This contest is sponsored by the Fair Trade Resource Network and is for the 2013 Fair Trade calendar, which according to FTRN, is the only Fair Trade calendar in N. America. There are 85 photo entries for this years contest and they are all beautiful. You can visit the FTRN site to see all the entries, their credits, descriptions and full size versions. Voting is happening for 1 more week and you can vote for up to 5 entries. You can also get an early bird discount through Aug 12 for the 2013 calendar. It’s not just a calendar but a resource as well with a helpful “Where to Buy” section. See a PDF version of this years calendar here.

Here is a sampling of a few of the entries.Click to view slideshow.

The Whole Trade Guarantee and Equitable-Trade. Learn more and see the rest of the labels by checking out this post! Show Me Your Label: A Guide To Fair Trade Labels.

Benjamin Harrison,23rd President of The United States

I was trying to find some funny quotes on pity the other day to make a comment on a friends Facebook page when I came across this quote from Benjamin Harrison. It immediately made me think of the principles of Fair Trade and the journey I have been on over the past 2 years. It got me thinking about the different ways we treat people and how that treatment may differ based on two categories: people we see and people we don’t.

I’m sure most of us have seen people in desperation, people begging for assistance. In my community they can be seen on a bench outside the local Safeway playing some type of musical instrument with an open container at their feet that has a few coins or bills in it. They are frequently seen at the stop light at the exit of the Wal Mart & Home Depot shopping center with a myriad of different signs all requesting bits of others excess.

We all have different ways of reacting to this encounter. Some completely ignore. Others strive to make eye contact and at least offer a friendly hello while others rationalize that if they “give” the person may use it for something destructive like drugs or alcohol. Some may say, “If the light is red, then I’ll give some change if I have it. But if it is green, then I can’t hold up traffic, so I’ll give a nod that says ‘Id like to help but I have to keep moving right now’.” One thing I feel is certain; that when we see someone in desperation begging, regardless of whether we can/will assist or not, it still makes us think about what it would be like if that were us. And there again is another contrast. For some,we whisper the prayer, “Thank God I’m not like them.” For others of us we think of what it would be like to be in that persons shoes and how we would feel when people pass us by.

I can write about this because I have said, felt and thought each of these different responses. I’ve had to wrestle with the question of how I should respond to the request for my time, energy and resources. It is a valid struggle and one I feel we must engage in. We must know how we will respond and have reasons for doing so. Another equally valid and important struggle is whether or not to apply this same rational for responding to the people I “see” in desperation to the people I do not see but “know” are in desperation. And this is where the aforementioned quote is applicable.

What if, in my pursuit to be frugal and economical, another is harmed to accommodate my request? I am sure that most would find this to be unacceptable. However, we most often do not choose to apply the same rational of how we should “treat others” to the people we do not see. But, attached and associated with everything we see IS a person. Someone is behind making, producing, growing and delivering everything you and I consume. And how they are treated and what accommodations they are afforded should matter to me before I take ownership of something.

Benjamin Harrison basically said that he pitied a man, who in pursuit of frugality, caused another person to starve, or in other words, to suffer greatly in some way. To pity means to have “sympathetic or kindly sorrow evoked by the suffering,distress, or misfortune of another, often leading one to give relief or aid or to show mercy.” ¹ To me this is saying that Benjamin Harrison felt sorrow for the frugal man because of the suffering and distress he was causing another person, not because he was trying to be frugal. And also that it led him to show mercy to the one suffering and maybe to show mercy to the one causing suffering as well by providing an alternative.

So where does this leave us? I feel that there are many people who are beginning to associate the things they have with the people who make it possible for us to have them. It is equally important to treat people seen and people unseen with dignity and respect. If a thing cannot be had without another suffering to make our ownership of it possible, then it is certainly not worth having. And if this principle is important to us, we must show mercy to those suffering at the hands of others by choosing a different way than what is currently acceptable, a way that recognizes people unseen and treats them fairly. We must also show mercy to those who may cause suffering, though their actions may be due to ignorance, by compassionately urging them to consider their actions and think of people unseen.

