MTV Exit have created this video to promote their campaign against human trafficking, which features MK Ultra as the soundtrack.

The first time I asked this question publicly was in the Spring of 2007. It was during an open discussion at the Fair Trade Federation’s conference in Washington, DC at the American University. The topic, how can we grow the Fair Trade (FT) movement?

While President Obama was not specifically referring to Fair Trade last night in his State of the Union Address, his measurement of progress is at the heart of what Fair Trade businesses seek to achieve both at home and abroad. The economy is growing again but that recovery can not only be measured by the profits corporations make. Progress must also be measured by the quality of life new jobs bring to people.
If you share these values, and are currently looking for a job, here are few sites you might want to check out.

Thanksgiving is now seen by many as the starting point for the three biggest shopping days of the season: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Without a marketing team, a label or an outrageous deal behind it, Thanksgiving has been relegated to a small steel enclosure that signifies the starting gate of the holiday shopping season. If that is the case, it is an utterly depressing thought. I sought to find a glimmer of hope that all was not lost to mass consumerism.

On a recent shopping trip to the mall, I got caught out there! For three solid hours, I escaped the drudgery of my workaholic existence, dreamt that I’d lost that 50 extra pounds I’d found since starting a business, and fantasized that Matthew McConaughey jumped out of the Dolce & Gabanna ad and was now whispering unimaginable things in my ear. In Fair Trade, there is no escapism, no fantasy, no cult of celebrity and virtually no sex appeal. What can Fair Traders offer consumers in order to compete with the fantastic escapism of the malls?

Once upon a time there was a very sad banana.

“Why was he so sad,“ you might ask.

Well maybe, it’s because although many people appreciated him for his golden yellow color and his sweet, yummy flavor, they never took the time to get to know him. Really get to know him, that is.

Many cities across the country are embracing bike riders and promoting a healthier, greener way of life. One stands above the rest, according to Bicycling’s America’s Best Bike Cities, and was ranked the #1 bike friendly city. That city is Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is also home to a cool bike peddling Fair Trade coffee roaster!

It is probably safe to say, all mothers want the best for their children, whether you are a mother in Burkino Faso or United States. The sad reality is that mothers in West Africa, where child trafficking is highest, have little means to change their circumstances themselves, and are therefore reliant on mothers in the US (and other Western countries) to speak up for them! Learn how buying Fair Trade Chocolate can help mothers achieve this goal!

If you’re like me, buried in a mission-driven world, rarely watch television, or listen to a radio station other than NPR, you may not be aware that Fair Trade has been slowly creeping into the world of pop culture. Or is it the other way around?