Request A Speaker

1. Proposed Session Name: Sustainability for the Fair Trade Movement

This presentation gives definition to the term “sustainability,” as it relates to Fair Trade and all the participants of the Fair Trade Movement. This session will include:
1) The principles of the FT movement, as seen from the perspective of Fair Trade Federation (FTF), and how these standards can be sustainable;
2) An examination at how the FT Movement can sustainably alleviate poverty for the artisans and farmers;
3) A brief “picture” on FT’s position in international trading and the “new globalization;”
4) Concluding with “true stories” on how Fair Trade is a viable and sustainable economic model that can obtain and sustain a Quality of Life (QOL) for craft artisans and producers.

The presenter’s case studies of Ugandan, Peru and Thai artisans may be drawn upon to give definition and relevance to Fair Trade terms such as social justice, Living Wage and Quality of Life.

The presentation will close with highlighting/charting practical sustainable steps that new FT businesses, small FT businesses and mature FT businesses can use to predict and experience sustainable growth, while promoting the Fair Trade Movement and sustainable quality of life for the artisans and producers.

There will be fifteen minutes of question and statement time.

What the discussion will cover? - Sustainability for artisans and the mission, including the entire FT process and all participants.

Who is your target audience? - All activists with Fair Trade

What are the goals and objectives of the session? The goal is for the participants to learn to approach FT as a sustainable system.

What will participants know or be able to do at the end of your session? - They will be able to look at their organization with educated thoughts on the sustainability of FT and how to begin a sustainability plan.

How will this session educate and inspire participants? (200 words)
What opportunities will this session provide participants to reflect, grow, and understand how to transform our global community?

Sustainability has become a “now” word and used by many people to mean many things. The word is even used by people who are talking about something that will last for a few months. I believe that it is the strongest term we can use for a good and worthy cause that needs to endure for all time, such as the greatest causes on earth. I see the work for the people of poverty and the earth’s environmental protection as truly sustainable causes. The participant can weigh in on their thoughts.

The participant will definitely have a clearer understanding of the principles of Fair Trade and the responsibilities that each of us Fair Traders carries as we “wear” the label.

The attendee will learn how FT can continue its sustainability momentum by monitoring such elements as Living Wage for the producers, environmental issues in FT, group organization, and roles of all Fair Trade players, to name a few. (158 words)

Session Materials:

Handouts:

“Fair Trade and Sustainability”
“What it means for an artisan to have a sustainable Quality of Life”
“How to begin a sustainable business plan”
“Fair Trade definition page”
“Statistics on the world-wide Fair Trade Movement”
A syllabus of reading and a student guide will be provided.

2. Proposed Session Name: How Fair Trade Will Meet Future Challenges

Seminar Description:

Fair Trade is gaining more exposure and denser support from consumers in the United States. Some wholesalers and retailers across the world are seeing changes and challenges in buying, marketing and selling. Some producers report lower sales. Business is not as usual.

Following are questions to be examined in a quest for Fair Trade sustainability and growth through challenging times:

The mission - Is Fair Trade universally clear about its principles and mission.

The Consumer - Do current Fair Trade consumers care about our mission enough to grow their loyalty?

The Artisans and Producers - Will the Fair Trade system “save” the producers from poverty? Will the producers be proactive about product development, with our assistance?

The Retailer - To clarify our marketing and branding, can we create the profile for our customer?

The New Customer - How will we find new customers, stronger store shelves, and deeper penetration of the market.

The Big Box - Will “big box” support grow and does their participation strengthen, weaken, or validate the Fair Trade movement?

Fair Trade likely will see more challenges as the globe faces a new economy. Will we be attentive students and observe “lessons learned” in FT across the world?

What will the discussion cover? - This session is an alert that Fair Trade may see some changes.

Who is your target audience? - Activists, retailers, buyers, producers

What are the goals and objectives of the session? - To prepare Fair Traders for the future challenges

What will participants know or be able to do at the end of your session? - They will be better prepared for their role in Fair Trade.

How will this session educate and inspire participants? (200 words)

What opportunities will this session provide participants to reflect, grow, and understand how to transform our global community?

