News & Events

What's New in 2011

• Engineers Without Borders (EWB) launched a national Scare Them Fair campaign to promote Fair Trade this past Halloween. The campaign encouraged consumers to use Fair Trade chocolate products such as Cocoa Camino, Oxfam and Dairy Milk. The Cocoa Camino and Oxfam mini bars were available from Ten Thousand Villages. The Cadbury Dairy Milk mini bars were available from Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmaplus, Rexall, Guardian and IDA drug stores. For more information contact Jess Nicksy at [email protected]. See photo.
• Maltesers, the third biggest chocolate brand in Britain, is to become Fairtrade, Mars, the producer of Maltesers will pay farmers a premium, on top of the price they currently pay, of about £900,000 a year. Most of the farmers are in the Ivory Coast. The sugar used will also be Fairtrade. The first packs of Fairtrade Maltesers will hit store shelves in The UK and Ireland next spring. See photo.
• Hearts and Crafts, Ethical Imports has opened up in Collingwood. Supplying Fair Trade gifts from around the word, the store is located at 54 Hurontario St. Collingwood L9Y 2L6. Their website is www.heartsandcrafts.ca. See their banner.
• All Green & Black chocolate bars are now Fair Trade. For years only the Mayan Gold bar carried the Fair Trade logo but as of Sept. 2011 the logo will appear on all bars. See photo.
• A plaque commemorating Barrie's qualification as a Fair Trade Town has been mounted at City Hall on the main floor opposite the reception desk.
• Manitoba liquor stores now carry 27 types of Fair Trade wine.
• Toronto and Hamilton have both officially established Fair Trade Working Groups with the objective of pursuing Fair Trade Town status for their cities.
• TransFair USA has announced that Fair Trade Certified cotton will begin appearing on US stores shelves in the spring of 2011. The new certification will include strong labour protection in factories that comply with ILO (International Labour Organization) standards. For more information visit www.transfairusa.org
• Sam's Club has become the first US corporation to introduce Fair Trade bananas into every store.
• The Fair Trade Resource Network, www.fairtraderesource.org is a great new source of information about Fair Trade
• Costco adds Starbucks decaffeinated Fair Trade coffee to their product offering. Costco has always been a strong supporter of Fair Trade. They have sold Starbuck Fair Trade regular and espresso coffee at very good prices for several years. They have now added Starbucks decaffeinated Fair Trade coffee.

2011 Events

1. Jan. 9th. The Barrie Green Party annual general meeting was held at the Barrie Library. Bob Jowett of the BFTWG provided coffee.
2. Feb. 5th. Winterfest Pancake Breakfast was hosted by Barrie Central United Church. Fair Trade Reunion Island coffee was donated by Madison County Food and Beverage Co. BFTWG staff Peter Sullivan, Paula Drouillard, Sean Rootham and Stephanie Wolfe helped serve the estimated 400 guests. See photos.
3. Feb. 6th, Huronia Symphony Concert at Central United Church. Coffee donated by Hamley's Tea & Coffee Co. served by Ingi Gould and Bruce Morton. See photos.
4. Feb. 11th, Rotary Fund Raiser, An Evening in Tuscany, is held at Victoria Village. Fair Trade coffee is donated by Van Houtte Coffee of Orillia and served by Paula Drouillard and Stephanie Wolfe of the BGTWG. See photos.
5. Mar. 8th, Teacher Angela Bosco arranges a Fair Trade presentation by Bruce Morton for classes studying social justice issues at Nantyr Shores Secondary School. See photos.
6. Mar. 9th, A local event supporting World Water Day is held at the Barrie Public Library. Bob Jowett of the BFTWG arranges for Fair Trade coffee for all.
7. Mar. 23rd, JC Meli, owner of Natural Vines, a supplier of Fair Trade organic wines, provided a review of Fair Trade wines at the Bayfield St. LCBO store. JC recommends wines from the South African Stellar Organic Winery. They are all organic Fair Trade wines. A favorite is Running Duck Fair Trade Organic Chardonnay. LCBO SKU # 149856. For more information visit www.naturalvines.com. See photos.
8. Apr. 17th, Huronia Symphony Concert at Central United Church. Fair Trade Coffee donated by Hamley's Tea & Coffee Co.
9. Apr. 30th, the local Aware Simcoe organization meeting is supported with Fair Trade coffee courtesy of Bob Jowett.
10. May 3rd, Barrie Celebrates First Anniversary as a Fair Trade Town. Barrie's Fair Trade supporters joined Mayor Jeff Lehman in a Fair Trade flag raising ceremony at Barrie City Hall to celebrate our first anniversary as a Fair Trade Town. Several local Fair Trade promoters including Nutrition Plus Natural Foods, Zehrs Markets and Mountain Equipment displayed samples of their Fair Trade products. Hamley's Tea & Coffee Co. supplied coffee throughout the day. Bob Jowett of the BFTWG presented the Mayor with a plaque to commemorate the city's qualification as a Fair Trade Town. See photos.
11. May 5th, Fair Trade film night at Monsignor Clair Elementary School in Barrie.
12. May 13th, Oxfam World Trade game at Monsignor Clair Elementary school. Organized by Bob Jowett of the BFTWG. Fair Trade chocolate prizes for the winners.
13. May 14th, DEVXCHANGE Dinner and Fund Raising event is held at Fendley Hall in Barrie. Approximately 250 guests are served an Ethiopian dinner and receive a presentation on how Canadians can use their skills to assist those in the developing world. Donations were also collected to assist educational funding in Ethiopia. Fair Trade coffee for all. See photos.
14. May 29th, Huronia Symphony Concert at Hi-Way Pentecostal Church. Fair Trade Coffee donated by Hamley's Tea & Coffee Co. See photos.
15. June 4th, The BFTWG participates in the annual Celebrate Barrie event on the city's waterfront. Lots of free Fair Trade coffee, bananas and chocolate all day. Kids earned a Cadbury Fair Trade Dairy Milk bar in a colouring contest sponsored by Cadbury. See photos.
16. June 7th, Teacher Amanda Myerscough arranges a Fair Trade presentation by Bruce Morton for classes studying social justice issues at Barrie North Collegiate.
17. June 9th, Teacher Eleanor Alexander arranges a Fair Trade presentation by Bruce Morton for classes studying social justice issues at Innisdale Collegiate.
18. June 25th, the local Aware Simcoe organization meeting is supported with Fair Trade coffee courtesy of Bob Jowett.
19. July 31st, the annual Rotary Pancake Breakfast is held during Kemenfest on Barrie's waterfront. BFTWG members Bob Jowett, Sandra Junkin, Peter Sullivan and Colin Wilson served Fair Trade coffee donated by Van Houtte. Despite the bad weather this is always an excellent event for building Fair Trade awareness. See photos.

Visit our gallery for photos of the above events.

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