Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange - PageName: Fair Trade

Sunday September 5th 2010

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Fair Trade

"Fair Trade" is the movement to bring goods from small and medium producers in developing countries directly to markets in North America and Europe, thereby eliminating middlemen and maximizing profits where they are most needed. The idea is to ensure the dignity of workers by paying wages that meet basic needs, regulating work hours, providing a safe work environment, and complying with standard environmental practices. --Adapted from Education for Justice

An Unfair Trading System: The poorest countries of the world account for only 0.4 percent of international trade, yet they lose and estimated $700 billion a year due to unfair trade rules. The U.S. and other developed countries are currently pursuing “free trade” agreements with many developing countries. Developing countries, which often utilize higher levels of tariffs and taxes on incoming goods in order to gather revenue for their governments, are often forced to eliminate these tariffs and taxes as part of free trade agreements... “free” trade primarily benefits wealthy corporations and wealthy countries. --Adapted from Education for Justice

Take Action for Free Trade http://fairtradela.wordpress.com/

Advocate for Fair Trade Cocoa http://www.fairtraderesource.org/change-the-world/advocate-for-fair-trade/

Websites to visit
• Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade http://www.crsfairtrade.org/
• Citizens Trade Campaign http://www.citizenstrade.org/what_is_ctc.php
• Consumer Federation of America http://www.consumerfed.org/
• Co-Op America http://www.coopamerica.org/
• Fair Trade Federation http://www.fairtradefederation.com/
• Fair Trade L.A. •
• Oxfam http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/default.aspx
• Ten Thousand Villages http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/
• The Ministry of the Arts http://www.ministryofthearts.org/
• USCCB http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/tradeind.shtml

Prayer

Mary, Mother of us all,
you toiled daily to provide food, water, love and care for your family.
Bless all the women of the world who face an unjust global trade system as they struggle today to feed their children,
to provide warmth and comfort, to bring hope and peace to the world.
Help us to grow in understanding of their plight,
Help us to grow in solidarity with them,
Help us to work for global trade justice.
Hear our call for the strength and courage to create
a just global trade system that supports
all women, men, and children in your human family.
Amen.

--Adapted from Education for Justice

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