Comments on: Fair trade’s new bag of tricks: Halloween chocolates

By: jen

jen — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

i can't believe it is almost halloween again! it seems like just yesterday i was spending hours searching for fair trade, vegan halloween treats that trick or treaters would enjoy. this is what we ended up giving out:

for those who want to give out VEGAN fair trade chocolate, there are bug bites from endangered species chocolate. no cute halloween-themed wrapping, but kids love the little bug trading cards included with each bug bite.

another "fair trade" vegan treat that the kids love is temporary tattoos. they are made in the usa, which i generally consider to be "fair-enough" trade unless i have reason to believe otherwise.

both treats were very popular with the kids. i guess i better get going ordering our supply for this year!

By: Will Pillage For Yarn

Will Pillage For Yarn — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I can’t afford the halloween chocolates to hand out to kids, which is a shame. That’s just way too much per bag. I can’t afford to think of it as gourmet, I can’t afford to think of it as a “fair” trade and I hate that because I’d really like to support it.

While we’re getting things certified, we also need to let the people SELLING them know that Fair Trade does not need to equate to “gourmet, so pay WAAAY more.” because honestly, if you look at folks like TJ’s, Monkey and Sons, other chocolate vendors, you see that it is possible to market Fair Trade goods at a reasonable price. They’re doing it. It’s like the way they overprice green cotton and enviro friendly household cleansers. It isn’t necessary to DO that. You don’t HAVE to make 600% on the mark up and not everyone who wants to buy Fair Trade is a yuppy trendanista.

I’ll pay more? But I’m not rich and I can’t afford to be stupid in the name of ethics. Make it reasonable and more people will come. There is a balance to be struck between 3 bags of snickers for $2 and nearly $8 for a bag of 36 chocolates. So while we’re agitating for certification and availability, we need to agitate for reasonable and fair pricing, too.

By: MyManMisterC

MyManMisterC — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Don’t get me started on Godiva. My fiancee paid $6 for a choclate covered strawberry. If chooclate is on the commodities, it’s time to sell.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Gosh, why would you need a bag of chocolate every 28 days??? Sigh… it’s sad but true!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Mmm, chocolate. Being socially conscious never tasted so good. Thanks for the info. I liked the ideas that Jen offered above too.