We launched Fair Trade soccer balls (along with footballs and basketballs) at Whole Foods yesterday.

On a gorgeous Fall day in Seattle, Whole Foods team members worked with Coach Shelley Patterson of the WNBA Seattle Storm and Fair Trade Sports to corral a truckload of rambunctious elementary students into healthy and educational games, supporting the 2007 Governor’s Health Bowl.

We used a modified version of this Oxfam soccer game (PDF) to get the students talking and thinking about the word “fair” in relation to a tangible item they can experience, like a soccer ball. The parents asked lots of questions about the Fair Trade and eco-friendly aspects of the soccer balls. My hope is that we spurred more dinner table conversation with these families last night about what is fair versus unfair when they think about the producers of the products we use every day.


Pictured here is Jenna Pool and Michele DeAnda from Whole Foods (foreground) awarding Fair Trade soccer balls as prizes to the students who correctly answered questions posed by Coach Patterson (background). She had some tough questions!

Be sure to look for the display of Fair Trade footballs, basketballs, and soccer balls next time you are in your area’s Whole Foods Market. Should that specific store not have any, hand the manager one of our Ambassador cards with a request to begin stocking the sports balls this Fall!

:)