2009
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Cadbury raises the bar with fair-trade commitment

Despite its sweet flavor, the sale of cheaply produced chocolate all too often supports oppressive working conditions that leave a bitter taste around the world. In western Africa, the source of 70% of the world's cocoa beans, underage laborers are illegally trafficked and difficult work is rewarded with little pay – or no pay at all. But as the world's leading chocolate companies largely turn a blind eye, Cadbury of London, U.K., is making a bold statement by using only fair-trade cocoa for its top-selling chocolate bar in Great Britain. The company expects Fairtrade certification within five months for the Cadbury Dairy Milk bar, available in the U.K. and Ireland. Last year, Cadbury also announced a partnership with the U.N. Development Program to invest £45 million to improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cocoa farmers around the world. While the Dairy Milk product represents only about 20% of Cadbury's total chocolate portfolio, the move will single-handedly triple sales of fair-trade chocolate in the African nation of Ghana. Among those who will immediately benefit are the farmer/owners of the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union, a Fairtrade-certified co-op representing some 45,000 Ghanaian cocoa producers.


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Used tires provide recycled tread for Timberland shoes

A typical "rubber" tire contains much more than the natural substance found in rubber trees. Synthetic compounds, heavy metals, and a cocktail of chemicals introduced in the "vulcanization" process make for a recycler's nightmare. Which is one reason why more than 7 billion used tires waste away in landfills across the world, leeching potentially harmful chemicals and serving as a breeding ground for dangerous diseases. But one leading footwear retailer is reducing its demand on natural resources by infusing its products' soles with rubber repurposed from used automobile tires. The Timberland Company of Stratham, New Hampshire, is working with the Malaysian company Green Rubber, which has developed a process to "de-vulcanize" hardened rubber and remove most of the additive chemicals and bonds. Timberland then mixes this reclaimed rubber 50/50 with virgin rubber to create an outsole better for the Earth. Timberland will debut two new footwear lines featuring Green Rubber in its fall 2009 collections. The company estimates that 50 tons of recycled rubber will displace 42 tons of virgin rubber in their fall collection alone. Timberland is also partnering with Soles4Souls to provide footwear to disadvantaged people around the world.


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Big Mac attack on supplier use of potato pesticides

According to the Environmental Working Group, potatoes are among the 15 fruits and vegetables most likely to be contaminated by pesticides. What's more, the average U.S. consumer eats 130 pounds of potatoes a year – making it the most popular vegetable. Which is why it was such good news when McDonald's of Oak Brook, Ill., bowed to shareholder pressure last month in stepping up oversight on pesticide use. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture monitors pesticide levels in foods, increased exposure can present health problems ranging from reproductive issues to leukemia and other cancers, particularly among farm workers and children. Potatoes are the largest vegetable crop in the United States; about 10 million tons are used to make French fries and potato chips every year. And McDonald's, the world's largest chain of fast-food restaurants, is also the largest purchaser of potatoes in the United States. In an agreement reached March 31, the company vowed to inspect its U.S. potato suppliers and encourage a reduction of pesticide use. The issue was brought to the fore by three McDonald's investors: the endowment fund of Bard College in New York state, the Seattle-based Newground socially responsible investment fund, and the AFL-CIO.


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GFB helps WCCN launch new identity amid aid expansion

Identity  |  Business Cards


When Good for Business began working with the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua last year, they were an organization at the crossroads of change. With a 25-year history of activism in Nicaragua, the group had shifted its primary focus to microcredit lending and was about to extend its aid operations into Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Taking the key organizational leaders through our Cause for Creative process helped them unearth WCCN's primary benefit, "personally connecting to create economic opportunities in Latin America." And "connect" really is the key word here: The conduit for millions in investments since 1990, WCCN has been connecting investors and entrepreneurs, working capital and working people, in ways that help the disadvantaged work for a better future. From this cause platform, Good for Business was able to create a new, comprehensive visual identity that reflects the organization's broader focus and its new name: "Working Capital for Community Needs." Initial communications materials include an identity package and introductory collateral that will tell the group's story and underscore the vital connections that make WCCN's important work possible. For many, WCCN is the connection from poverty to prosperity.



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