Quote 1: "The core of this faith is the belief that there is great love at work in the universe that seeks justice, mercy, peace, and joy. Our various faith traditions and practices teach us how to stay open to that love, tap into it, align ourselves with it, and be empowered by it."

Response 1:Faith is something that makes me tense up in class when it is brought up. I am not a religious person at all. But I really love this description of faith because it is something that I can identify with. The idea of justice, mercy, peace, and joy is something that sounds good to anyone. I think we are meant to seek these things, and to better the world around us. I am not sold on the traditions and practices being necessary to keep these values, but I think that they don't hurt anyone who attends them.

Quote 2: "Our tagline at the Trinity Boston Foundation is 'Together, let's change the odds.' But unless we get the 'together' right, there's no way we will succeed."

Response 2: Many people blogged about the Trinity Boston Foundation. The idea of a community and especially the word "unity" really speaks to me. I have written quite a few times about humans needing community as part of our nature. I love the idea of people really getting together and genuinely wanting to help. This was really the feeling I got from the feature about the Trinity Boson Foundation.

Actual Text: I'd like to comment on the video as a whole

Response: I saw this video in high school. The class was about sustainability so there was a different discussion following it, but I think that both discussions are important to have. Leonard's argument brings about an alarming point. As always with our readings, I'm struck with the concern: what do I do about it? I really enjoy it because it is simple to understand and makes anyone see that the system is flawed. My favorite part of the video was the focus on the SYSTEM as a whole that needs to change, rather than the margins which is generally the focus of fair trade. I like that we are starting to look at the bigger picture.

Actual text: Our consumer ways are cyclical.

Response: This is very true in terms of the culture of the United States. I think this was my favorite point. Talking about the culture of the new generation is a favorite past time, but we have to take a look at what we are doing with are lives. I believe that our consumerism is a result of greed and boredom. We don't need to focus on basic necessities, so we focus on making everything easier for ourselves with STUFF. But also with art, and fashion, and food, and music, etc. etc. etc. It's not all bad, but we have the ability to focus on these things because everything else is taken care of for the most part. But we should also be focusing on the people that don't have their basic needs taken care of.

Quote 1: Religious Values and Corporate Decision Making: The Economy of Communion Project” by Luigino Bruni
"Over the years, what emerged from their lifestyle was not only a more equal distribution of goods, but also a profound cultural intuition- that the essence of human experience is to be "in communion.""

Response to Quote 1:
I really liked this quote because it describes fair trade perfectly, especially considering the "spirituality" portion of our class. Communion is of course a sacrament, but also something that is an inherent need in all of us. The need to be in communion with one another is something that everyone strives for, and is the basis of many advertisements. However, they call to our emotional need to belong by making us feel insecure. "We are not pretty enough, skinny enough, stylish enough to fit into society without product X." From a business standpoint, looking at fair trade as a sense of community appeals to that emotion without the negative qualities. It really is a "sellable" idea from a marketing standpoint. Bruni also is able to appeal to the spirituality portion with this phrase as well, which I think is a major intention because there are some bible quotes in the text, which I don't respond to as much as the appeal to the business and making money side.

Quote 2: "Those who receive help are not considered "assisted" or "beneficiaries". Rather they are regarded as active participants in the project, all part of the same community, who also live the culture of giving. The emphasis is not on philanthropy, but on sharing, in that each person gives with equal dignity."

Response to Quote 2:
Isn't this the core belief of fair trade? "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime." Sometimes I get frustrated with fair trade because I feel like a lot of it is making consumers feel guilted into buying something just because it is "fair trade." But fair trade shouldn't be just about that it should be able making a product that is genuinely better than the competitors whether that's because it is more sturdy or beautiful or whatever. Fair trade should be (and I think is for the most part) about giving people in impoverished nations a chance to sell something great and be credited for it. It's an opportunity, and not everyone can be (or should be!) able to succeed if they aren't willing to work hard. They should be able to work as equals with everyone involved in the process. I think that being able to have a sense that they had to do something to get what they have makes everyone exponentially more excited to grow and prosper a business and get others involved as well.

Although I am not a religious person, I am very familiar with the biblical texts from growing up in a religious household. I really appreciated the Global Outreach speaker in class and the distinction that she made between spirituality and religiousness. The thing that really stuck me on the disposable people website was the core beliefs, particularly the first one. “We believe in freedom for all individuals regardless of race, religion, gender, or age.” It is 2013. Isn’t this a fundamental belief that should be held by everyone at this point? Why are there so many people who don’t believe that everyone should have access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

I think that the reading- Using Our Purchasing Power for Justice and Hope was very valuable to me even though I’m not religious. Many of the teachings of the bible, especially the quotes used in the reading are very valuable in teaching commonly held morals throughout the world. The one quote I could not get out of my head during class or the reading is "Give a man a fish, and you have fed him once. Teach him how to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime.” I really appreciated the quote that Fair trade is not about charity. It is a holistic approach to trade and development that aims to alter the ways in which commerce is conducted, so that trade can empower the poorest of the poor." I think the two quotes have a similar idea. It’s all well and good to give people money, but it is much more rewarding emotionally and it is much more long lasting to give people the opportunity to make their own living.

One of my favorite things that my professor, Kate said in class was that she believed in transparency. Having transparency in a company is so important for the consumer’s trust that the price they are paying is going to the right things. Unfortunately, we have gotten used to a lack of transparency in everything we buy (including our college tuition!) I think that with the growing popularity of fair trade, the public will be more likely to turn to larger corporations and ask them what they’re up to and demand some transparency. Both of these readings really stood out to me to start questioning where I am getting my goods from and who is being affected by it. I am extremely thankful to be able to be in a Fair Trade class because if I was reading this at home I’d be moved and upset, but I wouldn’t know what to do about it. By educating ourselves on the statistics and being real about the amount of injustice surrounding the goods that we buy, we can educate others and I hope in this class we’ll be able to provide consumers with alternative goods and support the people who work hard to make them fairly.