Student Organizing
United Students for Fair Trade www.usft.org
USFT is a national network of student organizations advocating around Fair Trade products, policies, and principles. The core objective of USFT is to raise the awareness of and expand the demand for Fair Trade alternatives, both on campuses and in communities. USFT has three main functions:
- Organizing, working, and coordinating the power of over 100 active student Fair Trade organizations in the US.
- Leadership development through international exchanges and skill-building conferences.
- Serving as a resource group for student-based Fair Trade affiliates.
Contact USFT for successful Fair Trade policy resolutions, campus organizing kits, list-serves, coffee project guides, internship opportunities, and much more!
Oxfam America www.oxfamamerica.org
Oxfam America campaigns for the change in global practices and the policies that keep people in poverty. Oxfam offers campaign action guides and tools with students in mind:
* No Dirty Gold Toolkit * Fair Trade Coffee Action Guide *
* Make Trade Fair Action Guide * Buy Local Farm & Food Toolkit *
* Fast Materials: Oxfam Hunger Banquet Kit and Fast Guidebook *
CHANGE INITIATIVE: US college sophomores or juniors can take advantage of Oxfam America’s leadership training and become skilled and knowledgeable agents of change. Exposed to the international development issues that direct Oxfam’s work, CHANGE Leaders use their new skills and insights to run Oxfam campaigns on their campuses and in their local communities
United Students Against Sweatshops
www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org
United Students Against Sweatshops is an international student movement of campuses and individual students fighting for sweatshop-free labor conditions and workers’ rights.
They believe that university standards should be brought in line with those of its students who demand that their school’s logo is emblazoned on clothing made in decent working conditions.
They fought for these beliefs by demanding that our universities adopt ethically and legally strong codes of conduct, full public disclosure of company information, and truly independent verification systems to ensure that sweatshop conditions are not happening.
Ultimately, they are using their power as students to affect the larger industry that thrives in secrecy, exploitation, and the power relations of a flawed system.
Contact USAS for information on their three cornerstone campaigns:
* Sweatshop-Free Campus Campaign * Ethical Contracting Campaign *
*
Campus Living Wage Campaign *
- Sweatshop photograph from the Kuk Dong factory in central Mexico. Obtained from No Sweat
- Other site acknowledgements