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From Fair Trade Resource Network

Submit photos – June 1-26Vote for photos – June 27 to July 16Guidelines – Contest rules and photo specificationsOrder 2013 Fair Trade Calendar – Early-bird discountsContact Us – contest administratorWinning photos from last year – some photos voted as winners last yearSubmit Photos June 1-26, 2012Read below for contest “Guidelines/Eligibility” to make sure your photos qualify for this contest.Email each photo, with a caption up to 50 words , to photocontest@ftrn.org. FTRN will not post your name, email address, nor a photo title. Each photo must have a resolution of 300 dpi at 5 x 7 inches. For best quality in printed calendar, the photo should have resolution of 300 dpi at 9.5 x 14.5 inches.  Photo must be in one of these formats: jpg, tiff, pdf. Your accompanying caption should include location photo was taken, name of individuals pictured as much as possible, and relation of photo subject to Fair Trade.Pay submission fee of $10/photo at FTRN’s Online Store. Pay using Paypal or a Credit Card. Photo submissions are $10 per photo; you may submit as many photos as you want. 1 photo costs $10, 5 photos costs $50, etc.. Within 2 business days of receiving your payment, your photos will appear on the Photo Contest page.

via Fair Trade Resource Network » Photo Contest – Details.

I had a Fair Trade education moment today as I was picking up a few groceries from Safeway after my evening run. I was going through the isles gathering a few things, (I only had a hand basket) when something on the shelf caught my eye, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap. Dr Bronner;s is the soap that I use now and it is Fair Trade certified by Fair For Life. To my knowledge, my local Safeway has just begun carrying this item. I usually buy this product from one of our other local grocery stores that carries a wide variety of Fair Trade goods. So needless to say I was surprised and excited to see Dr. Bronner’s on the shelf in Safeway. I threw a bar in my basket, as I was out of it at home, and headed to the checkout.Click to view slideshow.

While chatting with the woman out the register I mentioned that I was happy to see another Fair Trade item in the store. Her initial responce told me that she had no idea what I was talking about. I showed her the bar of soap and pointed out the Fair For Life logo on the packaging. Then, for the next 4 or 5 minutes we had a conversation about Fair Trade. I told what her what products in her store were Fair Trade and how Safeway was starting to catch up to the other two grocers in town, albeit very slowly and they have a lot of catching up to do. I told her what Fair Trade meant to me and how I could be assured that the supply involved in getting me the product was free of child labor or forced labor. I told her that Fair Trade meant a fair price was paid to producers and growers and talked about how all along the way people were treated fairly. This seemed to be the first time she had ever heard any of this information. I was excited to have had the moment to share with her about Fair Trade, and to get some soap as I was smelling pretty ripe from my run.

Find moments, engage with others about Fair Trade, share with others why you are passionate about this movement. This is the way things grow. When we experience something good, we want to share it with others. Fair Trade is no different. Vive la Fair Trade!!!!

Fair Trade Resource Network has launched “Best in Fair Trade” Awards for N. America nonprofits & businesses. The public can nominate (by March 31), and vote, for U.S. & Canada organizations doing exemplary work in Fair Trade in 5 categories:

• Most positive change in a producer community;
• Outstanding long-term commitment to producers;
• Best support of the Fair Trade movement;
• Most effective public education program;
• Most effective advocacy for trade policy reform.

FTRN created the contest since no awards existed to honor organizations across all major Fair Trade recognitions. Winners will be celebrated during World Fair Trade Day in May!

Nominate, or self-nominate, nonprofits and businesses before March 31. The public will then vote for any finalists during April.

via Fair Trade Resource Network

I have so many things on my mind but I thought I would start with this news from the Not For Sale Campaign. It is a way to “let your purchase be your advocacy”.

“Freedom gets fashionable as EILEEN FISHER and Bloomingdale’s give women across the nation a chance to celebrate great style and a great cause. The popular fashion brand will mark International Women’s Day by helping Not For Sale fight global slavery and create new futures for survivors of sex trafficking in Amsterdam.

On March 8th, customers can support Not For Sale by shopping the latest looks from EILEEN FISHER’s Spring 2012 collection at Bloomingdale’s stores nationwide (excluding Beverly Hills and Soho locations) and online at Bloomingdales.com. EILEEN FISHER will donate 3% of the day’s sales, in addition to a $5,000 donation from Bloomingdale’s, toward Not For Sale’s work combating human trafficking in Amsterdam.”

via Not For Sale

Click to view slideshow.

