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Business Network News
June 7, 2006
Equal
Exchange Partners with Wainwright Bank
Fair Trade pioneer company Equal Exchange
and the socially responsible Wainwright Bank
have developed a new Certificate of Deposit (CDs) for socially responsible
investors, which will direct all proceeds to Equal Exchange.
“Each time someone buys a $2,000 CD, that provides the cash
Equal Exchange needs to purchase, at a Fair Trade price, the coffee
grown by a typical family farm supporting six to eight people,”
says Rink Dickinson, Equal Exchange co-founder. “More than
100 million Americans drink coffee every day, so even if a tiny
fraction of them were to add this CD to their portfolio, that would
make a huge, direct contribution to supporting small-scale coffee
farmers around the world.”
Visit www.equalexchange.com/eecd
»
Nominate Your Company for Business Ethics Awards
Businesses that portray exemplary practices in environmental sustainability,
stakeholder accountability and excellence are encouraged to apply
for the 18th annual Business Ethics
award. The winners will be profiled in the Fall issue of Business
Ethics. Past winners include Stonyfield,
Clif Bar,
and Seventh Generation.
Submit nominations
by June 19 to Awards@business-ethics.com.»
The Return of Julia Butterfly in South Central LA
World-famous environmental heroine Julia Butterfly Hill has climbed
another tree to stop a new injustice. The tree is in the middle
of a 14-acre urban farm in South Central Los Angeles, which feeds
hundreds of low-income urban residents, and is slated to be bulldozed
for a new development.
Butterfly-Hill has been joined by Joan Baez, both of whom have taken
up residence in a tree on the property and vow not to end the sit-in
till Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa fulfills the city’s previous
support for the farmers. The struggle goes back to 1996 and hit
a critical point last week.
350 families now face eviction after the Trust for Public Lands
came up short of $10 million in its bid to buy the site. The non-profit
was not able to raise the $16.35 million required by the time the
purchase option expired on May 24.
Butterfly spoke of the need to maintain the site as a community
farm, “this is a worthy cause that ensures that urban people
can maintain a healthy connection with the land and guarantee their
own food security.” A call-in campaign has been launched to
ask Mayor Villaraigosa and City of Los Angeles to purchase the farm
and give it in perpetuity to the South Central farmers. ([213]978-0600)
Visit southcentralfarmers.com
or circleoflife.org »
Calvert Receives Workplace Excellence Award
The Maryland Alliance for Workplace Excellence
honored Calvert,
the nation’s largest family of socially responsible mutual
funds, and its CEO, Barbara Krumsiek with its 2006 Workplace Excellence
Seal of Approval.
“By maintaining the work/life balance culture, we can attract
and retain employees in Washington’s very competitive labor
market,” said Krumsiek. “Our turnover rates are about
one-third as high as most Wall Street firms. Our success as an organization,
measured in exceptional investment results and growth in assets
under management, can be linked to our commitment to fostering a
work/life balance.”
The
Real Dirt on Farmer John Airs on PBS in June
The award-winning documentary The Real Dirt
on Farmer John, about Northern Illinois organic farmer and
Green Festival speaker John Peterson will air on PBS on June 13.
Farmer John, against all odds abandons conventional chemical farming
and fights local hysteria to build a thriving organic farm and largest
CSA in the country.
Check for showtimes in your area »
Organic Valley Sponsors the Blue Butterfly Campaign
Organic Valley
has announced a partnership with the Children’s Health Environmental
Coalition (CHEC) on the Blue Butterfly Campaign which encourages
millions of families to create safer and cleaner home environments.
Visit www.bluebutterfly.org.»
EcoVillage Ithaca Offers Summer Programs
EcoVillage Ithaca will offer a series of trainings and immersion
experiences on sustainability including green building, organic
gardening, and ecological lifestyle.
Visit
ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us »
Numi Organic Teas Win Awards
At the World Tea Expo Numi Tea
took honors as the Best Flavored Black Tea and Best Overall in the
commercially brewed iced tea category.
Visit numitea.com
»
In
Memoriam
Our colleague, Damu Smith, internationally renowned human rights
activist, died after a long struggle with cancer.
Smith was known by many in the Co-op America community as a leader
for social justice initiatives and inspired groups like Artists
for a Free South Africa and Black Voices for Peace. Damu spoke at
Washington DC Green Festivals on issues of gun violence and environmental
justice advocacy. He was the creator and leader of the national
toxics campaign for Greenpeace USA, participated on United Church
of Christ Commission for Racial Justice; and was founder of the
National Black Environment Justice Network.
Smith will be deeply missed throughout the progressive community.
To honor his life and continue is work donations are being accepted
to the Asha Moore Smith Trust.