Fair Feels Good

An astonishing 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made every year - the far majority of which destroy the life of a child as quickly as it puts a smile on another child’s face.

Most cocoa is produced in West Africa. Cocoa companies in the US pay so little for their raw ingredient that the farmers in Africa cannot meet their families’ basic needs, let along pay their workers. To create the bunnies and other chocolate treats, an estimated 284,000 children - many of whom are slaves - are forced to work long hours with dangerous tools in grueling working conditions.

This cycle can be broken. Fair Trade certified chocolate prohibits forced and abusive child labor, pays a fair price to farming families that is adequate to meet basic human needs, and requires environmentally sustainable production methods.

This Easter, stay guilt-free and choose from our sweet list:

• Divine Chocolate available through A Greater Gift. $7 for a pretty bag of dark or light chocolate Easter eggs individually wrapped in gold foil. Tempt yourself further with heavenly recipes for Divine Chocolate.
• Equal Exchange Chocolate. $3.95 for a bar, $17.50 for a pretty pack, and $39.00 for a cute basket filled with treats!
• Global Exchange Look out for the Easter Action Trio ($18.95) containing three bars of Divine chocolate, a cute knitted bunny woven by members of a women’s cooperative in Peru, a bundle of Fair Trade Easter Action Coloring Postcards (to send directly to World’s Finest Chocolate asking them to source Fair Trade chocolate) and a Quick Chocolate Fact Postcard.
• Ithaca Fine Chocolates. Five “art bars” for $12.95.
• Alter Eco. From $3.79 a bar.
• Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates - lovely Easter bunnies and Easter gifts available, from $1.50 for a small bunny, $16.50 for a box of Easter truffles.

Brands to avoid include: Hersheys, Mars, M&M, Dove, Nestle, Hargen-Darz, Godiva, Lindt, Ghiradelli and Dagoba. These brands may have some “ethically sourced” marketing ploys, but all have failed to commit to Fair Trade and Child Labor laws.

A brilliant campaign! Name and shame the worst offenders (or biggest fossil fools) that have ignored our demand for clean and just energy.
Vote in all or any of the following categories:

- Fossil Fool of the Year
- Most Inauspicious Newcomer
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Biggest Human Toll
- Outstanding Performance in Corporate Greenwashing

Visit Co-op America to vote, and automatically enter the contest for a free year of renewable energy credits for your home.

Icelandic singer, Bjork, causes controversy again! This time it is not her bizarre dress sense, but her political stance.

In her recent concert in Shangai she declared ”Tibet! Tibet!” three times, and to end a passionate performance of her song ”Declare Independence”. The lyrics include “raise your flag, ignore their patronizing, tear off their blindfold, open their eyes…declare independence”.

Typically, Chinese state media did not report on the concert. (The state does not tell people inside China about its harsh and oppressive rule over Tibet, so why should it mention any opposition to its rule). But, online news sites were aflame with anger and criticism. “If she really did this, then this woman really makes people throw up,” one comment on popular Chinese Web site Sina.com said.

While Chinese fans are angry, reported posting comments on websites:

“Wow, the nerve! Where did she get the courage to do this? Weirdo!”

“I like Bjork”, said one, “it’s OK for her to have a different point of view, but for her to do this is disrespectful to fans here - very selfish of her”.

Why do western stars give a shit about Tibet. Isn’t Tibet ours?! Mind your own business!”

Many, including the Free Tibet Movement, commend her courage.

Speaking out in a controlled state is risky. Bjork will probably not be allowed in China again in the near future. She has already had her show canceled at the 2008 Serbian EXIT Festival concerts due to her dedicating the same song to Kosovo in her concerts in Japan. We see here a true artist, performing from her heart and caring enough about her convictions to speak our loudly and without fear.

Bjork released this comment on her official website, which is now banned in China.

I would like to put importance on that i am not a politician, I am first and last a musician and as such I feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions. the urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one that we all feel at some times in our lives. This song was written more with the personal in mind but the fact that it has translated to its broadest meaning, the struggle of a suppressed nation, gives me much pleasure.
I would like to wish all individuals and nations good luck in their battle for independence.
Justice !

We all know the environmental disaster plastic bags cause, choking birds and marine creatures. We are all tired of seeing plastic bags turn into the “national flower”, littering trees, bushes and our communities. Yet we all continue to take home plastic bags every time we shop. In fact, America takes home 100 billion plastic bags a year, enough to circle the globe 45 times.

“The swirling debris of plastic trash in the Pacific Ocean has now grown to a size that is twice as large as the continental U.S.” (The Green Room)

Large grocery stores lobby against states who consider banning plastic bags - saying the ban will drive up prices. Other stores have started charging for plastic bags, apparently trying to gently introduce their customers to thinking about whether they actually need extra bags. IKEA charges a dime for each bag, and donating the proceeds to environmental causes.

Do we really need legislation or increased fees to make responsible decisions, or can consumers drive the movement themselves to save the world from something we all dislike in the first place?

A bit of motivation - the Daily Mail (a UK newspaper) recently published this photograph of a whale washed up on a British beach. Its stomach was crammed with plastic bags - 23 bags, or fragments of bags, were found. Marine biologists believe it is yet another victim of our careless, plastic bag culture.