Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Free Shipping - Partners for Just Trade


November 2012
Mother's Day Banner
Free Holiday Shipping on Orders $75 or More
Buy Fair Trade from PJT from now through December 15, and get free shipping on your individual holiday order of $75 or more.  Use the coupon code FREESHIP12 at checkout.*

Shop This Season's New Products >>

For the Cook:
Flour Sack Kitchen Accessories

Great for men and women!  Eco-friendly, fun kitchen accessories made from recycled flour sacks from Peru. Each has unique and interesting graphics.

Apron $32
Oven Mitt $14
Hot Pad $10
Kitchen Towel $5

Shop Now for Flour Sack Accessories >>

For the Decorator:
Haiti Wall Art


Haitian Metal Wall Art is hand-crafted from repurposed steel barrels.  Each piece has a uniquely Haitian design and is hand cut and hand-hammered.    

Shop Now for Haiti Wall Art >>

 
For the Toddler:
Stuffed Playmates 

Adorable stuffed playmates - llamas, dolphins, seals, flower girls and more - are soft and cuddly for little ones.  Read about the women who make our playmates below right.

 Shop Now for Stuffed Playmates >>  

 
 



For the Jewelry Lover:
Fine Silver Filigree Jewelry 

Fine silver filigree jewelry made by the women silversmiths of Munay Rumi makes a great gift.  Each comes with a small manta fabric bag for gift giving and to store to slow tarnishing.

Shop Now for Jewelry >>



For the Nature Enthusiast:
Gourd Birdhouses & Feeder  

Our Beehive Birdhouse, Hummingbird Birdhouse, and Hummingbird Bird Feeder are handmade from natural gourds and decorated with a wood-burning process.  A great gift for bird lovers!
Shop Now for Birdhouses & Feeders >>

*For individual orders only.  Does not apply to wholesale customers.  Cannot be used with other coupons.

The Cost of a Great Bargain
by Karen Wilson, PJT Board Member 

Stop and think when you find that great bargain. I hear people all the time proudly telling how they bought this great blouse or purse for just a few dollars. Sure, it's good for your pocketbook and your budget, but what went into that great buy?

First, look at the cost of the materials that went into the product. Of course the manufacturer purchases that material in huge quantities, so the price is far lower than what we would have to pay for it. Still that cost has to be considered.

Then think about the shipping costs. Eighty to 100% of clothing, shoes, toys and electronics are manufactured in poor countries. And, for the most part, those countries are half way around the world from us here in the U.S.A. The continually rising fuel prices need to be considered into the price of your great bargain, let alone the impact on our environment.

Obviously, that manufacturing facility needs to make a profit or they wouldn't stay in business. So that accounts for another portion of the price you paid. And the store selling the item is making a profit as well.

What does that leave? That leaves the person who actually put in the work to make the product. That person might be a teenager in China working from 7:30 am until 2:00 pm in unbelievably poor working conditions, and maybe getting 13 cents per hour. The sneakers you might have purchased may have been made by a person in Indonesia making $4.76 per day, or maybe 1 percent of the retail price. In Bangladesh a young woman may have made the shirt you purchased, maybe being paid 5 cents for that shirt. That worker might have to work over 200 years to make what the CEO of the corporation that sold that shirt makes in an hour.

So, do we want to continually purchase these great bargains, knowing we're enabling corporations to exploit these workers? Or do we want to stand up for these workers and make it known to our stores that we want the workers who made these products to be paid fairly and have decent working conditions? Give it some thought.

In This Newsletter
Free Shipping
The Cost of a Bargain
Stocking Stuffers
About the Knitters

Stocking Stuffers 
El Mercurio Knitter
The Knitters of El Mercurio 
Our stuffed playmates are made by a group of women knitters in the Andes.

Their group, El Mercurio, started with 5 women, but has grown to 30. Most of the women have families, and knitting allows them to take care of their children while earning money from knitting.

