Consuming fair trade products is easy. The hump that fair trade faces is the perception of ease. Fair trade needs to catch up with a world where the most successful products are advertised as easy. I thought this challenge would be a lot more difficult then it was. Now thats its over, I realize fair trade is easily accessible, and worth the extra pennies that I end up loosing in my coach anyways. I didn't even realize it was over (today is the 21st not the 13th). Give it a try, day by day you soon realize how easy it is, until, it just becomes normal.

- Jonathan

Take Home Message

Although the challenge is over, it feels like it's still on. Which is, I think, a good sign. I had some chocolate fudge today, home-made by a co-worker, and felt a pang. Of guilt.

Of course, I will continue to purchase fair trade and I will continue to push for fair trade options. But there is a middle ground here. I can't see myself giving up all chocolate, coffee, and tea that aren't fair trade. But I can control my purchases and I can ensure that they are considerate. And that, folks, is the take-home message.

- Tabitha

This is the End!

Well, folks, today is the last day of the Challenge. Really, the time flew by, and now we can all forget about Fair Trade altogether.... Or not. The One Month Challenge is a great way of raising awareness of environmental and labour justice issues, but it is certainly not the end of the road.

Through this challenge, many of us discovered that Fair Trade Options are generally pretty easy to come by (in an urban setting, anyway) and not necessarily more expensive, or at least not prohibitively so. Fair Trade wine isn't much more than an average bottle, and many coffee shops offer Fair Trade coffee for the same price as a regular cup.

After lamenting the fact early on that boxes of Fair Trade teas were quite a bit more per bag than the cheap-o varieties offered at grocery stores, I was surprised to find that I still have a good amount of tea left over. Not only that, but when compared to Gretzky's Green Tea, the Fair Trade option is actually cheaper to purchase than the Great Ones' brand. Sorry Wayne, but you just don't make the cut, this time.

To celebrate a successful challenge, I'm going to enjoy the last of a bottle of red wine tonight, and look forward to challenging myself to choose Fair Trade options regularly until next year's challenge comes around again.

- Sheldon

There are very few food chains that I like. I have to admit Robins Donuts is one of them. The stained yellow pictures of donuts on their menu, the way they have the same looking grandparents in all of them warms my heart. I'm glad to find out they have organic fair trade coffee! 1.37 for a small. Not to shabby Robins. Stay classy, stay stained yellow!

- Jonathan

Amnesia

Like many students I woke up sunday morning with a head ache, belly ache, dehydrated, and worrying about an exam on Monday. Yup, thats right, I spent saturday night sipping on vinho du porto discussing fine literature by my fire place with other elite scholars. I made my way to the university to study, and after a nauseating 50 min bus ride, I was felt even worse then ever. The only cure: Coffee. You would think Starbucks, the one company that has more pictures of foreign people on their walls then world vision, would support our brothers and sisters around the world, and have fair trade. Nope.

After 30 minutes of laying head down of an book-less table, about to explode, I remembered. There are other choices!  Smarter choices! Degrees(the UMSU run restaurant, with biodegradable cutlery, delicious vegan options, and fair trade coffee)! 

I think some times we are so saturated with large corporations that we can no longer remember that there are other options. I think that is what this challenge has re ignited in me, a little bit of freedom and empowerment in choice. I think its exciting, and empowering to have the choice everyday to practice something that is right.

- Jonathan

The Final Countdown

Well, there’s one week left in the One Month Challenge, and I am still going strong. One box of tea has bitten the dust, and the coffee is starting to run low, but there’s more than enough of everything to last through the end of the challenge.

Last night we even picked up a bottle of Fair Trade red wine, a Sima Kunye shiraz out of South Africa. The bottle was priced under 11$, too, so it was quite affordable. Haven’t tasted it yet, but that’ll likely come up in the next day or so, and I’ll report back.

Other than that, I’ve got little to say. The challenge has been very interesting so far, particularly when discussing the concept and the principles behind Fair Trade with friends and coworkers.

- Sheldon

Loosely Defined

I'm a big fan of loose tea. And I love that with loose tea there are so many options- herbal, green, white, black, fruit, rooibos. But in undertaking this challenge, I've discovered that there aren't a lot of options for fair trade loose tea. In fact, a call to local tea shops revealed that fair trade loose tea is not easily available in Winnipeg. (I might be wrong, please let me know if I am.)

I don't know enough about fair trade to know if herbal teas or green tea, say, are in need of the certification. Because these aren't considered true tea. Nonetheless, in the name of the challenge I have gone without. I stocked up on boxed teas- rooibos and peppermint- at Ten Thousand Villages. But this seems a bit of a grey area for me. Can't wait until the summer when I can make my own herbal teas. But for now, boxed tea it is.

