Fair Trade Big Bang!

We've always wanted to attend the Fair Trade Federation's annual conference. What's not to like about a weekend full of inspiration and fun? So far it had been a dream for a day when our budget more closely matched our wish list. Then this year the conference came to us! Well, not literally, but it came to Portland. Obviously a sign that we were meant to be there.

It was everything we had hoped: inspiring speakers, useful workshops, meeting new friends and connecting with old. We took away so much to ponder and process that we haven't taken the time to really share with you yet. We did take photos, hoping to post them and let them speak for us, but somehow they all came out just a bit off-- usually my eyes were closed. So I'll have to give you a few highlights.

• Being surrounded by other business people who love what they do, are committed to changing the world through their enterprises, and willingly share their experience and expertise.
• Finally putting faces to the names of the wonderful people who run the Fair Trade Federation and Fair Trade Resource Network.
• Hearing the stories of artisan groups from around the world and how Fair Trade really does improve their lives.
• Gathering ideas for everything from marketing to accounting, from communicating with customers to planning unique events.
• Expanding our already large wish list of products to bring to you.
• Buying and ordering wonderful new goods that we know you'll enjoy.
  

New in the shop because of the conference:
Shona Sculpture from Zimbabwe
Heirloom Rice from the Philippines
Recycled paper beaded jewelry from Uganda
Tagua Nut, Coconut, and Seed Jewelry from South America
Dolls and toys from around the world

Coming soon-- Silver jewelry from Mexico and musical instruments from JamTown.

Next year the Fair Trade conference is in Boston. It seems a long way off and a long way away, but we're already working on how to get there. We'll have to work a bit harder next time, but now we know just how worth it it will be.
DeLona

The Ripple Effect

My parents live on Whidbey Island and we enjoy a week's vacation on the island two times a year. In the past I've always enjoyed perusing the small local shops - much as many folks do here in Hood River while visiting the Gorge. Though with my strict budget in mind I've rarely spent money, that is, until the last year or two.

I think it's the perspective of running a retail business of my own that has inspired me to increase my small purchasing. There is nothing quite so discouraging for a small retail shop than to have customer after customer come in, tell you how much they love it, make a request or two about inventory and then leave without a purchase.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about the beloved local regulars who intentionally shop with us and also come by just to say hi once in while. And the last thing I want is for someone to make a token purchase of something they really don't need nor want. But what I've recognized in myself - when I'm on the other end of the counter - is a desire to support small business. And when I'm in a retail shop that is working to create a lovely little niche for itself and speaks to me in one way or another I can support that effort with a purchase. In my case, it's often a small purchase - a gift for a friend, or relative, a bar of chocolate, a book I can enjoy and pass along.

And here's the interesting part. As I walk out of the shop - I feel good! Most cases I'm still being frugal - not an over the top purchase for my budget. Often it's for someone else - that feels great anticipating their future enjoyment. And I've supported a local shop that I really hope will continue to be there when next I come this way again.

I used to think - how will my one little drop in the bucket make a difference? As a retailer I now know that the ripples of one little purchase, on top of another little purchase, followed by another little purchase create a great deal of difference in the expansion of abundance and prosperity both literally and figuratively.

Karen

March 27-29 the Fair Trade Federation will celebrate it's 15th birthday at it's annual national conference in Portland! And even more exciting to us - DeLona and I will be there! Though we attended the Green Business Conference in San Francisco a few years back since then we've poured all our time, energy and earnings back into the shop. However since the D.C. based organization is travelling all this way to convene in Oregon we couldn't pass of the opportunity to join the fun.

We're looking forward to tapping into the knowledge, inspiration, and experience of the larger Fair Trade movement! We'll also be networking with other small green business retailers and wholesalers. Our hope is to earn enough over the next couple weeks in the shop to be able to bring in some new inventory from fresh new Fair Trade connections made at the conference!

No doubt we'll be sharing some of our conference adventures here later this month!

Karen

What 3 incredible lessons did I learn in the hills of El Salvador?

I first discovered and celebrated International Women’s Day with a large group of Salvadoran women and children at the Segundo Montes repopulated refugee community on March 8, 1992.

That day I heard the experiences of mothers, grandmothers, and young women who had suffered through years of civil war, the loss of villages, and the flight across borders with soldiers and helicopters on their heels. I heard about the struggle to survive from a women’s perspective as partners, and mothers many of whom were left to raise children, and scrape out a living in exile while their men were absorbed into one side of the war or the other, disappeared, or killed. These were tales of true survivors – some of whom where not yet healed.

As the day progressed I also heard stories of women joining together to care for each other and their children and to take up positions of leadership in the rebuilding of the community. At the end of the day we joined hands in a circle to laugh and sing and send out prayers.

