Jacob Levitt is a student with a mission-to prevent child labor, and to ensure fair labor practices for everyone, young and old. 

Jacob is now thirteen and first learned about child labor when he was in sixth grade and his class began a lesson on it.  He was horrified to learn that children around the world were sold into slavery and forced to work long hours, but he also wanted to find out more about the issue in the hopes that maybe he would be able to do something about it.

When Jacob began middle school, he joined a group called SANDBOCS, which stands for Saving All Neglected, Denied, and Blatantly Oppressed Children from Slavery.  In addition, as part of his Bar Mitzvah preparation, Jacob must take on a social justice project.   Like a lot of kids, Jacob loves sports, and so he decided to combine his love of sports with his growing interest and sense of injustice over child labor issues.

Jacob has since become one of the youngest and most dynamic supporters of our Fair Trade Sports soccer balls.  He organized a meeting with the Northampton Soccer Club, where he explained unfair labor practices and convinced the group to begin using our Fair Trade balls.  He's now trying to encourage the Northampton High School to team up with the Northampton Soccer Club to make the bulk amount of balls they will need to order feasible and more affordable.  He's also hoping to get the city of Northampton Recreation Department to consider using Fair Trade Sports soccer balls in their leagues as well.

Kudos, Jacob!

What does a Fair Trade premium mean to a family in Sialkot?

Chandrika is 30 year old and works as a tapper on Frocester Estate, the first supplier of FSC-certified fairly traded rubber that is used in Fair Trade Sports products. She is pictured here holding a pair of sneakers from our sister company Autonomie Project which are made with the same eco-certified materials we use in our sports balls. Chandrika's husband is a mason and they have three sons (13, 10, 6), all of whom attend government school.

The joint body of Frocester decided to spend the Fair Trade premium from 2007 to provide clean water for a total of 64 families. This represents 227 people, 115 of whom work on the estate. All three water plans are in the one far away section of the estate, which until the arrival of the new manager had been totally neglected in all respects. While the water provided by the new plan is not enough for all needs (laundry still is done with water from the river or open wells), it is the first time in the history of these "labor lines" that clean water is available from taps.

What is particularly noteworthy is the fact that the Fair Trade money would barely have sufficed for two of the three plans, which include two wells with pumps, storage tanks, piping and taps. The new manager arranged for some unused material (e.g. a pump) to be utilized, the estate paid some of the cash costs, and the workers themselves contributed work and cash to complete the project. The remainder came from the Fair Trade premiums (reminder: we do not pass these premiums on to you, our consumers).

For one of the water plans the workers for the storage tank, the estate paid for the well, and the Fair Trade premium money paid for the piping. In another scheme the workers added more taps, and in two cases they even installed shower facilities. Two of the three plans require pumping; the estate provides the first 11 liters/fuel per month free, a water committee/plan charges families a small monthly fee to pay for the rest.

All of this has contributed to much better labor relations in the area. During an island wide plantation strike for higher wages in December 2006, Frocester was the only estate which produced throughout the strike.

Co-op America stands for many of the things that I believe in. 

They help the world become a better place by providing the National Green Pages (a directory of green businesses from coast to coast), by offering education for US consumers about Fair Trade, and by collating reports of abusive labor practices around the world.  They provide information to help us all make more socially and environmentally responsible purchasing decisions.

Co-op America also co-sponsors Green Festivals, or "parties with a purpose," with Global Exchange in several cities across America each year.  Green Festivals bring leading thinkers of the sustainability movement together in one place to share ideas and attend workshops. 

Co-op America does a monthly interview with a business owner; they chose Fair Trade Sports for their July interview.  You can read it here to learn more about what makes Fair Trade Sports green, what "respect" really means to me, and what green product (aside from my eco-friendly Fair Trade soccer ball) I would not want to live without.

I spent some time talking with the hosts of the Champion Soccer Radio Network show The Two G's recently.  The Two G's airs Monday through Friday on Sirius Satellite Radio.  The show has only been around since Fall 2007 but it's built up quite a fan base in that time. 