- Tabitha

Chocolate, Chocolate, Everywhere

So. We're at the halfway point of this challenge and I, too, haven't found it too difficult. At least with the big stuff. This is my fourth year participating in the challenge and over the years I've slowly swapped out my coffee, tea, and chocolate for fair trade options. What I'm beginning to realize, however, is how often the little purchases come up. It's easy to control what you buy or make or eat at home. But when I'm out to lunch (hmm...) or someone is hosting me, it's more difficult. I walked away from a perfectly lovely white chocolate mousse last week. It had a chocolate crust.

Desserts, I've discovered, are often made with chocolate or have a chocolate ganache or crust. Which wouldn't be a big deal, but I love dessert. I've taken to suggesting that restaurants and cafes offer a fair trade chocolate dessert during the challenge. Mostly I'm getting a look that resembles the deer in headlights, but you never know...

- Tabitha

Half-way There

The One-Month challenge has reached the halfway mark… or it will in the next day or so. At this half-way point, I am happy to report that I haven’t found the challenge very challenging, and rather enjoyable to boot! My stock pile of Fair Trade teas and coffee is holding out strong, though I sense I’ll need to restock before the end of the month.

A few days ago, though, there was a moment that could have created a slight problem. I was at work in Osborne Village, and desperately needed a pick-me-up mid-shift. I had already taken my lunch break, so I didn’t have time to run down to Vita Health, buy some Fair Trade beans, come back to the office and cook up a pot.

Generally, in these instances I would just hit up Second Cup for a mug of caffeinated goodness (bring your own mug, save a disposable cup and save a few cents in the process, as they offer a discount to those with their own cups).  I figured that Second Cup must have at least one fairly traded coffee to choose from, and that I wouldn’t have to go to Starbucks instead.

Luckily, all of Second Cup’s coffee blends are Fair Trade! I happily bought a cup of Paradiso, and headed back to work. Now if only other coffee shops, particularly those on campus, could get on board!

- Sheldon

The 30 Fair trade challenge has been underway for a couple of weeks now. Although the challenge might seem very black and white, I have come across some grey.

My understanding of the challenge is to consume only fair trade products. So when a good friend surprised me with a cup of good old ‘Canadian’ Timmy hoho’s on a slow hazy morning I ran into a little problem? To drink or not to drink? Although the money was all ready spent, and the support of unethical coffee was already done, I still felt that drinking it was wrong. So I stood my ground explained the situation, and I refused to drink, not just buy, a coffee that is not parallel with ethics and morals.

Although my friend is very ethical and environmental aware, she still, like most of us, buys quick, cheap ‘regular’ coffee. These chains like Tim Horton’s make it so easy, and available to buy their coffee, they make us feel stupid if we don’t take advantage of their 100’s of stores.

One Week In

Well, the first week of the One Month Challenge has gone by, and so far no problems! I started the week off by picking up a few boxes of Fair Trade teas - one from Safeway and two others from Vita Health in Osborne Village - and a chocolate bar for Valentine's Day. If I can keep my tea consumption down to one or two cups a day max, I should be fine for the month with the supplies I've got.

My main concern area was coffee at work. I spend two days a week in the Manitoban office in University Centre. On production day and our weekly staff meeting, the paper picks up an urn of coffee for staff and any volunteers who happen to be around. Generally, on these two days I pound back at least a cup or two, saving a good five bucks at least a week. I had resigned myself to ponying up the cash on these days and heading to Degree's to buy my own cup, but luckily the Boss, knowing I'd undertaken the challenge myself and being interested in the issue, had requested Fair Trade coffee for the meetings, and IQ's delivered!

So now, one week in, I've nothing overly challenging to report. Hopefully the next three will be equally painless. I'll keep you posted!

- Sheldon

Motivations

Yesterday I got into an argument- er, discussion- with a co-worker on the importance of fair trade. She felt that while fair trade has its merits, it doesn't adequately address the geography or culture of a place. That is, why are lack of benefits, schooling, and health care fair trade issues in countries that don't have have these things in the first place? Can they miss what they've never had?

This is not the first time I've heard criticisms about fair trade. In the last few weeks, I've heard comments ranging from affordability and accessibility to the idea that fair trade is designed to help consumers feel better about their purchase. While it's made me re-think my motivations for doing this challenge, I can't be convinced that not choosing fair trade is okay. So yes, there are issues. And yes, there are flaws. But fair trade is the better option. Right?

- Tabitha
 

The Beginning

We have been asked by the MCIC to blog about our experiences in the One Month Fair Trade Challenge. We are a class of activism students at the University of Manitoba and are pledging to purchase and consume only fair trade coffee, chocolate, and tea for one month.

Is this activism? I don't know. But this is the beginning.

- Tabitha