Fair Trade Resource
Network to close at end of May
May 13, 2014
The staff and Board
announce that FTRN will be shutting down as of May 31, 2014. While we are
disappointed that we won't be able to advance Fair Trade from our own
organization, we commit to supporting Fair Trade through other organizations
and activities. We are proud of all that FTRN has accomplished over 15 years,
in partnership with you, allied organizations, and thousands of individuals.
The main reason we are
closing is that FTRN has been unable to attract sustainable funding. A
relatively small movement has become quite fragmented in recent years, making
it very difficult to sustain an inclusive, umbrella Fair Trade education &
advocacy organization. We hope that by closing, we free up resources, and
space, for Fair Trade interests to reassess, strengthen and grow.
We are proud of the work
that FTRN has done over the years to provide resources to the movement and
support all systems in Fair Trade. Along with other partners, we have seen
growth and diversification in Fair Trade. We appreciate the support and
advocacy of all of our supporters and want to encourage all of you to stay
engaged with the movement. To that point, below is a list of organizations,
active in Fair Trade education and advocacy, that we recommend you follow, or
participate with, to continue the mission of making Fair Trade the rule rather
than the exception.
Catholic Relief Services
and other faith-based organizations
Certifiers (Fair Trade USA, Fairtrade America, Fair for Life, etc.)
FTRN, in partnership
with tens of thousands of individuals, and hundreds of organizations, has
achieved a lot with little resources, including:
- Coordinating and
supporting World Fair Trade Day events that have grown to include over 100,000
people at over 1000 events across N. America.
- Building the premiere website, FTRN.org, for
inclusive Fair Trade education, with unique visitors increasing every year to
around 100,000.
- Co-hosting with
partners all major movement conferences and summits in the U.S., like Fair
Trade Futures (over 750 people in 2011 and 2006), and the Fair &
Alternative Trade Alliance Summit in 2012 (with 50 leaders attending).
- Creating unique
educational resources, like the annual wall calendar, photo contest, webinars
about key issues, a definitive booklet overview of Fair Trade, the only free
Power Point show overview, and more, all used by thousands of people.
We will attempt to pass
along any interesting materials and assets to partner organizations.
We accomplished these
successes with critical support, partnership, funding and participation of
businesses, nonprofits, certifiers, faith groups, students, academics and individual
advocates. We wholeheartedly extend our deep appreciation for those people who
teamed up with FTRN over the years.
Fair Trade remains a
deeply inspiring concept. Let's commit ourselves to further advancing Fair
Trade principles in other ways, for the benefit of marginalized producers!
Comments
Post a Comment
Join the conversation