to Dsenyo.com and Wanderlustjewelry.com • One free month of Bhakti chai and an eco-grocery tote • Fair Trade Tea tins from the Tea Spot • Coffee from Boulder Organic Coffee • Fair Trade ornaments from Rabbit Brush Gallery • Jewelry from BeadforLife • $25 gift card to Sunflower Farmers Market • LÄRABARs with Fair Trade ingredients • Iced tea and chai from 3^rd Street Chai • Zambeezi t-shirt • Fair Trade gift bag from Ideal Market

For a listing of all locations, participants and drawing entry forms please see image below. 

If you have any questions, feel free to post on our Facebook wall (Fair Trade Towns Boulder) or direct your inquiry to boulderfairtrade@gmail.com. 

Happy crawling!

Fair Trade Towns Boulder Team

Click on photo below to print your crawl form.  You may need to enlarge image under print setup to print a full page.