Fair Trade Transit Victories

Dear Friends,

Every morning we make a number of choices about our morning routine, and those choices when taken collectively can have an enormous impact on our communities, our environment and people around the world.

Whether you are choosing to take public transportation to work, to ride your bike for a short trip to the store or to purchase Fair Trade Certified products when you get there, your choices are making a difference not just for your life, but for others and our planet.

The Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition is proud to partner with Bay Area Rapid Transit and the San Francisco Bike Coalition to promote a sustainable commute including Fair Trade coffee, tea and snacks to thousands of commuters this month through our BART Rider Thank You Day and Gas Free Fridays campaigns.

And people are taking notice! Please enjoy these photos, videos and news links from our last two actions and spread the word about the next Gas Free Fridays event tomorrow morning at Valencia and 17th Street in San Francisco!

BART Rider Thank You Day

Click to view the entire photo set

On Tuesday, September 23rd volunteers from the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition handed out 50,000 coupons for Fair Trade Certified espresso and Numi Teas from Tully’s Coffee to commuters at BART’s six busiest stations.

The event was covered by NBC11, CBS5, KGO810 AM, the East Bay Business Times, the Bay City News, the San Francisco Examiner and others. A complete set of photos is available at our MySpace page along with a video of the event courtesy of BARTtv.

Thanks to the dozens of volunteers from Global Exchange, Transfair USA, Building with Books and the United Students for Fair Trade who made this event a success and to Tully’s Coffee for donating over a half million dollars worth of Fair Trade Certified espresso.

Gas Free Fridays

Click to view the entire photo set

On Friday, October 3rd the San Francisco Bike Coalition kicked off their month long Gas-Free Fridays campaign with the help of volunteers and snacks provided by the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition.

These events will take place a different busy street corner every Friday in October, which also happens to be Fair Trade Month! So get on your bike, grab a friend or coworker and pedal on by an SFBC Energizer Station.

The SFBC tent will be set up next to bike lanes around San Francisco to cheer you on and help you "Fuel up" with free Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, tea and snacks. On Friday, October 10th, we will be at Valencia and 17th Streets from 7:30-9:30am.

Check out the coverage in the SF Bay Guardian and on ABC7 and KTVU or download the Press Release (PDF). See our flickr photos.

Help us spread the word and encourage your own friends and coworkers to bike on Gas-Free Fridays by leading a Bike Bus to an SFBC Energizer Station.

And thanks again to Adina World Beat Beverages, Lara Bar, Sencha Naturals, Tony's Coffee and Real Foods Company for the generous donation of Fair Trade Certified bananas, energy bars, energy drinks and coffee to make this event a success.

Hope to see you there!

Jamie

SFBC Goes Fair Trade!

Dear Friends,

The Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition will be teaming up with the San Francisco Bike Coalition this month to promote Fair Trade and Bicycling as part of a healthy and sustainable commute.

Gas Free Fridays is a new campaign to promote bike riding as a response to soaring gas prices and this year they are making all of the giveaways at their energizer stations Fair Trade Certified. Built on the success of their popular Bike to Work Day, Gas Free Fridays will take place every Friday at a different location throughout the month of October, which also happens to be Fair Trade Month!

We hope that this action will inspire Fair Trade advocates and bicycle enthusiasts around the country to form new partnerships to educate consumers about the benefits of Fair Trade and cycling for farmers, workers and the environment.

There are already a number of Fair Trade cafes, cooperatives and companies involved in their local Bike to Work Day campaigns and using cycling as a sustainable alternative to not only deliver their crops to market on Fair Trade farms, but also to get the beans to the cafes here in the U.S. – and that’s not to mention your regular trips to the corner café!

Please read on for more info on this exciting event and thanks to Adina World Beat Beverages, Lara Bar, Sencha Naturals, Tony's Coffee and Real Foods Company for the generous donation of Fair Trade Certified bananas, energy bars, energy drinks and coffee to make this event a success!

Warm Regards,
Jamie

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Get on your bike and celebrate Gas-Free Fridays

The SFBC wants to encourage more people to substitute one short car trip with a bicycle trip every Friday this October. Download the Press Release (PDF).
In San Francisco, half of all driving trips are under two miles in length -- a distance easily travelled by bicycle. So, grab your bike and a friend or co-worker and pedal by one of the SFBC's energizer station to fuel up on free fair-trade certified coffee, tea, and snacks.

Want to encourage your friends and coworkers to ride? Organize a Bike Bus from your neighborhood to the Gas-Free Friday Energizer Station each Friday in October.
Energizer Station Locations:

View Larger Map
Oct. 3rd: Market and 12th Streets
Oct. 10th: Valencia and 17th Streets
Oct. 17th: Embarcadero (between the Ferry Building and Justin Herman Plaza
Oct. 24th: City Hall, Polk and Grove Streets
Oct. 31st: Folsom and 7th Streets

A special thanks to... TransFair USA, the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition, Adina World Beat Beverages, Lara Bar, Sencha Naturals, Tony's Coffee and Real Foods Company for providing Fair Trade Certified coffee, tea and snacks for Car-Free Friday Energizer Stations.