Summer Sale At A Better Footprint!

Well, now Miranda and Kyle are back from Africa! We're making room for all of the new treasures, including our new favorite item, the recycled can cars!! To help us clear out some inventory and make room for the new, we've got everything on sale in the online store!


The recycled can cars are often made from bug spray cans, which are used to treat mosquito nets. Sleeping under a treated net helps save children as well as pregnant mothers from contracting malaria. Gambia is one of the countries afflicted by high rates of malaria. Your purchase of these recycled items, arriving soon, helps manage the waste from treating these nets and supports creative arts and employment for Gambian artists at the Brikama Craft Market.

We're also extending our summer sale for wholesale customers. We're offering more than 15 fair trade items at heavily discounted prices for retail and gift shop owners interested in selling our fairly traded products. Check back often for updates and new products - you'll see them online before we get our new catalog designed!!

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It's Mango Season in Gambia!

Greetings from the field! Kyle and Miranda are certainly enjoying mango season in The Gambia...in fact, it's even dangerous to sit under the mango tree, as they are dropping from very tall heights! Our friends here tell us that even cows die sometimes from getting hit by a mango. What a way to go...

Anyway, we've been enjoying weather in the upper 90s (plus humidity), delivering shoes to needy school children, touring the new Brikama Craft Market, where each carver/finisher has a locked door on their shop and the potential for electricity in the future. They are working on some new creations for us made from scrap wood, recycled bottle caps and soda cans, handmade recycled paper, and other things.

Tomorrow, we leave for Njau, in the upper provinces, where women have now trained residents in three neighboring villages how to recycle plastic bags. We are very happy to see that production is increasing because this means that the clean up of Gambia is also increasing. We are also very excited to see the progress of the women in terms of savings accounts and the raised standard of living due to the wider market for their fair trade purses. They will also show us some new designs in which they can make recycled plastic bracelets, bookmarks, and even larger totes made from recycled onion bags and rice and flour sacks. We are so excited to be creating a better footprint on the environment with a new line of recycled crafts!!

In other news, we attended a Naming Ceremony yesterday in the very south of Gambia, just near the border of Senegal. When the name was announced, Fatoumata, everyone was dancing (especially the women). There were traditional drummers, myriad colors and fabrics adorning the women and men of the family, and lots and lots of food!

We want to hear from you! Ask us your questions about our trip. We hope to post a few more blogs, but Internet is difficult for us here amidst the conditions and the busy schedule. We also have been experiencing a water shortage, and to-date have gotten just one "shower." But - thank goodness for bucket bathing and wells!

That's all for now, check in with us later!

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Bon Voyage, Miranda!

Miranda left today for another inspiring trip to West Africa. Check back soon for her adventures in Africa, stories from the field, and a report on how our partner artisan groups in Gambia are doing. Oh, and maybe she will see a warthog again!

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Fair Trade Brownie Recipe to LIVE for!

You might say the Fair Trade Brownies that Brother Steve makes are to "die for," but at A Better Footprint, we'd say they are to LIVE for. Using Equal Exchange or other Fair Trade organic cocoa is the secret. Using Fair Trade cocoa in your brownies ensures that cocoa was not picked by child slaves in West Africa, but rather by farmers who received a fair price and have safe and healthy working conditions. By replacing conventional cocoa with Fair Trade cocoa, you're making a world of difference!

And, since SO MANY of our store visitors have asked for the Fair Trade Brownies recipe, we're posting it online. AND - come down to the retail store in Downtown Green Bay, WI this Saturday from 12-4 for FREE fair trade brownies and organic fair trade coffee!

Brother Steve's Fair Trade Brownies
(adapted from Annalise Peck's "Brownies", in _Our Favorite Recipes_, Thomas Lake Elementary, 2004, p. 104)

1 C melted butter
2 C sugar
1/2 C FAIR TRADE baking cocoa
4 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 t salt

Mix dry ingredients--flour and salt together. Set aside. Add melted butter to sugar and FAIR TRADE cocoa. Add in eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add dry ingredient mixture. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

To make Fluffy peanut butter frosting (from allrecipes.com)
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C creamy peanut butter
3 T milk (or as needed)
2 C confectioner's sugar

Place the butter and peanut into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least three minutes for it to get good and fluffy.

