Handmade Expressions

Handmade Expressions is a company that strives to reduce poverty in the world by following fair trade practices. They deal directly with artisans in India to bring beautiful, artistic handicrafts to the US market. Their US team is based in Austin, TX and they are a member of the Fair Trade Federation. Many of their products such as shopping bags, jewelry, scarves and other accessories are available in Norman at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History Gift Shop. Visit the Handmade Expressions website to see their complete product line and drop by the museum gift shop to check them out!

Fair Trade the White House

Fair Trade the White House is a grass-roots, nonpartisan coalition of Fair Trade organizations, vendors, retailers, schools and individuals whose goal is to turn the White House into a "Fair Trade home" by petitioning First Lady Michelle Obama via an email campaign.

This campaign was started by the folks over at Anti-Body and it has gathered a lot of momentum with the likes of TransFair USA, Green America, Global Exchange, Alter Eco and Equal Exchange joining in. The campaign’s aim is to raise the profile of Fair Trade and have the White House show the country that buying Fair Trade products is easy, delicious, and empowering for workers and communities.

For details and to show your support, please visit http://www.fairtradewhitehouse.com/index.htm

Weekly meeting

Please join us for our weekly meeting on Tuesday, August 25 at 7:00 pm at Cafe Plaid.

We have a lot of plans for the Fall and needless to say that, since this is a community-wide campaign, we need your support and participation. If you would like to know what we're currently working on, and how you can make an impact, please consider attending our meetings.

Also, if you haven't already done so, please become a Facebook fan of NFT.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Norman-Fair-Trade/115406501157

We will be using our fan page to send out quick updates and news bytes.

Cafe Evoke Specialty coffee catering

Cafe Evoke is a specialty coffee catering company that serves a wide variety of Fair Trade Certified coffee and tea. They are based in Oklahoma City and do serve the Norman region. For more information, please visit cafeevoke.com .

Follow us on Twitter

Norman Fair Trade is on Twitter. Follow our twitter feed
to get the latest news and info on our meetings, events and future plans.

Anti-Body products at Native Roots Market

Fair Trade aficionados will be pleased to know that Anti-Body body-care products, which are all natural and made with Fair Trade Certified ingredients, are now available in Norman. Please visit http://www.anti-body.com/ for more info and do check them out at the Native Roots Market, 132 W. Main St.

Transcript of Fair Trade Proclamation by Mayor

(Full transcript of a proclamation by the Mayor on April 28, 2009)

A PROCLAMATION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, PROCLAIMING THE WEEK OF MAY 4 THROUGH 10, 2009 AS FAIR TRADE AWARENESS WEEK AND SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2009 AS INTERNATIONAL FAIR TRADE DAY IN THE CITY OF NORMAN.

1. WHEREAS, the City of Norman annually spends thousands of dollars purchasing food, apparel and other goods; and
   
2. WHEREAS, "Fair Trade" certification is an innovative, market-based system that encourages fair labor practices and a healthy and safe work environment by identifying food and beverage products that generate fair economic benefit to the producers of these products- often farmers in less developed countries; and
3. WHEREAS, the sale of Fair Trade Certified goods helps these small producers in developing countries gain direct access to international markets in order to increase living standards, foster economic independence, and encourage sustainable farming practices; and
4. WHEREAS, Fair Trade Certified products are widely available and competitively priced in the United States through over 300 providers of food products including those that provide coffee, tea, chocolate and fresh fruit; and
   
5. WHEREAS, the City of Norman recognizes the comprehensive labor conditions that may be supported by its actions, including fair wages, sustainable production practices and a work environment free from toxins.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA:

6. Do hereby proclaim that May 4 through 10, 2009, be recognized as Fair Trade Awareness Week and the second Saturday of May be recognized annually as International Fair Trade Day in the City of Norman.
Passed and approved 28th April 2009.

(signed by the Mayor)

Plans for Fall 2009

Even though many of members have been away during the summer, we've been working behind the scenes to maintain some continuity as we get ready to enter a new academic year. As you might expect, we have a lot of plans for the upcoming Fall, some of which are mentioned below.

1) Norman Fair Trade Directory: We are currently compiling a comprehensive Fair Trade Directory of Norman which shall consist of full listings of all places in Norman that offer Fair Trade products including grocery stores, cafes and restaurants. Concurrently, we will also update our map feature on the right sidebar.

2) NFT Logo: We are in the process of designing a logo for Norman Fair Trade and we will be unveiling it in the upcoming weeks.

3) OU Fair Trade campaign: We would like to get the University of Oklahoma to offer only Fair Trade coffee on campus. We started a signature campaign last Spring and would like to build more consensus on this and approach the appropriate authorities for action.

4) Events: There will be a number of events in the Fall including multiple events in October, which is the Fair Trade month.

We are always looking for volunteers to help us with our efforts. If you are interested in helping Norman become a Fair Trade Town, please e-mail us at info@normanfairtrade.org