The Designation Plan

The short term aim is to get the Boulder registered as a “Fair Trade Town” by the Fair Trade Towns USA (www.fairtradetownsusa.org).  There are five main requirements:

1. Form a steering committee
2. Involve Fair Trade retailers and demonstrate that 20 stores are selling Fair Trade products
3. Engage the broader community and demonstrate that 20 organizations or companies are committed to serving/consuming Fair Trade products (eg coffee or tea).
4. Gain media attention of local activities and events
5. Pass a council resolution supporting Fair Trade and the Fair Trade Town

Where are we now?

Let’s take a look at where we are now in Boulder and what remains to be achieved in order to gain the designation.

Goal	Requirements/Indicators	Current Status	To Do
1. Steering Committee	List members	List needs updating; most minutes already online	Update list and post all minutes to blog & Facebook
2. Retailers	List of 20 retailers selling at least 2 Fair Trade products	List has many retailers, but needs verifying	Update list and verify products offered
3. Boulder Community	List of 20 organizations or workplaces serving Fair Trade coffee/tea	List has some organizations, but could be broader	Extend/broaden list of organizations, especially faith-based and student-based
4. Media coverage	Coverage in local media	Some articles about local retailers	Document previous coverage and gain new media attention – especially about Fair Trade Town campaign
5. Council Resolution	Resolution passed by City Council	Initial contact made with some council members	Extend contact and discuss timetable for resolution

There is much more to the “Fair Trade Town Boulder” campaign than the official designation, but it is an important first step.  It is also a process that naturally leads on to further growth and development of Boulder’s Fair Trade community.  After an initial period of making sure that goals 1 and 2 are achieved and documented, we will quickly move onto engaging Boulder in the campaign and therefore increasing the media coverage.  I think and hope that greater participation of faith organizations and the local student body will give Fair Trade a considerable boost in Boulder. 

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