Now 18 years later I see clearly the 3 incredible lessons I absorbed that day:

1. Regardless of the hardship you suffer there is a strength and perseverance of spirit that only develops under severe stress but from which new life and renewed hope can grow.

2. Focus on what you have and what is here – not on what you don’t have. Be active in the solution to your situation. In the translated words of another Segundo Montes visitor about what he saw, “wealth is created from the inside out.”

3. Both numbers 1 & 2 are vastly enhanced if you do it in community. When working together it’s easier (and more fun) to live with joy and hope in the moment and take advantage of opportunities to celebrate the achievements already made though the road ahead appears long and hard.

Karen

P.S. Celebrate International Woman’s Day on the 8th! You will be participating in a nearly 100 year old tradition with women, men and children from around the world! Go to http://www.internationalwomensday.com/ to learn more.

P.S.S. 70% of Fair Trade producers are women! Fair Trade supports women to not only survive but thrive, create, and live in joy and health!

Ditching Plastics

I often find myself in conversation with like-minded parents in the shop about eco-healthy choices for kids. Many of us are concerned about chemicals that leach from plastic, like Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, that have been linked to developmental disorders and cancer. Currently the Oregon Environmental Council is taking up the cause to reduce plastics in child cares, in homes -- and on the shelves of second-hand stores.

They are collecting them and will deliver them to lawmakers in Salem who have the power to pass laws that keep toxic chemicals out of children’s products altogether.

And they are asking for our help to get the word out to parents in Oregon about these collection events, and their campaign to pass a children's safe products law. Help us spread the word! Here's what you can do:

1) Below are listed events where they’ll be collecting plastics.

2) We’ll have a petition, as well as a fact sheet about children's safe products legislation. Please come by the shop to read the information and sign the petition.

3) Share this campaign with friends and family and childcare providers who can in turn share with other parents. Go to the Oregon Environmental Council web site for more information!

http://www.oeconline.org/our-work/kidshealth/HealthyKids/dropyourtoxics

Collection events/locations:
Portland: Through March 1, you can drop off plastic toys & bottles at the Urban Grind coffee shop 2214 NE Oregon, Portland

Salem: Thursday, March 12, noon, at noon on the Capitol front steps. There will be other toys collected there, other parents, and speakers talking about the healthy kids bills before congress.

Our hope is for truly effective legislation to be created that tackles the root problems in the manufacturing of plastics without creating obstacles for small businesses and producers already doing it the right way! ~Karen

Trunk Show from Bambootique

Women helping women to end poverty is a big part of why we come to work each day. One of our many fabulous partners is the Fair Trade company Bambootique. Located in Portland, but featuring amazing artists from around the globe, the gals at Bambootique have a mission closely aligned with our own.

Come to our Trunk Show for Girl's Night Out on Wednesday the 18th from 5-8 and experience a little of what makes Bambootique so special.

We'll have

• Unique bags from Afghanistan
• Gorgeous Silk bags and accessories from Cambodia
• Jewelry from Thailand and Honduras

Plus a slideshow of the artists who bring you these amazing items. Goodies to munch on while you shop. Win a pair of silver and black pearl earrings.

Find out more about Bambootique

See you Wednesday!

A Slave for Chocolate?

Are you a slave to your chocolate craving? Even if you aren't, your favorite chocolate treat may be brought to you through child slavery. Yes, still, in 2009. In West Africa young boys are sold or lured in to slavery to work in the cocoa fields. Cocoa is a labor intensive crop to grow and harvest. When not managed in an organic and sustainable manner, it is also very chemical-intensive. But that is a different story for a different day.

Several years ago the major players in the international cocoa scene promised to get slavery out of the cocoa fields. The latest follow-up reports show that the efforts have not been effective in actual practice.

The only easy way to make sure that your chocolate was not harvested by a 13-year old slave is to choose Fair Trade chocolate. Fair Trade standards mean that small farmers using organic and sustainable farming methods grew your cocoa. Luckily there are more and more great Fair Trade chocolate choices to meet any chocolate craving.

In the store today we have Equal Exchange chocolates in 5 different flavors and cocoa levels, Divine dark and milk bars in a "snack" size and in the shapes of hearts for those Valentine's. Oh, and don't forget the latest Divine milk chocolate with crispy rice.

Each year our wonderful Fair Trade partners come out with new and yummier options for all tastes. And no worries about slave labor, not to mention lead, melamine..... need I say more?

Oh, but if you'd like more information, here are a few of my favorite resources.
http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign/1669

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2006/02/06/PM200602068.html

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/chocolatereport05.pdf

Happy Valentine's Day, as if you needed an excuse to enjoy chocolate, DeLona


For a further list of slave-free chocolates, check out Everyday Just Living's recent blog post