See you at A Better Footprint on Saturday, where you can taste these FREE (while they're here) and be a part of World Fair Trade Day 2008. The store is located at 1228 Main Street #1, Green Bay, WI 54302.

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Fair Trade Store Attempting to Break World Record, With Others

NEWS RELEASE

(Green Bay) A Better Footprint (1228 Main Street Suite #1) will participate in World Fair Trade Day by joining others around the country in an attempt to set the world record for the biggest ever Fair Trade coffee break by providing FREE coffee at their store on Saturday, May 10, 2008 from 12:00 pm-4:00 pm. Fair Trade coffee guarantees a fair price for farmers and artisans, a better future for the planet, and a tastier, higher quality product for coffee drinkers. The Fair Trade coffee breaks are to be held simultaneously around the country, at 2:00 pm central time. To officially participate in the record breaking attempt, visit A Better Footprint to take a free coffee break and sign the official ledger.

People around the country from Boston to Boulder and Milwaukee to San Francisco will stage a “Fair Trade Coffee Break” on May 10, World Fair Trade Day. The Fair Trade coffee breaks will focus on the benefits of Fair Trade to farmers, consumers, and the environment. A Better Footprint will join with people from 70 countries worldwide to celebrate World Fair Trade Day and highlight the importance and benefits of Fair Trade.

A Better Footprint will have various flavors of free organic coffee available in the café so take a break and enjoy a cup of Fair Trade Coffee. Join in celebrating Fair Trade by visiting A Better Footprint, located at 1228 Main Street in the Olde Town Crossing building, with parking available behind the store.

For further information call founder Miranda Paul at (920)-569-6332, e-mail fairtrade@worldgoodsgb.com or visit www.ABetterFootprint.org. Also visit www.FTRN.org to learn more about Fair Trade and get involved.

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Recycle Your Shoes This Earth Day

A Better Footprint (Formerly Worldgoods Fair Trade) is attempting to help African children leave better footprints this summer when they deliver your donations of gently used shoes.

Hundreds of children in the village of Brikama, Gambia (as well as neighboring towns) walk without shoes on roads lined with garbage and broken glass. Miranda Paul, Founder, has even witnessed kids sharing shoes as they relieve their teammates during a local soccer match.

So what can be done? Simply look through your closet, and find those walking shoes, tennis shoes, and dress shoes that you no longer wear. Drop them off at our retail store in Green Bay, WI or mail them to:

A Better Footprint / Worldgoods

1228 Main Street, Suite #1,

Green Bay, WI 54302.

Donations will be accepted until May 11th. They will be delivered the first week of June to the kids of Gambia, West Africa. If you are in need of a flyer or collection bin please contact miranda@worldgoodsgb.com (or just use a cardboard box!). Thanks in advance for your support.

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Take a Sneak Peek at Our New Store this Saturday!

Riverfront, exposed brick, original 1800s hardwood floors, large retail windows, a common area cafe downstairs for gatherings...it's perfect!

Choosing a renovated historic building in the lovely downtown (Olde Main) district rather than opting for new construction was a no-brainer, says Miranda Paul. If you look at the "greenest" option as well as the overall shopping atmosphere, this was the best choice for our gallery to move, for aesthetic and environmental reasons. Come see how beautiful it looks filled with ethically sourced Fair Trade art and gifts!

If you live in Northeastern Wisconsin and would like to take a Sneak Peek at our store this Saturday, March 22nd, just stop by between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The address is: 1228 Main Street, Olde Town Crossing, Green Bay, WI 54302. Parking is available in the rear, behind Big Tomatoes and Los Banditos.

If you can't make it this weekend, please attend our Public Grand Opening Extravaganza and Earth Day Celebration on April 22, 2008. Feel free to call and inquire about store hours and hosting a Fair Trade Fiesta for your friends and co-workers at 920-569-6332. See you there!

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Open Your Own Fair Trade Business TODAY!

After one complete year in business, Miranda Paul (Worldgoods Founder) sighs. "I've learned so much," she says. "Why wasn't anyone there to tell me some of what I REALLY needed to know when I started?"