These women are knitting their way out of poverty...with a little help from you.
Partners for Just Trade
2236 Tower Grove Ave ~ St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 773-7358
www.partnersforjusttrade.org

This email was sent to pattyredwoodshae@sbcglobal.net by sales@partnersforjusttrade.org |  
Partners for Just Trade | 2236 Tower Grove Ave | St. Louis | MO | 63110

Fun and Creative Gifts from Equal Exchange

Fun and creative gifts for the holidays

Friday, November 30, 2012 3:00 PM
From:

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For all who love making a difference during the holidays with Fairly Trade Gift Baskets everyone will love! Free handmade gift wrap* on orders of $200 or more until December 10th - use code GIFTWRAP2012. Make your own Gift Baskets. Have fun and create unique gifts! With baskets, ribbon, and fun decorations you can create lovely holiday gifts to sell at your holiday
bazaar or raffle off as a fundraiser. Here are some ideas to get you started. Baking Kit: Arrange Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Organic Baking Cocoa, an Organic Very Dark Chocolate Bar and our lovely Recipe Cards together for those who love
to bake. Chocolate Mini Gift Bags: Create cute gifts of Organic Minis (Dark or Milk) using our kit of 35 stickers and gift bags. Coffee Essentials: Combine a package of Organic Mind, Body and Soul Coffee and a Ceramic Mug and you have a simple crowd pleaser!
Ready-Made Gift Baskets - Not sure what to choose? That's okay, we've assembled some of our favorite combinations for you: African Gift Box. Crowd Pleaser Basket.
Crafts and Jewely - We offer a variety of artisan crafts and jewelry that make great gifts: Festive Glory Scarf. Metal Blossom Cuff.
Then wrap it in beautiful Gift Wrap handmade in India for that extra special finishing touch. *Receive a free packet of gift wrap with your order of $200 or more, now through December 10th. Use code GIFTWRAP2012 at check out.
Make sure your gifts arrive on time! Read our Holiday Shipping Policy. Hope's Blend - a new blend is here! Buy now.
Looking for Holiday Recipes for your celebrations? Browse recipe cards:
Add some to your next order:
Equal Exchange partners with many faiths

*Offer for free Gift Wrap good through December 10th, one pack per customer. Add the item to your order and then use promotional code GIFTWRAP2012 on checkout to receive the sale.
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Equal Exchange, Inc. | 50 United Drive | West Bridgewater, MA 02379 | United States

From the Office of Public Witness

Advent Expectation and the Fiscal Cliff

 
At this time of year, as we turn our attention to the waiting and the preparation that characterizes this holy season, and to the hope for the future that will arrive on Christmas morning, we join with you as we wait and hope. And yet we know that God has called us to be in the world and to call the world to better account. In the church, and especially during Advent, we have responsibilities outside of the walls of our houses of worship. We have responsibilities in our families, in our communities, and in our nation.
 
Most pressing among the many items of business before this lame duck Congress is the looming so-called fiscal cliff – the convergence of a number of policies that will automatically take effect in January, 2013. In this time of intense partisanship and long-term fiscal crisis, it is essential that the church’s voice be loud among those seeking to influence our national decisions. Contact your Members of Congress now to weigh in on the current fiscal cliff debate.
 
CBPP - causes of the deficitWe continue to exhort Members of Congress to bear in mind to common good when making fiscal decisions. We join in concerns about leaving a legacy of mounting debt to future generations, but so too do we abhor leaving a legacy of rising poverty, inequality, and underinvestment. As the national dialogue centers around ways to reduce the federal deficit, it is first important to remember what created our deficit (see chart) and second that there are only two ways to reduce it: cutting spending and raising tax revenue. To date, all deficit reduction measures ($1.5 trillion) have come from spending cuts, mostly from the section of the budget that is not responsible for our ballooning deficit. We cannot cut our way out of our deficit – new revenues must be part of any solution that seeks to reduce the deficit in a just way.
 
Absent action from Congress, on January 1st, a series of deep automatic spending cuts ($1.2 trillion) and the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts will converge to create the so-called fiscal cliff. These policies together will significantly reduce the deficit, but as blunt tools they will also do harm. Combined with the pending need to increase the federal debt ceiling again and the expiration of Unemployment Insurance Benefits for the long-term unemployed, these policies have the potential to cause severe contraction in the economy and the labor market, even as a sluggish recovery from the Great Recession continues to provide too few new jobs to meet the demand of those seeking work.
 
