The Greening of Cannes
By Julia Knott
Equal Exchange premiered at this year's Cannes International Film Festival in France from May 17th to May 28th, as a part of the festival’s “Green Team.” The American Pavilion at the Festival undertook a greening initiative in conjunction with the premier of Al Gore’s film,"An Inconvenient Truth, and Equal Exchange was chosen as the official "Green Coffee Sponsor." Faye Dunaway, Roger Ebert and many others from the film industry got to hear first-hand about our Fair Trade ideas during their time at Cannes while enjoying our Love Buzz and Mind, Body, & Soul coffees, as well as our teas. For a short video on the Green Team and Equal Exchange’s involvement at the festival, visit the adobe.com website, and scroll down to the video by Team 15.
Daniel at the Willimantic Coop Country Fair with local volunteers Andrea Zullo and Courtney St. Jacques from Eastern Connecticut State University. |
Community Brand Builder Man
Daniel Steinberg just started at Equal Exchange as our Community Brand Builder. He wrote this poem and read it to the Equal Exchange staff as a way of introducing himself. We liked it so much we wanted to share it with you.
First off my name is Dan
I'm your Community Brand Builder man
I'll be spreading our message all over the land
With coffee, teas, and chocolate, my tools at hand.
I'm a music lover of the Grateful Dead style
To see a worthy show I'd travel many a mile
I like camping in the woods or bagging a peak
But I'm most excited to be here, what a great first week.
My background's diverse which suits me well
For it all connects to the story we tell
As an anthro major, international trips I've made
And for many years, I've been a fan of Fair Trade.
For my six months in Ecuador allowed me to see
The importance of treating farmers with justice and equality
And as the current system breeds poverty and an earth left bare
I'm proud to be working for a system that's fair.
And as a teacher and naturalist I worked hard to educate
Cause I believe that's the key to our fate
Now by joining this company and taking the lead
I'm one more positive force towards the change we need
--Daniel Steinberg
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