Miranda is working on a new project, geared toward people who want to open new fair trade stores, boutiques, internet ordering sites and catalogs. Collecting information from a variety of sources - including the most important source, store owners' experiences - Miranda will be releasing this FREE (yes, FREE) PDF guide soon.

The guide will contain everything from how to use vegetables as nice-looking displays to getting through the nightmare we know as importing. Based largely on Miranda's experiences, the guide might not be perfect for everyone's ideas, but it won't cost you anything either!

If you're reading this post, you're probably already thinking about opening a Fair Trade store in your church, at your home, or helping out this AMAZING industry in some way. And you're a smart thinker for doing so. Many of our partner companies have been experiencing 40% annual growth, and Fair Trade products in general are bringing in new sales at an amazing rate. So, Fair Trade and eco-friendly business is both a viable and a noble choice for moms, volunteers, and small-business owners right now.

I hope I can help you grow your business so that we can make a difference in the lives of our artisan partners. To pre-order / request your FREE PDF Guide to Opening Fair Trade Business, click here. **The guide will come out in early April and will be sent only to those who register. Those who pre-register by March 17th are eligible for a free wholesale sample product from Worldgoods.**

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Calling all Models! Be in the Worldgoods Catalog

Attention models, ordinary citizens - anyone who wants to support Fair Trade - if you're in the Green Bay / Fox Cities area, we're looking for volunteers who want to give their time and good looks to help us build our summer 2008 catalog. All you have to do is contact us and then we'll schedule you for your time on Thursday, February 28th.

If you can't make the photo shoot, but are interested in volunteering for Worldgoods in another capacity, feel free to also contact us!

Other Upcoming Dates of Interest:

March 1 - 10:00 AM - Informational meeting for Summer 2008 Artisan Trip to West Africa. Come by if you're interested in traveling with Worldgoods to Senegal, The Gambia, and possibly Guinea-Bissau. Hear about everything from immunizations to fees to what we hope to accomplish. the meeting will be held at 602 Zelas Drive, Green Bay, 54311.

March 6 - 6:30 p.m. - Invisible Children will be screening their documentary about the Lost Children of Uganda on the UWGB Campus, and Worldgoods Fair Trade items will be for sale. A percentage of proceeds will benefit this non-profit organization and their work with orphaned children of war.

March 17th - Our new catalog will be released! Make sure to request a catalog now! To save unnecessary paper and our impact on the environment, the catalog will only be mailed to those who are on our mailing list. You may also request a paperless catalog via email.

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Fair Trade Diamonds and Wal-Mart

Conflict-free and eco-friendly alternatives are available online at brilliantearth.com

With Valentine's Day approaching, we've all seen the barrage of television ads enticing and imploring us to buy diamond jewelry for our loved ones.

But did you know that the international diamond trade has supplied billions of dollars to rebel groups in Africa, fueling wars that have killed more than 4 million people?

This Valentine's Day, tell Wal-Mart to make sure jewelry purchases aren't destroying African lives.

The stories from these wars are harrowing.

Men, women, and children have been raped, tortured, maimed, and displaced by rebel groups who have been funded in part by the illegal sale of diamonds. Diamonds have also been used by al Qaeda and other terrorists to finance their activities and for money-laundering purposes, according to news reports.

As public outrage over conflict diamonds has grown, governments and industry leaders have taken some important steps to stem their trade. But the problem still isn't solved: For example, diamonds mined in rebel-held areas of the Ivory Coast are still being smuggled into the legitimate global market despite a U.N. embargo in place since 2005.

And while the World Diamond Council has spent millions on a global public-relations campaign, many companies have failed to match their rhetoric with action - including Wal-Mart, the nation's largest jewelry retailer, which has been particularly vague about its processes for ensuring that conflict diamonds are not sold in its stores.

If retailers and diamond companies are truly serious, they must implement comprehensive and independently verified processes to ensure that the diamonds they buy are conflict-free.

And as American consumers - who purchase half of all retail diamonds worldwide - we have an obligation to let the industry know we care about where they're getting their diamonds.

Click here to send a message to Wal-Mart and the World Diamond Council, calling for meaningful action to end the trade in conflict diamonds.

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