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Mankato Fair Trade will be sponsoring the annual Christmas church Fair Trade Bazaars throughout the month of November and into December. You have the opportunity to support our producers in developing countries by buying beautiful, unique, hand-crafted Fair Trade clothing, Christmas items, and home decor from 10,000 Villages, New Ulm's Own, and Global Mamas. Here are the days, times, and locations of the Fair Trade Bazaars! Grace Lutheran church, 110 North 4th Street, Mankato, Sunday, November 12, 9:30 – 11:30 and Wednesday, November 15, 5:00 – 7:00 Bethlehem Lutheran church, 720 South 2nd Street, Mankato, Sunday, November 26, 9:00 – Read More

October marks National Fair Trade Month in the United States: a month dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of fair trade, and the promotion of buying and using socially and commercially responsible products. If you’re reading this , you’ve probably already heard of fair trade. Yet, despite the term’s ubiquity, its full meaning still eludes most of us, with the numerous fair trade entities — from certification bodies to national organizations and international networks — adding to the confusion. Fair trade came about when it became clear that globalization and free trade facilitated the Global North’s exploitation of producers Read More

Find & support an FTF verified store or café in your local community; Educate about fair trade with quotes, graphics, blogs, and more; Spread the word about the Fair Trade Month Silent Auction; Purchase from FTF members when shopping online;

by Paul Renshaw Founding Chair, Mankato Fair Trade . 35 years ago, if you were a coffee farmer anywhere in the Americas, East Africa or South-East Asia, you would have been very worried by the world price of the commodity that your livelihood depended on. You would probably not have been able to make ends meet. This “coffee crisis” of the late 1980s spurred the growth of the international “Fair Trade” or “Fairtrade” movement. Among other benefits, participating farmers and other small producers in the Global South, were enabled, through innovative product labeling, to receive fairer prices and thus reward Read More