June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor.

Ending the economic exploitation of children can only be possible when free, compulsory and quality education is assured for all children regardless of gender, race, religion, and social or economic status.

The elimination of child labor and education for all are two sides of one coin. Just as we fight against child labor at the beginning of our product cycle with our certified Fair Trade soccer balls, we also encourage children's education at the end of our product cycle by pushing our after-tax profits to Room to Read and Boys & Girls Club of America. Until we begin producing significant after-tax profits, Fair Trade Sports donates $1000 annually to each of these organizations. Learn more here.

Please consider doing the same with your charitable dollars this year, and help fight child labor through education.

In November, we told you about Project Good (a joint venture between World of Good and eBay) - donating 40 of our Fair Trade soccer balls to Kenya, Africa.

The eco-certified Fair Trade soccer balls were sent to an organization founded by James Rose, the Better World Cup that we’ve mentioned previously.

Check out the note I received in the mail recently from a young soccer enthusiast who was excited to help Rose continue to give soccer balls to children in need.

He sent in a good chunk of cash that he had earned and saved as a donation. As a for-profit company (whose after-tax profits go to children's charities), we can't accept donations. But with the permission of John and his parents, we applied his money towards the soccer balls that went to Better World Cup for their new project in Cambodia.

Well done, John. I'm pleased to know students like you are out there making the world a better place right now.

Kellee Sikes from Pioneer Technologies wrote an interesting article called Social Responsibility: Charity Hijacked that featured some kind words about Fair Trade Sports.

It made the home page for FastCompany today. Check it out.

The Giving Suite at the Sundance Festival in Park City, Utah is a hopping place this week.



They've taken the idea behind a "Gifting Suite" - where celebrities, VIPs, and trendsetters get handed bags of free stuff - and changed it to a Giving Suite, where those folks can purchase products like our eco-certified Fair Trade soccer balls with all the profits going to charity. Their tagline says it all: Giving. It's the New Getting.

The charities featured this year are The Waterkeeper Alliance, Earth Pledge, The Environmental Media Association, Healthy Child/Healthy World, Our Future Now, The United Nations HCR, and the favorite of Fair Trade Sports...Room to Read.

The concept was created by Joe and Amy Tomlinson, the owners of RE:VOLVE Apparel Project and executed by Mathew Gerson's crew at eConsciousMarket. What a brilliant idea. We're stoked to be a part of it.

Check out their video blog.

Images like this make me smile. Sent by Marit Krueger, a good friend working in Kisumu, Kenya with her husband and kids.
 
This is Elijah Odhiambo, an orphan who lives with them on their Miwani farm and is in the public school nearby.

Marit says, “The footballs [soccer] and volleyballs arrived intact! The boys are happy, happy, and ready to play! Thank you for including the extra needles and for blessing this community! The kids are so happy!”

I look forward to the day when this company generates much more than just a couple of  thousand dollars a year for children’s charities. Please consider popping off an email or two right now to friends to share our mission to help at-risk children.

Normally, marketing people prepare what’s known as a Rude FAQ…an internal-only Frequently Asked Questions that tend to be asked by “rude” people like journalists, activists, and pretty much everyone else for whom I have Respect for asking the tough questions. The marketing team then has all their sales people, promotional people, and customer service people memorize the answers. I know; I’ve done this for several companies.

We decided to publish ours for two reasons: 1) we are a company that strives for real authenticity and transparency - not just lip service, and 2) having an internal-only document always made it seem like we had something to hide (in some cases, they really did). As we seek to build community among such distinct groups as college-aged Fair Trade activists and stereotypical “soccer parents”, we want you to have a clear picture of Fair Trade Sports…the good, the bad, and the as-yet-to-be-determined.

So here’s our Top 10 Rude FAQ; let’s start with the big one…

1. If you give away all your money, how can your team afford to work with Fair Trade Sports and still buy groceries?
   Like Newman’s Own (the salad dressing and popcorn brand), we’re committed to giving away our “after-tax profits”.  Let’s be clear; that is different than giving away all our money. After-tax profits are generally defined as what’s left over after you pay items like salaries, utilities company, and of course, your raw inventory. Each year, we’ll also retain a small portion of our proceeds to fund the following year’s growth (likely ~10%). 
   
   What’s left over usually gets distributed to shareholders. Given that Susan and I are the sole shareholders, and we are not interested in making Fair Trade Sports a wealth-generating operation, we decided to funnel the after-tax profits towards children’s charities.
   
   
2. Why aren’t you interested in making Fair Trade Sports a wealth-generating operation for yourself?
   We (the founders Scott and Susan) decided we have already been blessed with a lot. We decided that we had enough, and wanted to use our skill sets to create positive change in the world. And just to clarify, we don’t believe there is anything wrong with creating wealth for yourself while doing good in the world; there are lots of examples of great people doing just that (Patagonia, Seventh Generation, etc.), many of whom are good friends.
   
   
3. What keeps you from setting your salary to be one million bucks like the scandals we read about in the paper?
   Theoretically, nothing I guess. Although all our family, friends, business partners, advisers, and legal counsel would disown us. Even our venture capitalist friends would raise an eyebrow at that.
   
   
4. What is your salary?
   Scott (the founder) writing here…you tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine (seriously, send me an email). My answer until 2009 will be zero (I’m not taking a salary while we start up), and then I’m on half-salary for a few years so we can get to profitability faster and stay there (hint: you can help with that…buy a ball). Basically my (theoretical) full salary will be average for a growing young family in the Pacific Northwest that enjoys buying organic groceries to supplement their own garden.
   
