Fair Trade Reception

Learn more about Fair Trade!

You are invited to a reception for Jacqueline DeCarlo this Tuesday, May 29, from 7 to 9 pm.  DeCarlo is the author of Fair Trade: a Beginner's Guide, and this will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about fair trade and your role as a consumer.

On Wednesday, May 30 at 6 pm, Ten Thousand Villages Houston will host a book signing for Ms. DeCarlo.  Ten Thousand Villages is located in Rice Village, at 2424 Rice Blvd.  Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit, fair trade gift store, and Té is also fair trade certified, so we are all committed fair trade and making positive impacts on communities around the world through our purchases and business practices.

So, put these events in your calendar:

• Fair Trade author reception, May 29, 7 - 9 pm, @ Té
  
• Fair Trade book signing, May 30, 6 - 8 pm, @ Ten Thousand Villages
  

More About the Book

Published by Oneworld Publications (UK), Fair Trade: a Beginner's Guide, explains the principles behind Fair Trade and how it developed. Fair Trade is a market-based consumer and producer movement that creates equitable relationships between trading partners. It gives small-scale producers market access and a chance to benefit from globalization.  DeCarlo’s book discusses why Fair Trade works, and she can provide perspectives on recent Fair Trade controversies and debates such as the trademark rights for Ethiopian coffee farmers.

More About the Author

Jacqueline DeCarlo encountered Fair Trade while investigating the situation of refugees and immigrants in Central America in 1999. Soon thereafter, she became a volunteer with the Mut Vitz Coffee Cooperative in Chiapas, Mexico. In 2001, she became the director of the newly independent Fair Trade Resource Network, leading that organization’s growth and development before joining Catholic Relief Services in 2005.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday should be interesting evenings, so please come!  Even small actions, with your daily consumer purchases, can make a difference!!

Other News

We will be hosting an "Indian Night" on Thursday, in honor of our friend and Té consultant Hema Parikh, who is back in town after having moved back to India for a year.  Hema will be brewing some special chais, and we have other events planned for the evening, so mark your calendar!  We'll have more details in our next newsletter.