Resolve to buy Fair Trade

Written on: January 3, 2017

If you are looking for a New Year’s resolution, this may be just the one! Resolve to buy fair trade coffee and/or tea or any other fair trade product.

What is Fair Trade coffee?

Fair Trade is a voluntary program utilized by coffee importers and food companies to create an alternative market for traditionally disadvantaged producers in developing countries, usually small scale farmers.

You have probably seen the Fair Trade Certified label. It is meant to help you make choices with the confidence that the product you are purchasing is socially and environmentally sustainable. While best known for coffee, Fair Trade Certified has grown to encompass many products, from tea to chocolate to body care to wine.

Equal Exchange, founded thirty years ago is one of the organizations that work closely with 40 small farmer cooperatives in 20 countries. Their business is a co-op made up of 130 worker-owners in several offices across the U.S. Click here  for some excellent and enjoyable information on their work. You will learn about the farmers, how Equal Exchange shares risks with them, and why it’s so important to stop the agribusiness giants who dominate our food choices and pollute the planet. You will also learn about regional events and how to connect with issues of concern and urgency.

To keep your New Year’s resolution you may order online at shop.equalexchange.coop. This company provides assistance to farmers in improving the processing of coffee and also shares profits with Catholic Relief Services– Doubly good!

May every cup of coffee or tea in this new year be a blessing making a difference in the lives of small farmers around the world.

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Thank you to Sister Marian Adrian for drawing our attention to the need to buy Fair Trade Products, for ourselves and for the good of our world!

This entry was posted in From our Sisters and tagged: body lotion, chocolate, coffee, environmentally sustainable, equal exchange. New Year Resolutions, Fair Trade, food choices, planet, pollute, tea, wine