By Ashley Symons, Writer/Editor
Despite overcast skies, blowing wind, and heavy rain, on May 8, hundreds of Bostonians celebrated World Fair Trade Day in Beantown.
The day's events were organized by Fair Trade Boston, a campaign of the Boston Faith and Justice Network. The Boston Faith and Justice Network, founded in 2006, is a community of Christians seeking justice as an expression of faith through personal, community and public policy change. Fair Trade Boston is a coalition of church teams, student groups, and ethical businesses working to widely increase the availability and use of Fair Trade products throughout the Greater Boston area, with a primary goal of officially declaring Boston a Fair Trade Town in 2010. (Get the scoop on the campaign progress here.)
The businesses and venues that sponsored World Fair Trade Day events are all committed vendors of fairly traded products. Locations included the Equal Exchange Café, Ten Thousand Villages, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, Crossroads Trade, Flat Black Coffee Company, JP Licks Ice Cream, Haley House Bakery Café, Harvest Co-op Markets, Hope Central Church, Mariposa Bakery, City Feed and Supply, and Autonomie Project. The businesses offered Fair Trade-related promotions and discounts, music and educational presentations, Fair Trade food and drink samplings, and much more.
At the Equal Exchange Café, Equal Exchange Interfaith Program Rep. Cari Senefsky and Interfaith Program Director Anna Utech served free samples of Café Nica, which became Equal Exchange’s first fairly traded coffee back in 1986.
Participants who visited four or more locations were entered in a drawing with special Fair Trade prizes provided by Boston-area Fair Trade businesses. Over 30 people turned in completed cards! "All of them received special Fair Trade prizes for their exemplary commitment and enjoyment of the day," said Seth Wispelwey, the organizer for Fair Trade Boston. "In-depth conversations about trade justice issues were had across the board, and hundreds of Bostonians holistically experienced the taste of Fair Trade by way of all of the delicious coffee, chocolate, bananas and more offered by organizations like Equal Exchange."
Rodney North contributed to this piece.
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