http://tradeasone.com Using Fair Trade and business as a means to address issues of extreme poverty. en kevin@tradeasone.com Copyright 2010 2010-07-28T23:04:50+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/fair_trade_buzz_symphony_bag/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/fair_trade_buzz_symphony_bag/#When:23:04:50Z Recently, I was flipping through Saveur, a culinary-travel magazine with a fabulous focus on summer markets and was thrilled to see one of our producers, Handmade Expressions, featured with 8 other shopping bags. A one-page featured called Hold Everything: Reusable shopping bags from around the globe highlighted bags and market baskets made all over the world. The Jute Symphony Bag is from the same family of products as our Nature Nectar Bag, $44 which can be used as a tote or purse. The bags are made by the Kasuthi Women’s Empowerment Group, a southern India cooperative focused on empowering women and children. The summertime provides many opportunities to carry things in creative ways - trips to the beach, the local farmer’s market or an outdoor concert - all requiring efficient packing efforts. Check out our favorite ways to tote things around this summer: the Trade as One Eco Grocery Bag made in Mexico, the Cooler Bag made in Indonesia, the Small , Medium and Large Recycled Magazine Totes, all made in Cambodia. 2010-07-28T23:04:50+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/heartland_do_something/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/heartland_do_something/#When:22:39:26Z A bonus to doing what we do is getting to visit places that are doing something inspiring. Heartland Community Church in Rockford, Illinois is one such place. In June, I (Rachel) had the privilege of being in Chicagoland and stopping in for a visit. Last winter, they launched an interactive ministry designed to connect people to opportunities within the church, the community and the world. Trade as One is a big connection for the Do Something Now for Our World as a very tangible way for Heartland attendees to make Fair Trade purchases right at the church. It was so fun to walk in and see our producer photos and stories attached to the oversized map! The space itself is really compelling and invites you in with a huge map and large photos. As part of the community connection, there are opportunities to purchase birthday gifts for an under resourced child in the area, a monthly drive for items that are needed by a local pantry, and more. What a great way to rally everyone to focus on one need for something like peanut butter or juice boxes! Often, we are stymied by how to get involved or how to do good. Heartland is making it impossible to allow the overwhelming needs cause paralysis and inaction by providing clear opportunities to serve others! Learn more about Do Something Now and see photos at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=145409&id=278874584322 2010-07-21T22:39:26+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/1000th_order_giveaway_winner/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/1000th_order_giveaway_winner/#When:19:12:08Z Better late than never! It took us about about a month to get a hold of her via email, but we have a winner of our 1,000th order giveaway! Jess Kearny, who just so happens to be on staff at Centerpoint Church in New Hampshire, placed the 1000th tradeasone.com order of 2010. To celebrate, we’re giving her one of our favorite new products, the Recycled Cooler Bag from XS Project. Made from recycled waste in Indonesia, these Coolers are unique, earth-friendly, people-friendly, and fun. Thanks to Jess, and to the other 999 people who placed orders before her. Here’s hoping that tradeasone.com continues to be a place where people of conviction can use their spending to bring hope to some of the darkest corners of the world. 2010-07-13T19:12:08+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/book_review_good_news_about_injustice/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/book_review_good_news_about_injustice/#When:21:58:00Z Our intern Jordan just finished reading “Good News about Injustice,” and wanted to share his thoughts. __ From its title to its conclusion, Gary Haugen’s book, “Good News About Injustice,” will inspire conversations, deep thinking, and most importantly, self reflection. Recently I was catching up with an old friend and he had asked me if I had been reading any good books. I responded by telling him that I had started this book called “Good News About Injustice.” My friend looked at me for a moment with confusion in his eyes, and asked me if there was any good news about injustice? I didn’t know how to respond. The truth is, it would have been all too easy to just tell my friend what I had learned while reading the book. I could have easily reiterated points that Haugen makes in his book regarding hope and restoration in a world disillusioned by injustices such as poverty, disease, crime, and death. Instead, I recommended that he read the book because I believe that he would benefit far more from reading the book than I could provide in my meager description of it. While I did refrain from telling my friend about what it was that I was learning whilst I was reading, that does not mean I wasn’t learning anything. Actually, quite contrary, I believe that I was learning more than I had felt equipped to share. It was as though I had eaten too much and was having trouble digesting it all. A warning to all readers, Haugen’s book will challenge you. Within it there are stories of injustices that Haugen himself has seen firsthand. As an investigator in the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Director