A lot of people in Boston know the answer, thanks to the Boston Faith and Justice Network. The Network, a recipient of One Great Hour of Sharing grants from PHP, coordinated these Fair Trade Boston events in Boston, Brookline and Cambridge on that day. So when is it? May 8, 2010 – and May 8th every year.
In spite of overcast skies blowing wind, rain and chill on May 8, hundreds of Bostonians came out in support of the wide array of Fair Trade education, engagement and products that Boston has to offer. Thousands more were exposed to the day's events through their media efforts (television and newspaper), press releases, online calendars and social networking and simply encountering one of the sixteen participating World Fair Trade Day business and/or event locations.
"Our work is hitched to a passionate recognition that injustices exist that threaten our world's people, their labor and resources. Moreover, we can do something about it, and our efforts thus far have shown we are tapped into a very vital and special movement of people working towards a fairer future."
Participating locations were Ten Thousand Villages (Brookline and Cambridge), Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream (Newbury St), Crossroads Trade, Equal Exchange Café, Flat Black Coffee Company (Dorchester), JP Licks Ice Cream (Cambridge, Brookline and Jamaica Plain), Haley House Bakery Café (Roxbury), Harvest Co-op Markets (Jamaica Plain and Cambridge), Hope Central Church (also hosted SERRV), Mariposa Bakery, City Feed and Supply (Centre St) and Autonomie Project. These businesses and institutions offered Fair Trade-related promotions and discounts, music and educational presentations, Fair Trade food and drink samplings, scavenger hunts, in-store raffles and more.
"Through our relationships at City Hall and our advocacy efforts, Boston's City Council passed a resolution on May 5 affirming their commitment and support of Fair Trade. This was one of the final goals necessary to achieve "Fair Trade Town" status, a designation we should reach in the next few weeks, which would make Boston the largest city with that designation."
Boston will be the host of the Fair Trade Futures Conference on September 10-12, 2010. It's not too late to join us for great networking and learning about fair trade.