Berkeley set to become the 19th Fair Trade Town!

With many Fair Trade supporters in the crowd, the Berkeley City Council passed a Fair Trade resolution at their July 13th meeting to make Berkeley a Fair Trade town! The Fair Trade Berkeley steering committee members and City Manager’s office have worked very hard over the past year to craft a "Best-in-Class" Fair Trade Town Resolution and City Ordinance.

Steering committee member Dagny Tucker, expressed appreciation to Berkeley city officials and citizens for passing the resolution and upholding Berkeley’s history of being a leader in just choices as the resolution works alongside Berkeley’s long list of other important purchasing laws (sweatfree,precautionary principle, etc).

You can see a video of Dagny's speech here http://bit.ly/9iDDCl



An official declaration celebration will be held in August.The mayor and city council are set to attend. Details to come, so keep checking the blog!

See East Bay Express' article about the Resolution http://bit.ly/9W5m1d

See the actual resolution http://bit.ly/abFdPS

Berkeley becomes a Fair Trade Town July 13th @ 7pm - Please Attend!

Hello, Fair Trade Berkeley Friends and Supporters!!!!

I hope this message finds you well amidst fun summer events. I'm writing with Good News!!!

Since our last visit with the Berkeley City Council, members of the Fair Trade Berkeley steering committee have been meeting with the City Manager's office, crafting what seems to be truly a "Best-in-Class" Fair Trade Town Resolution and City Ordinance. We can feel very proud of Berkeley for continuing to keep the bar high and for insisting on an ordinance that works alongside its long list of other important purchasing laws (sweatfree, precautionary principle, etc.)

Please plan to show your appreciation by attending the Berkeley City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 13th, 7-7:30pm. This will be QUICK this time (hooray!) because the resolution is on the Consents Calendar (the first 15 minutes of the meeting). Essentially, the City Council will "consent" to the resolution barring no objection from the public. Fair Trade Berkeley steering committee dynamo, Dagny Tucker, will be present to offer a less-than-2 minute testimony, expressing our appreciation.

By attending, you will visibly represent growers and producers around the world, along with local retailers, faith communities and consumers who understand that Fair Trade choices made locally create world-changing impacts globally.

Please mark your calendars for:

NEXT Tuesday, July 13th, 7-7:30pm.

Location: 2134 MLK Jr Way, second floor.

This is exciting....we hope to see you all there! Thank you for all your support! Three Cheers for Fair Trade! Stay tuned for details about our Fair Trade Town celebration in August...

Berkeley City Council to Hear Fair Trade City Resolution

Dear Fair Trade Friends,

We have exciting news! We just received word that the Berkeley City Council will be hearing our resolution to declare Berkeley a Fair Trade City tonight, Tuesday, April 27th at 8pm.

The resolution is included as a part of the “Actions Calendar” for tomorrow’s city council meeting, which means that representatives of the Fair Trade Berkeley campaign will be given up to two minutes each to present arguments in favor of the resolution and provide material to address any questions asked by the council.

If successful, the item under consideration could result in a vote in support of the resolution, but we will need your help to demonstrate the broad community support for the Fair Trade in Berkeley to ensure that the City Council gets the message.

This is a crucial point in the Berkeley campaign as we move one step closer to declaring Berkeley a Fair Trade Town! Join us in showing your support for Fair Trade by attending the meeting in full Fair Trade attire – wear t-shirts with a Fair Trade message on them and bring colorful banners and signs. Then help us turn out the vote by inviting your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

In light of this exciting development, TransFair USA will be opening its community café to the general public between 5-7 pm café for a ‘prep’ rally filled with pizza and sign painting before we head down to the council meeting together. The TransFair USA offices are located at 1500 Broadway @ 15th St. in downtown Oakland. If you can join the ranks – great! But if not, then we hope to see you at the Unified School District Building.

Fair Trade Berkeley needs your voice, your signs, and your presence! Come one, come all!

What: Berkeley City Council Meeting
When: Tuesday, April 27 at 6:30pm, with Action Calendar discussion to begin around 8pm
Where: Unified School District Building, 2134 MLK Jr. Way, second floor, downtown Berkeley
Accessible by Downtown Berkeley BART Station

Event RSVP via Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=108858662488736&ref=mf

If you or another member of your organization are interested or available to speak on behalf of the resolution, please contact Jamie Guzzi, Grassroots Outreach Coordinator, TransFair USA, 510-663-5260 x. 309, jguzzi@transfaiusa.org.

