The Manitoba Council for International Cooperation presents its all new Fair Trade Challenge, where thousands of people throughout the province take on one or more of six challenges to use certain Fair Trade products for thirty days. The Fair Trade Challenge begins on October 31 (Hallowe’en) and ends November 29 (Buy Nothing Day).
Participants can sign up as an individual or as a group at FairTradeManitoba.ca. The Fair Trade Manitoba website also has a Fair Trade Consumer Guide with information on where Fair Trade products are available in Manitoba.
The Fair Trade Challenge asks Manitobans to “Go Fair Trade” for thirty days and offers six potential challenges. There is the Core Challenge which asks people to consume only Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate as well as the School Challenge (be fair aware for 3 minutes a day); Bakers Challenge (use fair trade baking products); Office Challenge (fair trade coffee, tea, and awareness for 30 days); Holiday Challenge (Think fair trade while shopping and celebrating – wine, gifts, halloween candy, etc.). Participants can also create their own challenge.
“The new Fair Trade Challenge replaces the previous One-Month Challenge which MCIC organized for the past seven years and in which thousands of Manitobans participated” says Janice Hamilton, Executive Director of MCIC. “Fair Trade has been such a success story in Manitoba, and so many Fair Trade products are now available in our province that we wanted to adapt the challenge. The Fair Trade Challenge reflects the varied Fair Trade products now available in Manitoba, and challenges participants to seek them out and use them, hopefully continuing to use them after they have completed the challenge.”