We have producer and host Diana Germano (pictured here in the studio) to thank for finding us through our mutual friends Patrick and Diane from the Gear Guru.  Germano plays soccer for HUGS, Hollywood United Girls Soccer, along with producing The Two G's and World Soccer Daily. You can also hear her on-air on several shows including, The Two G's, The Treble, Divers and Cheats, and Around the League in 90 Minutes.

The show aired on June 4 but don't worry if you missed it.  You can check it out online in the show's archive.  Once you get to the website, click on the "Launch Player" button and scroll down and select the June 4 show.  The interview is from minutes 95-104.  There's a location handle at the top of the player that you can slide to find the segment after it loads in your web browser. 

Side note: one of the comments made by the hosts after I got off the line was funny. I'm not often called a "diplomat" for avoiding a controversial question about Bill Bradley and the US soccer team.

We spent a chilly day at University of Washington recently, talking with undergraduate students about the many aspects of Fair Trade.

We were kept well-fueled by friends from Honest Tea, Numi Tea, and Equal Exchange while seeing first-hand the passion college students have for Fair Trade.

Here's the video from Joel Shapiro.

If you did not catch the What Would Jesus Buy? docu-comedy at your local indie theater yet, please put the it on your to-do list now.

You don't have to be religious to appreciate Reverend Billy's no-nonsense "stop shopping" message. He presents it in a manner which is hilarious, challenging, and incredibly effective. Susan and I were only 15 minutes into the film before we began arguing about our recent purchases!

The DVD was just released a few weeks ago, so (irony alert) be sure you go buy yourself a copy right away.

Reverend Billy's message about American's over-consumption struck home with me, for both my personal consumption, as well as my professional roles doing the marketing for two ecommerce operations (Fair Trade Sports and the abolitionist Not For Sale Campaign). Some folks would say that getting people to buy stuff is at the very core of what I do. Geesh, I even teach MBA candidates how to do the same thing at the sustainable MBA program Bainbridge Graduate Institute.

So where does a person who's primary skill set revolves around Marketing fit in a country that honestly needs to buy less stuff? I don't know. I've struggled with this before, and likely will for quite awhile. My current focus is on getting folks who buy stuff to at least buy good stuff. Sweatshop-free stuff. Eco-friendly stuff. Union-made stuff. Fair Trade stuff. But it's still shopping; it's still consumption.

I often explain to folks interested in our company that I'd first rather have them purchase a used sports ball from a neighbor or an outfit like Play It Again Sports. Then, if they can't find what they're looking for, to make sure to buy a ball they know was made from certified environmentally friendly materials by adult workers paid a certified fair wage. For now, that gives you only one choice...us.

:)

I was also recently asked, so what do you think Jesus would buy? My response was, "Reverend Billy's DVD. And then after watching it, I think he'd give it away to spread the message even further." Watch it, enjoy the laughter, and the challenges. Highly recommended.

When her husband died in an accident 17 years ago, Vasanta (age 46) was offered her deceased husband's job as a tapper, an estate tradition. Since then Vasanta has been working for the New Ambadi rubber plantation (where we source our eco-certified Fair Trade rubber for our sports ball air bladders), as well as bringing up her three children.

Meryn (23), her elder daughter, is married and lives with her husband, a lab technician in a hospital in Chennai. Vasanti visits them and her 2.5-year old granddaughter there once a year for about a week. The overnight journey by overland bus costs Rs. 450 one-way. Her son Manu Stephen (18) has three months until the final exams of a two-year hotel management course. The course costs his mother a total of Rs. 30,000 in fees. The youngest daughter Subi (17) is in the 11th grade at a government school where Vasanta pays for her books.

Vasanta lives with Manu and Subi in a small house in a village five km away from New Ambadi. The house has four rooms, a kitchen/bath, and an outside toilet. The house has electricity, but the communal water tap opposite her house only operated 1.5 hours a day, so it is only used for drinking. There is an open well next door, which serves all the other needs of the family - and of the neighbors next door.

