Starbucks to double purchase of Fair Trade coffee

Coffee retailer Starbucks Corp. said Tuesday it will double its purchases of fair trade certified coffee to 40 million pounds in 2009.

The move is part of the company's "Shared Planet" initiative to do business "responsibly," the company has said, by focusing on areas such as volunteerism and going greener, including using recyclable cups and reducing water usage.

Read the full story.

Reverse Trick-or-Treating

We are going to travel around Norman - to both businesses and residences - in an effort to let people know what Fair Trade is all about. We'll be traveling around on bicycles so we can visit Downtown Norman and Campus Corner, as well as various neighborhoods close to campus, and we'll be passing out samples of Fair Trade chocolate, along with information on the benefits of buying Fair Trade and voting with your dollar.

List of businesses we'll be stopping by: Turquoise Cafe, Winans, Forward Foods, Pink Elephant, Fancy That, Republic Bank, and La Baguette. We will also visit some residential areas along the way.

Date: Thursday, October 30
Time: 5:00- 7:00 p.m.
Place: We will meet at Cafe Plaid at 5:00 p.m.

Norman Transcript Article

The Norman Transcript has published a fairly detailed story on our efforts to make Norman a Fair Trade City. The story appears in print in the business section of the Sunday (Oct 26) Edition. Here's a link to the online story:
The Norman Transcript- A fair trade

Fair Trade Tasting at Native Roots Market

Come join Norman Fair Trade at Native Roots Market for a free tasting of the many Fair Trade products available in the wonderful city of Norman.

We'll be sampling a variety of sundries, including: chocolate, coffee, tea, kombucha, with more to be announced! Keep checking for updates.

Make sure to stop by the in-FUN-mation table to join Norman Fair Trade, find out more or enter our raffle for a chance to win an awesome Fair Trade basket! Donations of time, effort and money always appreciated.

Here are the details:

Date: Sunday, October 26
Time: 3:00- 5:00 p.m.
Place: Native Roots Market, 132 W. Main St. Norman

Fair Trade Coffee, Tea and Chocolate Tasting

We are pleased to announce our first Fair Trade tasting event. Here are the details:

Event: Fair Trade Coffee, Tea and Chocolate Tasting
Date: Thursday, October 16
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Cafe Plaid, 333 W. Boyd Street

Description: Come and taste the finest Fair Trade chocolate from Alter Eco, LaraBar, Equal Exchange and Divine Chocolate, Coffee from PrimaCafe and Fair Trade tea available at local Norman businesses. Live music will follow with members of Penny Hill and Early Beat.

FREE ADMISSION!

Reverse Trick-or-Treating!

Second Annual

Reverse Trick-or-Treating!

This Halloween,
it is kids who will be giving treats to adults!

Hundreds of groups of Trick-or-Treaters in the United States and Canada will unite to:

• END poverty among cocoa farmers
• END forced/abusive child labor in the cocoa industry
• PROMOTE Fair Trade
• PROTECT the environment

A pleasant surprise will greet nearly a quarter million people distributing candy at their door, when youth reverse the Halloween tradition to hand adults a sample of Fair Trade chocolate.

The chocolate will be accompanied by a card informing recipients of poverty and child labor problems in the cocoa industry, affecting mainstream candy enjoyed at Halloween and around the year, and how Fair Trade certified chocolate provides a solution.

Parents of last year's youngest participants raved about how Reverse Trick-or-Treating transformed Halloween into a meaningful event when youthful activists can give back to their neighbors and to cocoa growing communities. Read more reactions in Global Exchange's newsletter article here.

Reverse Trick-or-Treating was covered in radio, television, and print media last year. Read more about it here.

The chocolate and cards are FREE!
Individuals:
DEADLINE to order -- October 13
Individuals, click here.

Black Gold Screening on October 8

Norman Fair Trade and the OU Student Chapter of the ONE campaign are pleased to bring you a screening of Black Gold, the highly acclaimed, must-see documentary on Coffee and Fair Trade.

"As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. In this eye-opening expose of the multi-billion dollar industry, Black Gold traces one man's fight for a fair price."

Here are the details of the event.

Date: Wednesday, October 8
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: 128 Dale Hall, OU Campus.

For consumers who drink coffee everyday but are unaware of the underlying unfair practices their purchases may promote, this documentary is an eye-opener. Your coffee will never taste the same again.

For more information on the movie, visit blackgoldmovie.com

Fair Trade Month is here!

October is Fair Trade Month, which provides a great opportunity for people throughout the United States to support, promote and celebrate a socially responsible system of trade that prioritizes the needs of human beings and the environment over the drive for profits.

We are planning a number of events in October to celebrate Fair Trade Month and to launch our campaign to make Norman a Fair Trade City. These events include the screening of "Black Gold", a documentary on Coffee and Fair Trade as well as two "Fair Trade Coffee, Tea and Chocolate Tasting" events at Cafe Plaid and the Native Roots Market respectively. We are also considering having a reverse trick-or-treat event on Halloween, in which children go door to door distributing samples of fair trade chocolate and an info card about the need for buying Fair Trade products. A detailed calendar of our events will be available very soon.