Drumming and Fun for WFTD

World Fair Trade Day was a blast

We drummed, drank tea and coffee, ate chocolate, and learned why Fair Trade makes such a difference to artists and farmers around the world.

Small Planet Trading had twice as many people sign in as part of the world record break as we did last year. Thanks to all of you for participating with us. Big thanks to Eric Lindsay for leading the drum circle.

We'll keep you up to date with results from the day around the country as they come in.

Enjoy a few of our photos and a short video clip of the fun.

Join us in the shop this Saturday
11:00 Drum Circle,
12:00 Coffee, Tea, & Chocolate Break!
Storewide Sale all weekend
Prizes, fun, break the world record

WFTD 2009 - Everything Is Better When It’s Fair

Saturday, May 9, 2009, is World Fair Trade Day, an international celebration of Fair Trade, with events taking place in over 80 countries. In the U.S., our theme is “Everything Is Better When It’s Fair”. The lives of producers and consumers are better because of Fair Trade. When we support Fair Trade, we not only support the people who make the items we consume and enjoy, we also support the environment, women’s rights, children’s rights, cultural dignity and peace building. That’s a powerful thing to do by choosing to buy Fair Trade products.

The theme also reminds us that Fair Trade is more than coffee, chocolate and handcrafts. Americans can now enjoy Fair Trade sugar, bananas, rice, soccer balls, flowers, wine and more! Retail sales in the U.S. of Fair Trade products surpassed $1 billion per year.

Read more about WFTD 2009 at the Fair Trade Resource Network.

Our pledge to you

It's Earth Day, the weather is finally feeling a bit spring like here in The Gorge, so we're in a mood to celebrate. Saturday we'll be taking some of our favorite eco-friendly items down the block to the Hood River Earth Day festival.

But for me, as I know it is for most of you, Earth Day is just one more day in the year to consider my impact on the Earth and my relationship to it. So I thought I'd share Small Planet Trading's updated Sustainability Pledge. We made the pledge in 2006 on our first Earth Day celebration as a shop and each year we review, revise and renew our commitment to our vision of a sustainable business and community. We welcome your input, ideas and suggestions for how we can continue to deepen our plege.

Small Planet Trading

Sustainability Pledge

April 22, 2006 Updated April 2009

Sustainable Practices

We reuse and recycle paper products and packing materials, compost food scraps, and purchase office supplies that contain recycled and recyclable content. We use washable mugs and utensils on our sample table and provide compostable cups and napkins for take aways sampling.

Local Economy

We support local currency by accepting and spending RiverHours. We support local artists and producers by providing shelf space for locally crafted items.

Healthy Planet

We support international and local artists who implement eco-friendly practices. We stock inventory that helps us live lighter on the Earth and provide customer education to that end.

We participate in the Green Merchant Alliance and support sustainable energy choices through our merchant processing services.

We will work towards off-setting carbon emissions on our imported inventory by donating to tree planting and reforestation projects.

Stronger Community Ties

We connect with, refer to and collaborate with other local businesses and projects. Through our Common Good Thursday program, we raise awareness and funds for local non-profits and groups. We support youth work experience and mentor young social entrepreneurs.

We will work towards offering Fair Trade education and curriculum ideas to local schools.

Meaningful Employment

We have a lot of fun in our business. We will continue to run our business cooperatively. We will continue to provide a child-friendly work environment.

We will work towards compensating all staff with a living wage.

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!