Enjoying Fair Trade ice cream flavors at Ben & Jerry's on Jack London Square
Oakland is known for its social conscience, but many Oakland residents may not realize just how easy it is to support the rapidly growing Fair Trade movement in their own city. Fair Trade is more than just a buzzword on product labels – it’s a market-based system that helps global farmers and workers by upholding principles like fair prices, transparent practices and environmental protection. The Fair Trade Oakland campaign, the local branch of the Fair Trade Towns USA movement, is hoping to raise Oakland’s awareness of the issues surrounding Fair Trade and to publicize the many Oakland retailers that offer Fair Trade Certified™ products.
On Wednesday, August 10, supporters of the Fair Trade Oakland campaign gathered at the Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop at Jack London square to indulge in some tasty Fair Trade Certified ice cream while learning about the Fair Trade movement in their community. Billy Lindstead Goldsmith, the national coordinator of Fair Trade Towns USA, addressed the crowd and described the Fair Trade Towns movement’s goals and its particular strength in the Bay Area, where both San Francisco and Berkeley have become Fair Trade Towns. He emphasized Oakland’s unique relationship with Fair Trade, which stems in part from its role as the home of TransFair USA, the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States.
Later speakers put the focus on retailers, demonstrating the local mindset of the Fair Trade Oakland movement. TransFair USA representative David Funkhouser gave a shout-out to host Ben & Jerry’s, which offers multiple Fair Trade flavors and has made a commitment to convert to 100% Fair Trade Certified ingredients by 2013. Members of Fair Trade Oakland’s leadership team then unveiled their guide to buying Fair Trade products in Oakland, which provides a list of retailers that offer Fair Trade Certified products and is organized both by district and by retail category.
The guide showcases the wide availability of Fair Trade products in Oakland. If you’re looking for coffee, which is the largest sector of the Fair Trade market, options in Oakland range from small cafes to large chains like Starbucks, Peet’s and Tully’s. Grocery store options include not just eco-minded stores like Whole Foods and local favorite Farmer Joe’s, but also mainstream retailers like Trader Joe’s and Safeway. Numerous corner stores and local markets offer Fair Trade Certified products as well, and several restaurants have integrated Fair Trade products into their menus. For a map of these locations, visit www.fairtradeoakland.tumblr.com/wheretobuy. The list will be constantly expanding as more and more retailers choose Fair Trade and publicize their support for the Fair Trade system.
Fair Trade Oakland is looking for help as it completes the steps toward becoming a Fair Trade Town, the last of which is passing a city resolution. More information is available here. As Fair Trade moves increasingly into the mainstream in Oakland, it appears that Oakland residents are taking the mantra of “think globally, act locally” to heart.
