Celebrate World Fair Trade Day

World Fair Trade Day is Saturday, May 10, and congregations and communities are celebrating all month long. People in 70 countries around the world will hold events such as Fair Trade food tastings, house parties, speakers, festivals, concerts, and fashion shows to mark the day and highlight the importance and benefits of Fair Trade.

A number of organizations in the US are working together to make WFTD 2008 the largest celebration of its kind. Many communities are celebrating WFTD over a period of two weeks, May 3-18, America’s First Fair Trade Fortnight. Plan an event or participate in one of more than 100 events taking place around the nation.

World Fair Trade Day is endorsed by IFAT (the International Fair Trade Association), a global association of over 300 organizations in 70 countries.

Learn more about PC(USA) involvement in fair trade and economic and environmental justice through the Presbyterian Coffee Project, the Global Marketplace, the Campaign for Fair Food, Sweat-Free Ts and Just Trade.

'Enough for Everyone' song!

Bryan Field McFarland's latest CD, All that Matters, includes the song "Enough for Everyone." The song is a beautiful lyrical testament to the reality that there is enough for everyone. The song reflects a strong sense of call to share our resources with one another. Instead of wasting our abundance, we can share our excess to ensure there is enough for everyone. A portion of every CD will benefit Enough for Everyone and the Presbyterian Hunger Program. Read the review of All that Matters by Presbyterians Today. If you are interested in purchasing or downloading the CD, you can visit CD Baby's online store or Apple's iTunes store. We hope you enjoy this wonderful new resource!

Sweat-Free T cooperative grows!

Support their exciting new expansion

The creators of Presbyterian Sweat-Free T-shirts are expanding their cooperative in Nicaragua, creating jobs and economic development in one of the poorest and most densely populated communities in Latin America. A Presbyterian delegation recently returned to the United States committed to raising the remainder of needed funds. Here's how you can help.

Your Presbyterian source for sweatshop-free t-shirts

Members of the women's sewing cooperative in Nueva Vida, Nicaragua, proudly display the first fruits of their labor. Photo courtesy of Enough for Everyone.

Altogether, we Presbyterians print a lot of t-shirts. Unfortunately, almost all of the apparel readily available to us in stores was produced in sweatshops. The good news is that sweatshop-free shirts are available from the PC(USA), ready to print with your group's logo or design. Whether you're creating shirts for your youth group, upcoming mission trip, presbytery summer camp, congregational celebration or special event, put your faith in practice by choosing Sweat-Free Ts!

The Sweat-Free Ts available through Presbyterian Distribution Service (PDS) are produced by a women's sewing cooperative in Nicaragua. Together the members own and operate the cooperative as a small business, thanks in part to support from the One Great Hour of Sharing. They even built their building with their own hands! Learn more about the women by reading their story and viewing viewing a slide show of them building their factory.

Give now: help the workers expand their cooperative.

Video on the Women's Sewing Co-op

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More About Sweat-Free Ts

Sweat-Free Ts helps Presbyterian congregations, camps, conference centers and other groups find and purchase t-shirts that are sweatshop-free. We also help educate church members about sweatshop conditions where most of our clothes are produced.

Sweat-Free Ts is part of Enough for Everyone, a PC(USA) program that offers hands-on options for congregations to participate in the global economy in faithful, just and responsible ways. Enough for Everyone is a joint effort of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, Self-Development of People, Women's Ministries, Presbyterian Women, Environmental Justice, Justice and Compassion and the Stewardship Office.