Fair Trade Month 2008 || Norman Style

We still have a few days left in this great month of October - Fair Trade Month. I was online looking for events and things going on in our great state of Oklahoma dealing with Fair Trade. During the search, I came across a great group of people in Norman, Oklahoma, just a few minutes from Oklahoma City. The group is called Norman Fair Trade and they help track all sorts Fair Trade related things. The group was formed this year in hopes to help Norman become a Fair Trade City. The group has been busy this during Fair Trade Month hosting everything from a video screening of Black Gold, Fair Trade tastings, Reverse Trick or Treating and much more. They are also currently working on getting a petition to President Boren at The University of Oklahoma to get OU to serve only fairly traded coffees on campus. The Norman Transcript wrote a great article about the group with interviews with some of the founding members. We are excited to see that this group is working hard for Fair Trade and we look forward to seeing what else they have going on in the future. Be sure to stop by their blog for a look at their "where to buy Fair Trade" map and to sign up for their mailing list. This is the last part of the Norman Transcript article: "By making Norman a Fair Trade City," Bhand said. "We can strengthen our commitment towards fairness, social responsibility and environmental sustainability." Want to know more about how a city becomes a Fair Trade City? You can head on over to the Fair Trade Towns USA and read all about it. In short, this is what they look for to make a town a fair trade town (this information comes from their "about" section): A local Fair Trade steering committee is formed that meets on a regular basis. The aim of the committee is to increase awareness of and demand for Fair Trade products through education, outreach and events. A range of Fair Trade products are available in local stores, cafes and other venues. These include Fair Trade Certified products and products sold by retailers that are members of the Fair Trade Federation. Fair Trade products are used by a number of local organizations, such as places of worship, schools, hospitals and offices. The local campaign attracts media attention and visible public support, including press and radio. The town or city council passes a resolution supporting Fair Trade and the local campaign. We will continue to track the progress of Norman Fair Trade and hopefully you will see an event hosted by Cafe Evoke Catering and Norman Fair Trade in the near future! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering, norman fair trade Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!