While searching for Fair Trade Shoes I came across the Autonomie Project, Inc website. They boast Organic, Sweat-shop Free & Vegan fair trade fashion and footwear. They sell 3 types of footwear to be exact: Rain Boots, Flip Flops, and “Converse” style Sneakers in a wide variety of colors. Other items in their shop include jewelry, printed T’s, blank T’s and youth and baby clothing.

“AP’s producer groups are certified by the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (or FLO), which is an international entity based out of Europe. AP pays an extra premium for every pair of shoes we sell that is collected into a worker’s welfare fund. This premium is 20% of our cost (FLO only requires 15%) which is used to improve the socio-economic conditions of our workers, their families and their communities. The fund is administered in a transparent and democratic manner and workers decide jointly with management how to use the funds at the end of every year.”

“I wanted to let you know about a great place to get underwear. Good and Fair was started by Shelton Green in 2010. He’s a great guy who was motivated to start the company as a way to do something about human trafficking. We now have a t-shirt made by them, and all of Charlie’s boxers come from Good & Fair. Their clothing is very soft and comfortable. It’s both organic and Fair Trade.”

via Frustrated Farmgirl & Good & Fair

Thanks to Robin @ Frustrated Farmgirl for the info!

I located Organic Bouquet on the web and saw that they were having a special on “Fair Trade USA Certified” roses.Everything looked good! Lets remember however, that I am a man and I was doing this on Monday the 13th. So I called the company to see what the deadline was for getting the roses shipped out and delivered on Valentines Day. It was confirmed that if I placed the order by noon my time I would have it on my doorstep on Valentines Day. So I placed the order: $50 for 2 dozen assorted roses and almost $20 for the shipping.

Tuesday came, and as you could probably guess since I am posting this, the roses did not arrive. I received an email from the company stating “We just received notice that your order with Organic Bouquet was delayed in the shipment process. It will now be leaving our facility today and arriving to your intended recipient tomorrow.” I was pretty disappointed but the news did not ruin our Valentines entirely. I made Fair Trade Truffles for my wife and we had a wonderful dinner followed by a concert and poetry night at a local gallery. So our Valentines Day was still very good.

Wednesday came and the flowers arrived, albeit while I was not home. My wife received the package and placed the flowers in a vase. She was rushing out and I arrived home later. I saw the box on the counter and was waiting to see the flowers as I rounded the corner. My first impression… “Really? That’s what I ordered? This doesn’t seem right.”

I’m not a flower expert but I have given rose and other flowers to my wife before and the quality of these seemed very low. Many of the roses seemed to be bruised and most of them looked like they had a booked placed on top of them as they looked smashed. Peddles were brown, leaves were falling off and there seemed to be new growth on the stems.

I took the flowers out of the vase to get a better look and to rearrange them into two vases and decided while I had them out to take a few pictures. I trimmed the stems, added rose food to the water and removed some of the lower leaves, (although many leaves fell off on their own). As I looked at each flower I just kept thinking that the quality was very poor. Am I wrong in this? What do you think? I have never had roses shipped before. Is this the way that they usually arrive, smashed and wilted? See more photos here.

This is what the roses look like after 2 days in some water and out of the box…

To be honest, this is more of a specific product review than a critique on Fair Trade. And I am frustrated with this particular process but committed to the cause. This review is not to say that Fair Trade is bad but rather that Organic Bouquet delivered a poor quality product in my opinion. For me, I was so excited to be purchasing fair Trade Roses for the first time and so disappointed with the outcome of the purchase: a delivery that was delayed and a poor quality product. My wife said it was the thought that counted…

My conclusion: The principles of Fair Trade are principles to live by and I am committed to making this a way of life for me and my family. Along the way I will encounter some experiences that do not live up to my expectations. But we all know that this is not exclusive to the world of Fair Trade only. I am sure that we all could recall an experience with purchasing something that did not live up to our expectations but that did not stop us from purchasing goods altogether.

This whole thing is about being treated fairly and treating others fairly. I purchase Fair Trade because I believe it helps people in a very tangible way. But I also don’t want to purchase Fair Trade just for the sake of it. I see that most producers put their heart and soul into the thing that they make or crop that they grow and I love that aspect of Fair Trade. The ones who could do damage to the movement are those who do not pass those goods, made with love and passion, along to the consumer with the same level of care and consideration.

I will probably try this again with a different vendor and hopefully a different outcome. Here is a list of florists I may try in the future:

Whole Foods Markets, One World Flowers, 1800flowers

I’m learning and growing and I want Fair Trade to be the best.