[My report on Just Things, issue 0]

If you haven’t read Just Things 1.1 (PDF) yet, you’re missing out. Seriously — Here’s a journal you can care about — short enough to read online, interesting enough to want to print out and savor.

And I’m not just saying that cuz I contributed a piece ;) Steve, the editor, kindly titled it for me: “Purists and pragmatists listen to each other at coffee conference.” It’s a lil bit I wrote about the Specialy Coffee Association of America (SCAA) conference in April.

No, I didn’t attend — which at first I thought made me an unqualified person to write about the issue. But then, perhaps it gives me a good outsider’s view that’s less filtered by personal experience…

And you won’t want to miss an article from TransFair USA — which provides a nice summary of why fair trade certification’s both desirable for many consumers, roaster/companies, and producers — and an article from Matt of Just Coffee, a 100% fair trade company that broke with TFUSA a few years ago. There’s also a reprint of the letter I posted here a lil while back, written by a Starbucks rep to green investors who felt mislead by the “Starbucks is all fair trade” statement.

Plus, we’re given a sense of where Steve, the editor, is coming from — how he came to get involved in fair trade, and why he feels a space like Just Things is necessary. Heartwarming and inspiring.

The next issue will apparently be about fair trade clothes! For everyone who’s been emailing me asking if and where they can buy fair trade shoes — maybe I’ll have an answer after Just Things 1.2….

Update, 7/10/06: Here’s Just Things 1.2.

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