It isn't necessary to do a lot in order to make a difference. Just to be aware of the source of the things you buy, and to know that there might be an alternative, is a good beginning. Then to take action, even if it's only by buying one package of coffee instead of another, is a big step forward. There is no time like the present to take that step. After all, this is Fair Trade Month. But don't stop when October is over. Fair trade is an idea whose time has come.
Eat Food. Make a rice pudding with rice, sugar and vanilla and garnish it with sliced bananas or pineapple. Or make a pilaf by warming rice in olive oil before seasoning and boiling it. Or forget about cooking altogether and just have chocolate for dinner. But make sure the rice, sugar, vanilla, bananas, pineapple, olive oil and chocolate are all fair trade.
Educate Yourself. Information about fair trade is easily available on the internet. Spending a little bit of time surfing the web will give you a lot of information concerning the issue.
October is Fair Trade Month. It is a month set aside to recognize and support this important movement. Here are some of the things you can do to celebrate:
Drink Beverages. Coffee, tea and cocoa are among the first products that were fairly traded in the United States and now they are among the easiest products to find, both in retail stores and on the internet. You can also buy sugar to sweeten them with. Recently, delicious, fragrant, well-made wines have come onto the market, too.
"I can see the cards were right as usual," Ravena says, plopping down in an overstuffed chair, while Savannah deposits the basket on the coffee table and extracts the kitten from beneath the sofa."Anyway, I'm glad you're here, since I can't possibly keep this kitten," Savannah says, setting him next to the basket, which he plunges into, wrestling with a catnip mouse. "I was hoping you could find a home for him."Ravena ignores Savannah's comment and lifts the kitten, laying him in her lap, where he begins to purr loudly. "What do Thoth and Horus think of this little fellow?"Savannah shrugs and stretches out on the sofa. "You know cats. They're never happy about a newcomer."
Talk It Up. Once you have learned a little about fair trade, talk about it to your family and friends. Tell your kids about it at dinner. Ask your co-workers if they know about it while you are waiting for the elevator. Bring it up at your book club.
But before she can cast a sacred circle for a reading the doorbell rings. Ravena stands on the front porch, the warming breeze fanning her long blonde hair into a flaxen cloak, three tiny braids threaded throughout, each laced with ribbons and rune charms, a basket of cat toys looped over her arm."The weather station predicts a high today in the eighties." Ravena shakes her head. "Must be South Carolina!" She steps through the door, handing the basket to Savannah. "These are for your new kitten," she says, winking.Savannah gasps. "How did you know?""I'm a Witch
Gucci Men T shirt, remember?" Ravena replies, and then laughs. "Seriously
Armani Original Watches, I saw it in the tarot cards this morning."At that moment the kitten wheels out of Savannah's office, dancing like a Samhain cat, and darts under the sofa.
Decorate Your Home. Arts and crafts, home furnishings, bath products, stationery and musical instruments are all available as fair trade products. Different products can originate in several countries in Asia, Africa and South and Central America. So the next time you need a journal, want to change your bed comforter, or would like to add something eyecatching to decorate a wall, go for something out of the ordinary. Think fair trade.
Fair trade is a system of trade that promotes social justice. Its basic principles include fair wages, safe working conditions, community development, direct market access, democratic decision-making
Jimmy Choo Handbags, environmental protection and sustainable farming. Farmers and artisans join together to form cooperatives in which decisions are made democratically to establish supportive community systems such as schools, child care centers and health care centers and to ensure safe working conditions. Because growers and artisans have direct access to markets, the items farmed or produced by these cooperatives are available to the markets of the global north at competitive prices. At the same time, however, the profit goes to the grower or artisan, not to middlemen who might exploit workers for their own gain Moreover, the items produced are artisanal, so a consumer of these products is able to enjoy a unique and unusual item that is not mass-produced or mass-marketed.
Wear Clothing and Accessories. Fair trade clothing, scarves, shawls, jewelry and handbags are all available. And since they are all handmade and often exhibit the traditional crafts or styles of their place of origin, you won't merely be demonstrating a high level of social consciousness; you'll be unusually stylish as well.
Gucci Men T shirt October Is Fair Trade Month_6057
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