The Chocolate Fudge Cafe

National Press Release from Fair Trade Resource Network website. 

IS THERE A SWEATSHOP IN YOUR HOME? HUNDREDS OF EVENTS PLANNED NATIONWIDE TO ENCOURAGE AMERICANS TO “FAIR TRADE YOUR HOME” Events to Provide Simple But Effective Tips For Creating a Fair Trade Home; Common Household Sweatshop Items That Can be Fairly Traded are Clothing, Home Goods and Chocolate. WASHINGTON, D.C.//April 29, 2010//Is there a sweatshop in your home?  For millions of Americans, the answer is an unwitting yes.  Americans across the country can find out how to replace goods made in sweatshops with Fair Trade products at hundreds of events taking place across the U.S. over the course of the next two weeks to mark World Fair Trade Day on May 8^th  (http://www.fairtraderesource.org/wftd-10/). They can also win great Fair Trade prizes by submitting pictures of fairly traded goods in their homes (http://www.fairtraderesource.org/wftd-10/fair-trade-my-home-contests/). Most Americans would be appalled to learn of the extent to which the everyday items that they use in their homes are produced in sweatshops or even by slave labor.  Widely used household items that fall into this category are all forms of clothing – from t-shirts to dress clothes to jewelry, home goods – including furniture and decorative items, and foods – including chocolate, coffee, sugar and spices.  World Fair Trade Day organizers are calling on Americans to get those sweatshop items out of their home and to instead “Fair Trade your home” to support farmers and artisans worldwide. World Fair Trade Day national campaign coordinator, and Executive Director, Fair Trade Resource Network Jeff Goldman, said:  “There are lots of reasons to celebrate Fair Trade as we bring dignity and justice to millions of vulnerable farmers and artisans around the world. By committing to use Fair Trade goods at home, we can enjoy high quality and take action to improve our world. The Fair Trade system helps producers and suppliers earn a living wage and take steps to protect the environment.  It also serves to empower individuals and communities, support women’s and children’s rights, promote dignity and respect, and connect developing nations with developed nations and markets. World Fair Trade Day is the largest Fair Trade event in North America, with over 65,000 people having participated in 2009.   In the U.S., small businesses, high schools, universities, churches, groups and individuals will be raising awareness about the benefits of buying Fair Trade products.  The theme of this year’s events is “Fair Trade My Home”.  Events across the country include: scavenger hunts, coffee tastings, dinner parties, arts and crafts festivals, and so much more.

Major co-sponsors of World Fair Trade Day include nonprofit and faith-based organizations, such as Green America, Catholic Relief Services, Fair Trade Towns and Fair for Life, as well as retail companies, such as Ben and Jerry’s, Wholesome Sweeteners, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, and Anti-Body.

5 TIPS TO “FAIR TRADE YOUR  HOME” Some of the best ways to get rid of sweatshop items in your home and to go Fair Trade are as follows: ·         Purchase Fair Trade Coffee, Tea, Sugar, and Cocoa:  When conventionally purchased, these popular food items are often grown in “sweatshops in the fields.”  Buying them Fair Trade Certified™ means that farmers are being paid a fair wage and communities are being supported.·         Purchase Fair Trade clothes – from t-shirts, to shoes to dresses, there is beautiful Fair Trade clothing from all over the world made by artisans who are paid a living wage.·         Buy Fair Trade Home goods – plates, tablecloths, and even furniture can be purchased Fair Trade.·         Buy Fair Trade handicrafts – from vases to sculptures to rugs – Fair Trade artisans produce beautiful crafts. And, when you purchase them from Fair Trade organizations, you know that no child labor or sweatshops were involved. ·         Gift Fair Trade – You can purchase Fair Trade toys for kids, sculptures for adults, and chocolate for everyone on your list.  When you gift Fair Trade, you are giving a high quality product and introducing someone to the value of purchasing Fair Trade every day. About World Fair Trade Day On and around May 8th, people in 80 countries worldwide will hold events to mark World Fair Trade Day in order to highlight the importance and benefits of Fair Trade. Across North America, participants are entering “Fair Trade My Home” contests. Both individuals, as well as organizations, will win Fair Trade prizes for bringing Fair Trade, or deepening Fair Trade, in their homes. Fair Trade supporters will host hundreds of events to encourage the public to take home many Fair Trade items, and enter the contests. Events such as festivals, fashion shows, speeches, food and drink tastings, film showings, sports games, neighborhood crawls, and concerts are being planned to help celebrate the day from May 1-15. CONTACT:   Leslie Anderson, (703) 276-3256 or landerson@hastingsgroup.com.  

 Shawn Askinosie of Askinosie Chocolate talks about Direct Trade vs. Fair Trade

      The following is an excerpt from the FAQ page of Askinosie Chocolate’s website.  Shawn Askinosie, the founder, has traveled extensively in cacao-growing regions and he has a direct relationship with the farmers he purchases cacao from.  I really appreciate his “first-hand” explanation of “direct trade”, and the sharing of his experiences importing cacao into the U.S.  (Shawn is the tall one in the back of the photo.)