   
5. Why is getting to profitability fast important?
   It makes Fair Trade Sports, Inc sustainable, meaning we can keep doing good by helping at-risk children around the world and promoting the Fair Trade movement here in the States. With our model of giving away all after-tax profits (like Newman’s Own), the more profit we make, the more money is raised for children’s charities.
   
   
6. When will you be profitable?
   According to our best guesses, the end of 2007, although we are not getting our initial inventory in as soon as we hoped. Until we hit profitability, we are donating $1000 annually to each of the charities we support to begin the relationship and show them we are serious. Of course, you can help.
   
   
7. Are you a for-profit or non-profit?
   We’re a for-profit S Corporation, which means we pass through all our after-tax profits to whomever we want. Normally those dollars go into the shareholders or founders pockets. We’re a bit different; all the dollars from Fair Trade Sports will flow into children’s charities. With our bright legal/accounting team, we spent months looking hard at being a non-profit or a hybrid NP-FP model, but they all have significant limitations on how much of the after-tax profits you can give away.
   
   Other for-profit models limit you to 10%, others at 50%. And other hybrid models are even less attractive once you start asking the tough questions about what happens to the dollars that are generated. This is the only business model that allows us to give away 100%. It turns out that what Paul Newman and crew did in the early 80’s is still the most efficient business model for generating true charitable dollars. Nell Newman has proven it to be an effective model, with hundreds of millions of dollars generated for charity. Of course, since Scott is not as good-looking as Paul Newman, we won’t be putting his image on the sports balls.
   
   
8. How will you continue to fund the growth of the business if you give away the after-tax profits?
   Responsibly. Out of cash flow. Not by borrowing “ahead of the curve” or using other people’s money, which always comes with strings attached. We have some good friends who are venture capitalists and angel investors. They are great people and we love going to dinner with them, but we don’t want their money.
   
   
9. Why just charities for children?
   Because we have to start somewhere, and starting with children will (arguably) make the most significant long-term positive impact for their communities.
   
   
10. Can I come work for you?
    Yes, but don’t expect a salary until 2009. Seriously, this is a common question we receive, but Fair Trade Sports is a lean operation designed to generate money for charities. Everyone on our team is either a free agent or a volunteer lending their expertise pro bono. So yes, come work with us and help change the world. Start by ordering the  free Ambassador of Respect cards to hand out to everyone you know involved with a sport. Write your name on the cards. Join our team. I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.
    

Have more questions? Send them to us and we’ll compile a Secrets Revealed! Rude FAQ II. Thanks for letting us be transparent with you, our customers and champions.

…on helping at-risk children around the world. Every night at bedtime I say prayers with my 3-year old son, Justice. This past Saturday night we said a prayer of thanks for giving him such a great mommy, and asked God to show us how we could help all the children around the world without mommies.

We had talked earlier in the day specifically about Africa - after a picnic with a good friend who is one of the lost boys from Sudan - and discussing that the following day was the official Day for Darfur.

After the 10 second prayer…a short pause with a furrowed brow you could tell was doing some deep 3-year old thinking…then, “Daddy, tomorrow let’s fly 20 airplanes to Africa to help all the orphans.”

Ah, what a great confirmation that our commitment to use all our after-tax profits for children’s charities is a strong and true commitment. In fact, this single confirmation from a three-year old means more to me than all the nay-sayers combined.

How can you help at-risk children around the world (including our own country)? One way is by purchasing a Fair Trade sports ball, but I bet you can come up with a few ideas as well. Share your thoughts below…

David Batstone from Right Reality recently did a post on child labor based on a trip he did to Peru. A quick excerpt:

"Our initial effort is to make a clear distinction between "child labor" and "entrepreneurial children." Political policies that seem so universal in the United States and Europe turn relative in other global communities. The condemnation of child labor is a good example. Nearly all Western human rights groups monitor it, and fair trade activists lobby to make it a standard for compliance.

The best "compacts" for corporate behavior in global markets - the SA 8000, for instance - ban the employment of children under 15 years of age. But we discovered that the primary life skills strategy for helping street kids in Lima, Peru, was to put the kids to work." 

A complex problem to be sure. A problem to which we here at Fair Trade Sports are seeking to make a positive contribution in two ways. First, by supporting and evangelizing the Fair Trade movement, which strikes at the underlying causes of child labor. And second, by giving away all our after-tax profits to children’s charities, funding experts in the field to best meet the unique needs of each global region’s at-risk children.

Batstone’s team has set up the Children’s Aid Fund to help children around the globe who are designing innovative solutions for their own futures. Learn more by contacting the CAF’s executive director, Kique Bazan.

What are your thoughts on the complexity of the child labor issue? 

Fair Trade Sports, Inc donates all profits after taxes to children’s charities, both domestically and internationally. Sound familiar? It’s a similar idea to the one behind the Newman’s Own brand.

We expect to reach profitability in late 2008. Until then, we are donating $1000 annually to the organizations listed below, which benefit at-risk children worldwide. Have a favorite charity to suggest? If it’s related to helping kids, then we’re interested. Drop us a line.

Click below to learn about the excellent missions to help at-risk children of our chosen charities. And help us reach profitability faster by purchasing a few items and telling a friend about us!

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Fair Trade Sports is your source for premium quality sports balls that help at-risk children around the world. 100% of our after-tax profits go to children’s charities. All our sports balls are certified to be stitched by adult workers paid fair wages and ensured healthy working conditions. We offer guilt-free soccer balls, futsal balls, rugby balls, volleyballs, and more.

Together we can break this cycle of poverty and oppression. Please tell a friend and join the movement!