For slides from a recent presentation on the fiscal cliff, click here.
 
Even in this time of waiting and thanking and hoping and praying, we know that we have so much work to do, both still to come this year, and as a New Year begins. But we engage with Members of Congress, and with you, during this Lame Duck season with hope and thanksgiving, trusting in our God who calls us into the public square, requiring us to bring our religious understandings of compassion, peace, and justice, to the decisions we make as a nation.
 
Send a message to your Member of Congress today – make sure they know to protect the poor in a fiscal cliff deal.

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More Meaningful Christmas and Advent



Do you long for a more meaningful Christmas? Do you wish Advent were truly a season of holy connectedness to God, to loved ones, to community, to self? This year set an intention to observe the season differently: keep preparations simple, pray more often, reach out to others, and allow yourself time and space for wonder and delight. If you need support, discuss with others ways you can resist getting swept away in our hectic holiday consumer culture. Find a trusted partner or two who can keep you accountable and support your efforts to simplify the season. It can be challenging to make Advent a time for deepening the spiritual walk and drawing closer to God.
Simplify the season and increase a sense of wonder
1.  Use Ideas for Reclaiming Advent and Christmas from the Presbyterian Hunger Program in discussion with family and friends.
2.  Read Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case for a More Joyful Christmas by Bill McKibben. I first read this delightful little book with a study group at church, and I return to it most years for inspiration and insight.
3.  Treat yourself to a retreat, such as  Cultivating Quiet
(December 9-11, 2012), offered by Stony Point Center in NY.
Step back from your busy schedule and explore what a time of silence can bring to your life. In an environment of mutual support, participants in this retreat are encouraged to empty themselves of agendas, obligations and goals, and just allow themselves to be, to become comfortable with the quiet and to experience what happens. Email Kitty Ufford-Chase with questions or to register.
4.  Use an Advent Calendar (or two):
  • The 2012 Eco-Justice Advent Calendar by PC(USA) Environmental Ministries encourages daily caring for God's creation as a way to prepare for the coming of Jesus. 
  • Fair Trade Chocolate Advent Calendar: Fair trade heart-shaped milk chocolates are found behind each door of Divine Chocolate's 2012 Advent calendar. Featuring the visual story of Divine as well as a nativity scene, with every purchase of the Advent Calendar through SERRV, a school notebook will be donated to children in chocolate cooperative Kuapa Kokoo's schools and communities in Ghana.
5.  Host a Fair Trade Holiday Bazaar at church. Encourage church members to shop their values by hosting a fair trade sale or holiday bazaar. Visit the PC(USA) Global Marketplace to find fair trade organizations related to the Presbyterian Church (USA). A sale can be as involved or as simple as you like. Consider groups founded by Presbyterians such as Pal Craftaid, Creations of Hope, Partners for Just Trade, and more.
6.  Please recommend materials to us. We love to hear and recommend to others what's been meaningful for you. 
In hope,
Melanie Hardison
Enough for Everyone
(800) 728-7228 x5626

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Fair Trade Halloween Chocolate from Equal Exchange

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This year, Fair Trade your HalloweenAdd interfaith@equalexchange.coop to your address book.
Sign up for the Fair Trade Your Halloween Kit nowView this message on the web.
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Halloween shouldn't be scary - at least not when it comes to chocolate! This year, Fair Trade Your Halloween.
Check out our bite-sized Organic Dark Chocolate Minis.
Organic Milk Chocolate Minis.
Learn more about child labor in the cacao industry.
Sign up for our Fair Trade Your Halloween Kit.
See other ways you can incorporate Fair Trade into your October with 31 Days of Fair Trade, from our friends at Global Exchange.
Coming soon: Organic & fairly traded Candy Bars. Sign up to be notified when they arrive.Coming soon: Holiday Minis! Sign up to be notified when they arrive.Now available: Cozy Cup Decaf - you asked
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If you have a question about your order, the Interfaith Program, or other comments please send an email to our fabulous Interfaith Customer Service team at interfaith@equalexchange.coop
Equal Exchange partners with many faiths