I shop fair trade as much as possible. How do you pay your farmers and how do they share in the profits? 
I love the Fair Trade idea.  I believe that we have to be vigilant that Fair Trade does not become a marketing gimmick or reduced to a bumper sticker.  We must ask the questions and dig deeper to find out how the company treats those that supply them raw materials AND how they treat their own employees. Fair Trade has been scrutinized because some question if the money ever finds its way to the farmer in the field and not coop bureaucrats. My chocolate is not “certified” Fair Trade mainly because the farmers I deal with cannot afford the certification and they are very loosely organized. They are very poor. I go way beyond Fair Trade and here is how I do it:

1. I deal DIRECT with the farmers 100%.  I have a rule that I will not buy beans from farmers I have not met - in person.  This is hard because I travel a lot and while it is fun it’s not always easy.  The travel is not the hard part; it is the complicated nature of importing that I do myself.  I have a local company that handles shipping and customs clearing, but other than that it is all me.  I am the only chocolate factory in the US (that I am aware of) that sources 100% of their beans direct. There may be one other person who does this, but I cannot verify this and he is a much smaller company.  When I go to these origins I see the farms and determine myself the issues that a Fair Trade certifier would look at. The main thing is that I am building relationships with the farmers and their families.  This is hard and takes time, but it is worth it.
2. I pay far above the Fair Trade market price (which is set above the world market price) for beans.
3. I have implemented a program called Stake in the Outcome^TM  (a profit sharing program for the farmers) which is described on our website at “The Farmers”.  This guarantees to the farmers open books.  This is not a negotiation tactic to get them to lower the price on the beans; it is in ADDITION to what I pay them for the beans.  I know the name of every farmer who contributed to the crop in both locations.  This is something that I doubt any other chocolate maker in the world can say.  You can’t share with someone if you don’t know their name.  I distributed my first profits in Ecuador in December 2007 and in Mexico in January 2008.  These were, by far, my best days yet in the chocolate business!  They said that nobody had ever come back to thank them, let alone share money with them and show the books.  
4. Why is Stake in the Outcome important?  This directly affects the quality of the cocoa beans I buy.  It affects quality in a way that Fair Trade never will. One day farmers will give me higher quality beans to my specifications when they see that they will make more money if I make more money.  They will literally share in my success.  I have a very detailed specification now for the beans I buy, but I know that what I buy will be even higher quality than what I have now.  I have done this with my law practice for nearly a decade.  My secretaries, for example, knew the details of our income statement and made more money when I did.  Why should companies in the US buy raw materials, jack up the price, and not share the profits with those who they source from?  My prayer is that one day a small company from another industry will ask me how to implement this model.  If I can inspire even one other company to adopt Stake In the Outcome, then I will have been a success in this business.  I have had the “career” and it is not about that now.  If I was doing this business to get rich I would have stayed in my law practice.  This program will not change the world but it might change the life of a farmer or two or three.

   EARTH’S SWEET PLEASURES IS ON A QUEST TO CREATE THOUSANDS OF “FAIR TRADE HOMES” FOR WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY, 2010

EARTH’S SWEET PLEASURES is a part of “Fair Trade My Home,” a grass-roots campaign of fair trade companies, individuals and organizations who are inviting friends and fans to join the fair trade movement and make their home a “Fair Trade Home” in honor of World Fair Trade Day, May 8th, 2010. The goal is to create as many self-declared Fair Trade Home’s as possible by having people submit a photo or video showing which fair trade goods they regularly purchase and use in their home. Submissions are being gathered at www.fairtrademyhome.com  Fair trade is an alternative way of doing trade, where the people producing a product are treated fairly, paid fairly, and are being fair to the environment. A home that is committed to the purchase and use of fair trade goods is a “Fair Trade Home.”  What was started in America by one woman with a vision has become a global movement involving over 60 countries, 1.5 million workers. In America, over 1,500 companies and retailers offer fair trade goods, there are 13 fair trade towns, and over 300 college campuses that support fair trade.  The purpose of Fair Trade My Home is to raise greater awareness of fair trade to the American consumer, so that each person will choose to integrate more fair trade purchases into his or her regular buying habits, and cut down on poverty both in America and around the world.  EARTH’S SWEET PLEASURES not only creates fair trade products/supports fair trade, it is actively encouraging the community to join in making homes fair.

ABOUT WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY - World Fair Trade Day is a global celebration of fair trade and will be held in 2010 on May 8th. In North America, Fair Trade Resource Network is leading the World Fair Trade Day 2010 event with complimentary efforts from the Fair Trade the White House campaign. In 2009, World Fair Trade Day involved 65,020 people at 456 events covered by 101 media stories. www.ftrn.org.

ABOUT FAIR TRADE MY HOME - The theme of Fair Trade My Home is an extension of the Fair Trade the White House campaign, a coalition of fair trade vendors and organizations which are inviting the First Lady to join the fair trade movement and make the White House a “Fair Trade Home.” www.fairtrademyhome.com   www.fairtradewhitehouse.com