For more information about the campaign to declare Berkeley a Fair Trade City please visit:
http://fairtradeberkeley.blogspot.com

Best,
Lauren, Dagny, Katrina, Katie, David, Billy, Jamie, Alicia
and the rest of the Fair Trade Berkeley Team.

Berkeley Fair Trade Fair

Last week hundreds of UC Berkeley Students and members of the Berkeley community showed their love for Fair Trade at the Berkeley Fair Trade Fair. The Fair consisted of several booths with chocolate sampling, free T-shirts and general information about Fair Trade Certified. Among the Fair Trade representatives were TransFair USA, Alter Eco, Theo Chocolate, Divine Chocolate and the UC Berkeley Fair Trade Club. While students and passerbys spent time tasting a variety of Fair Trade Certified chocolates and signing petitions to help Berkeley become a Fair Trade Town, others were busy signing one of the largest Valentine's Day cards anyone has ever seen.

By signing the card, people were able to show their love and support for Fair Trade in a big way. Not only was the giant heart quite a spectacle on campus, but it now sits in Berkeley's City Hall as a testament to the government's commitment to the Fair Trade Town campaign. The Mayor of Berkeley Tom Bates proudly accepted the card (and a little Fair Trade Certified chocolate), and then posed for a photo-op with the Fair Trade Berkeley team!

All in all the day was a great success. The fair was a wonderful way to spread awareness about Fair Trade, to promote Fair Trade certified products, and to gain support for the movement right here in Berkeley.

Happy Holidays from TransFair USA!

Berkeley Fair Trade Towns Monthly Meeting - Minutes

I. Event One – Status Check on 5 FTT Criteria for Berkeley:

Retail:
• Need 20 retail stores in Berkeley that carry two or more Fair Trade products – Nailed this, but always looking for more!

Steering Committee:
• Formulating a list of local businesses & offices and invite to serve on the Steering Committee. We’ll have a mailing list party at our next meeting!

Community Support:
• The per capita numbers for Berkeley equivilate to 20 organizations that need to use Fair Trade products – Done!
• Residents’ petition: Jan. – April is the time to increase Fair Trade visibility for Berkeley residents. We need to petition at Farmer’s Market, UC Berkeley Campus and around town for community support.

Legislation:
• Set a timeline for passing resolution in Berkeley, ideally in May, 2010!

Press/Media Coverage:
• Fair Trade Berkeley BART Advertisement
• Blog: Check it out and make it known!
o FairTradeBerkeley.blogspot.com
• Email us on our Fair Trade Berkeley gmail!
o FairTradeBerkeley@gmail.com. Questions, requests for information and the like can be directed here!

II. Event Two - Jan. 13th, 10-11am. Meeting with Mayor’s Office

Meeting with Nils Moe (assistant to Mayor T. Bates) and Jennifer Cogley (BuyLocal Berkeley) regarding:
• Wording on the Resolution
• Resolution timeline
• Passports Game – approval and implementation plan
• Fair Trade Fair at CAL (invite them and City Hall’s participation, if desired)
• Fair Trade Berkeley ad in BART
• Fair Trade presence at the Mayor’s New Year’s gathering

III. Event Three - Buy Local; Buy Fair Berkeley Passports Game:

Hoping to implement a game in Berkeley shops as part of “Fair Trade New Year’s Resolution” activity. Passports Game would be active between mid-Jan and mid-March. If you have some capacity – or have found a new member for our steering committee, this would be a great place for them to share their talents!

IV. Event Four – For the Love of Fair Trade, Fundraising night @ the Fox Den, Feb. 4th

V. Event Five - Fair Trade Fair @ UC Berkeley, Thursday, Feb. 11th, 11am -2pm

BIG Thanks to Katrina and her team on campus! Please contact FairTradeBerkeley@gmail to become apart of the UC Berkeley campus team or want more information about anything discussed at our meeting or how you can get more involved with making Berkeley a Fair Trade Town!

Berkeley Fair Trade Towns Monthly Meeting

Tomorrow, December 9th, 2009, is the Berkeley Fair Trade Towns Steering Committee monthly meeting! It will be held at the TransFair USA office at 1500 Broadway in Downtown Oakland! Any and everyone who is interested in Fair Trade, Fair Trade Towns or would simply like to learn more about the Fair Trade movement you're welcome to attend. Your presence is greatly appreciated! The National Fair Trade Towns conference call will follow our meeting and you are welcome to attend that as well. We ecnourage the Berkeley community to attend and give input into making Berkeley a Fair Trade Town!