of the United Nations genocide investigations in Rwanda, and president and CEO of International Justice Mission, in Washington D.C., you can be sure that the stories you hear are well documented and credible. As much trouble I had reading this book, due to the all-too-real stories of injustices occurring both internationally and domestically, Haugen left me with a sense of hope at the end of each chapter. That hope, which I have now mentioned three times, is in the fact that the injustices that plague the world are not supposed to be left unaddressed. This injustice is supposed to be fought by everyday people who are charged with the mandate to stand up against the oppression that haunts this world. To respond to my friend’s question, in summary, what is the “Good News About Injustice?” The answer is that the injustice, which seems so debilitating around the world, is supposed to be met with resistance, and that resistance can, and will, overcome injustice. In his book, Haugen offers stories of courageous opponents, whom one would never expect, who have stood up to injustice and have succeeded, which inevitably acts as a catalyst for change for the reader to act against injustice, and to seek justice throughout the world. Gary Haugen’s book “Good News About Injustice” is a must read for any justice seeker! You can purchase “Good News About Injustice” as a part of our Fair Trade Cuppa. 2010-07-07T21:58:00+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/intern_post_jordan_berrner/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/intern_post_jordan_berrner/#When:18:57:42Z As an undergraduate student studying humanities and fast approaching my fourth year, academic discussions of current world issues are all too common. In April I wrote a paper discussing human trafficking and the various methods in which non-profit organizations and fair trade companies alike are seeking the abolition of this form of modern day slavery. Little did I know that only two months later I would be participating in a conference, as an intern with Trade As One, whose purpose is to address the growing issue of human trafficking on both the international and the domestic levels. My academic discussion in the classroom suddenly became a reality through this internship. For some attending the human trafficking conference at Congregation Netivot Shalom, a synagogue in Berkeley, California, this was their first introduction to the effects of human trafficking. Although Trade as One is all too familiar with slavery and its effects, the experience was new in one respect, this was the first time we’ve been invited to an event taking place within a Jewish community. This was special because it brought us into contact with a whole new community of people with whom we share so many values. We got to connect with them and share our common desire to fight slavery, and we also got to share one of our favorite producer stories, Thanksgiving Coffee. They are a coffee co-op from Uganda made up of people who have intentionally set aside the religious differences between Muslim, Jewish, and Christian neighbors and have united to combat extreme poverty, which plagues each individual group. Upon arrival to the Congregation Netivot Shalom, attendees were given real stories of people encountering trafficking from around the world. Following the stories, the 8 organizations featured at the event, including Trade As One, shared about the work they are doing to bring an end to human trafficking. Trade as One is particularly concerned with the employment of people who have recently escaped human trafficking. Goods that Trade as One sells from producers such as: Hagar, Nightlight, and Rahab Bazaar, directly work with escapees from human trafficking. As an intern, now more than ever, I have been forced to face this question: what is my responsibility towards problems that surround me? Issues such as human trafficking and poverty are indeed issues that are worldwide, but they are also here in our own backyards. What I have begun to understand is that while I am not from a poor household, I live under mandate to care for those who are poor and oppressed. My internship with Trade as One has opened my eyes to ways of alleviating poverty, and helping the oppressed through business venture. I am able to take part in a company that emphasizes social change and development around the world through the simple purchase of everyday goods. This is an opportunity that has shaped my purchasing habits, and has taken what was once an academic discussion, and made it personal and real. 2010-06-22T18:57:42+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/fathers_day_in_india/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/fathers_day_in_india/#When:16:35:59Z Father’s Day is about a week away, and it’s been really cool to see Father’s Day orders shipping out, knowing that next Sunday these gifts will be opened all over the country, and the redemptive power of Fair Trade will be shared. Handmade Expressions, our partners in India, just sent us this fantastic video that shows how Fair Trade is affecting a Father and a Daughter in India. Please take a look and share it with your friends. ——— If you’d like to see products made by this Father in India, you can click here or here.     2010-06-11T16:35:59+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/trading_posts_and_lynne_hybels/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/trading_posts_and_lynne_hybels/#When:02:38:38Z A Trading Post is an on-going place within a bookstore, café or church where people can regularly purchase Fair Trade goods. This allows individuals to redirect their spending to Fair Trade purchasing where they