Often Fair Traders think of themselves as unique, different, and even alone. This session can bring together participants from the U.S. and around the world. We anticipate this conference to draw participants from across the globe, and, therefore, we need content that will challenge participants of all interests and levels. The information will, as well, prepare the new Fair Trade business for the unexpected.

Fair Trade has perhaps been more visibly supported in closely populated Europe. This session may be an opportunity to learn from Fair Trade’s branding and longevity in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Discussion about customers of thoughtful, social justice issues can be a catalyst to take us “out of the box” and cement ourselves in the mission of alleviating poverty, rather than “just selling” good artisans and producer products. With looking backwards from the consumer to the producer, we may be able to crystallize innovative changes and additions in Fair Trade.

Session Materials: chalk board, dry erase board, or paper chart; projection equipment for own laptop

Handouts:

“The new consumers of Fair Trade”
A lists of Fair Trade organizations around the world
“Conscious Consumer”
“Challenges facing Fair Trade in the second decade”
A syllabus of reading and a student guide will be provided.

3. Proposed Session Name: THE HARD QUESTION: ARE WE ALLEVIATING POVERTY?

Seminar Description:

We will begin this discussion by thinking about the hard questions:
What is Fair Trade doing about the people in poverty who make and grow things?
Can Fair Trade really do this? There are 3 billion people of poverty in the world.
If we consider a third to be potentially Fair Trade artisans and farmers, how long will Fair Trade market penetration take?
Not all questions have to have immediate answers. Attendees will state their questions in their words, in regard to the hard question.

We shall take a look beyond our comfort zone and look at the definition of Fair Trade written by the Cooperation for Fair Trade in Africa:

Fair Trade is a sustainable system that endeavors to empower disadvantaged producers through payment of a fair price, democratically organized workplaces, technical assistance, social programming, equality for all, transparency, trust and environmental protection. It is a method of creating sustainable economies and new markets in otherwise poor developing countries, while simultaneously preserving traditional customs and practices. COFTA’s point of view seems relevant, for it has a membership of producers.

This conference session will work together to ascertain how we each can determine if our working is accomplishing our goal.

What the discussion will cover? - The penetration and effectiveness of our goal of alleviating poverty.

Who is your target audience? - Activists, retailers, buyers, producers

What are the goals and objectives of the session? - Answering for ourselves, since we believe in Fair Trade, what are we personally can do or are doing to alleviate poverty.

What will participants know or be able to do at the end of your session? - They will have articulated their goals on their own piece of paper.

How will this session educate and inspire participants? - What opportunities will this session provide participants to reflect, grow, and understand how to transform our global community?

Skeptics of Fair Trade should attend this session, for they will be convinced that we are asking ourselves tough questions about our goals. We will see the need for Fair Traders to get on the same page about poverty. We will see the importance to have our position on Fair Trade based on facts, statistics, true stories and successes that we personally know about. This will be our preparation to go back “to the shop and street” and articulate our mission. This session will energize the Fair Trader to approach their work with renewed direction.

Specifically, we will visit the calculating instruments that each of us can use when analyzing the correct Living Wage to pay our producers. If one uses a wholesaler, the session will guide the buyer on what questions to ask and how to know that the producer’s poverty is being reduced. The most significant objective is for each Fair Trader to take away from the session their own rules and guidelines for knowing how they are helping a producer out of poverty.

Session Materials: chalk board, dry erase board, or paper chart; projection equipment for own laptop

Handouts:

References will be provided as well as the latest statistics on poverty, as gathered from a number of the Fair Trade organizations and international government sources.

A syllabus of reading and a student guide will be provided.

4. Proposed Session Name: FAIR TRADE HOMES ALL OVER THE WORLD

Seminar Description:

The group discussion will consider how we as a Fair Trade movement can promote individual and families to have a Fair Trade Home for the individual and family. The dialogue will encompass the use of FT food, beverages, home decorations, outdoor products, fashion for children, men and women, gifts and home office supplies

Consideration will be given to how many products does one need to use to qualify and could there be levels of qualifications.

Would the size of the family be a determinant?

Reference books and class study guide will be provided.