Every morning, Vasanti takes a bus to work while it is still dark because as the sun and the temperatures rise, the warmer weather causes freshly tapped latex to dry up too quickly, which lowers the yield. As a tapper, she does two tapping rounds per day, usually ending up with two buckets full of freshly tapped latex.

Most tappers carry these by bicycle to the nearest collection station (some even have motorbikes now), but Vasanta prefers to carry the latex on her shoulders: 45 kg of liquid - 18 kg of rubber. For this she earns 126 Rupees (a basic wage equivalent to about $2 USD), plus 40 Rs. in bonus. The second round is worth another Rs. 72.

Officially, the work week is only six days but like most tappers, Vasanta works on Sundays as well because the bonus is much higher. On a good day she can make the same as working two to three weekdays. Fortunately, her colleague Nagappan is happy to help carry at least the first round of her harvest with his bicycle.

World Fair Trade Day is an international celebration of Fair Trade with events happening all over the globe on the same day...today!

On the second Saturday of May, organizations and businesses spread the word about fair trade by hosting everything from fair trade coffee tastings, to fashion shows, to product sales.

Now in it’s seventh year, "World Fair Trade Day" was initiated by Safia Minney, founder of People Tree, and adopted by IFAT and its members at the 2001 Full Meeting, to promote stronger global awareness of Fair Trade. This year’s theme is Fair Trade + Ecology, which highlights one of the principles of fair trade that is sometimes overlooked.

Fair Trade principles protect the environment while promoting sustainable development for stakeholders. Because Fair Trade is committed to paying workers a living wage and works in long-term partnerships, it enables workers, farmers, and artisans invest in environmentally friendly production methods. Learn more about Fair Trade Sports' environmental impact in our previous posts.

We'd love to hear how you celebrate today. If you'd like to share, drop us a line (and we love pictures too!)

I've never had such fun that included so little sleep and losing my voice. I believe that is my new litmus test for how successful a show is.

Our team had a wonderful time seeing old friends from Guayaki and Grounds for Change, making new friends at Better World Books (Go Irish!) and ChicoBag, while being fueled by massive amounts of acai smoothies from Sambazon.

We did a fair number of interviews with journalists regarding our world's-first eco-certified sports balls. Look for the coverage over the next week or so. It's fun to see a journalist's eyes widen when you describe your product line; it's not often they get to see something really different, especially a completely new entry into the world of Fair Trade and green products.

And many thanks to Coop America's Chip Py the photo guy, for the use of this shot.

Join Fair Trade Sports for the first ever Seattle Green Festival this weekend (April 12-13) at the Convention Center downtown!

Green Fest shows off the latest in sweatshop-free clothing, organic beer and wine, recycled products, Fair Trade, vegetarian cuisine, renewable energy and more. It will be a weekend full of speakers, 300 business exhibitors, and even a clothing swap! With admission to Green Festival you will also be offered a FREE Co-op America membership.

I'll be speaking at these times and on these topics. If you are in town, stop by to heckle me. :)

Saturday, April 12, 1PM: Sweat-Free Seattle Campaign Join myself and Global Exchange’s Valerie Orth and Elizabeth Swager to discuss how your city or town can adopt laws that prohibit local institutions from purchasing goods made in sweatshops. Together, we can create a substantial market for goods made by workers who get paid a living wage, are treated with dignity and respect, and have a voice on the job.

Saturday, April 12, 5PM: Eco-Certified Fair Trade Sports Come hear how we can kick sweatshops off the playing fields of our schools and parks with eco-certified Fair Trade sports balls and uniforms.

Sunday, April 13, 2PM: Fully Committed Fair Trade Businesses What makes a business Fair Trade? Join me to hear how the Fair Trade Federation ensures local business practices have a positive impact on producers a world away.

Be sure to stop by the Fair Trade Sports booth to get more information about our products, sign up for this blog (as if you haven’t already), purchase FTS balls just in time for the sunny part of spring in Seattle, or just say hi.

For more information or to register, visit www.greenfestivals.org. We have a number of free guest passes; just ask for them under the Fair Trade Sports name when you enter the building. First come, first serve. Enjoy the show!