can be part of breaking cycles of poverty and abuse around the globe. Practically speaking, a Trading Post can be anything from a table that gets set up in the back of your church once a month to a special Fair Trade section of your church bookstore. See pictures of some of Trading Post Partners! It has been really fun for us to see the number of Trading Posts grow because we know that means Fair Trade is becoming more and more accessible in your daily life. We encourage you Find a Post in our newly expanded Trading Post section of the site to see if there is a Trading Post near you that sells Trade as One products! Recently, Lynne Hybels posted on her blog about the items she purchased through the Trading Post at Willow Creek’s bookstore, Seeds. How great to be able to buy our products locally! If you want to start a Trading Post, read more about how it works here and then contact Rachel {rachel@tradeasone.com} to get started. 2010-06-03T02:38:38+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/celebrating_with_a_giveaway/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/celebrating_with_a_giveaway/#When:23:23:05Z At some point in the next few days, we’ll have our 1000th order of 2010 here on our site. To celebrate we’re giving away one of our favorite new products! XS Project, our new partner in Indonesia, creates beautiful, functional products out of waste that would otherwise spend years (and years and years and years) decomposing in landfills. One of our favorites is the Cooler Bag (guaranteed* to make you cooler). It’s a soft cooler that folds up for easy storage, expands to hold plenty of food and beverages, and is sure to turn heads. Each one is unique as the products it was upcycled from. We love it – so we’re giving it away! The 1,000th customer here on our site gets this gift from us. Hooray! *Note: a guarantee of coolness on the Trade as One blog means absolutely nothing. 2010-05-26T23:23:05+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/free_is_a_verb/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/free_is_a_verb/#When:16:15:48Z Throughout the year, Trade as One participates in events all around the country that seek to raise awareness and provide practical next steps on a whole host of issues. Last week, Trade as One was present at an event in Oakland, CA around the issue of human trafficking. Many people living in the United States feel very distant from problems such as human trafficking. Aside from the occasional news article or Frontline special, it is difficult for many of us to contemplate the reality of a growing modern-day slave trade. Even when faced with the grim facts, how can we react?  What is there to do?  Many of you choose Fair Trade as a way to combat this crisis. Others get involved in activism, awareness-raising, work with local organizations fighting trafficking here in the US, and some of you even take short term trips to hotspots. Nate and Laura Davis, of the non-profit organization Free Is a Verb, confronted those very same questions several years ago, and recently decided to uproot their lives in Oakland, CA in order to move to the Phillipines to fight human trafficking. As part of their fundraising efforts, they put on an event last Thursday, May 20th called “Taste for Freedom” at Mills College Student Union. Guests from around the Bay Area sampled food and wine, participated in a silent auction, and learned about ways to help stop human trafficking, in the Bay Area and around the world. Ten organizations dedicated to abolishing human trafficking, including Trade as One, were represented at various tables around the room.  Other organizations, such as Because Justice Matters, California Against Slavery, Freedom House, Garden of Hope,  and the International Justice Mission offered educational materials and petitions against human trafficking in the Bay Area.  As the night progressed, hosts Nate and Laura Davis spoke to the crowd of their passion in fighting slavery and injustice.  They also shared a list of small actions that each American could take to fight human trafficking, including donating time and money, signing California Against Slavery’s petition, and buying Fair Trade products, especially products that are made by those escaping sexual slavery. We so happy to know Nate and Laura. If you’d like to see more about our producers in the developing world who use enterprise to fight slavery and trafficking, click here. 2010-05-25T16:15:48+00:00 http://tradeasone.com/blog/my_lunchbox_a_guest_post_from_trisha_madsen/ http://tradeasone.com/blog/my_lunchbox_a_guest_post_from_trisha_madsen/#When:20:54:14Z We always love it when people love their Trade as One products enough to tell us about it. Trisha Madsen loves her lunchbox, and she wanted to tell you about it. I love my lunchbox. It’s just about as unique, earth-friendly, people-friendly, and food-friendly as a munchbox can be (munchbox was actually a typo, but then when I went to fix it, I realized that I might be an accidental genius. So I kept it there.) It’s made from recycled waste in Indonesia, and supports the trash-pickers there who salvage what they can, and make a living for their families in the process. How cool is that? So now, instead of slowly (like hundreds of years slowly) decomposing in a massive dump in Indonesia, my lunchbox sits on my counter waiting for tonight’s leftovers to become tomorrow’s lunch. Instead of wondering where this was made, who made it, and how it was made, I know the answers to these questions, and they make me happy. Not too shabby for a lunchbox. Also - I get loads of compliments on my lunchbox munchbox. You would too. To see Trisha’s lunchbox, click here. 2010-05-21T20:54:14+00:00