Dear First Lady Michelle Obama AND YOU*,

As a nonpartisan coalition of Fair Trade organizations, vendors, and consumers, we cordially invite you to help extend the fair trade movement by declaring the White House a: Fair Trade Home.!

For more than sixty years, the Fair Trade movement has strived to create social and economic opportunities for the world´s poorest communities. As you know well, it is the poor who most acutely feel the effects of economic turbulence, climate change, and isolation. Fair Trade combats these issues.

As you may be aware, the movement toward ethical and sustainable consumption has grown to include faith-based centers, college campuses, businesses and individuals. The United States is also home to eleven: Fair Trade Towns/Cities! including Media, PA, Brattleboro, VT, Milwaukee, WI, Amherst, MA, Taos, NM, Northampton, MA, San Francisco, CA, Montclair, NJ, Ballston Spa, NY, Chico, CA, and Bluffton, OH.

Knowing that you and the President share these values, we invite you to extend the Fair Trade movement by making the White House a: Fair Trade Home! and increasing the number of items used by the White House which have been sourced according to Fair Trade principles. By requesting that your staff purchase items like food, body-care, and clothing made or sourced under Fair Trade Principles, your family´s example would show Americans how their purchasing habits can alleviate poverty, reduce inequality, and create opportunities for people to help themselves.

As a coalition of organizations, vendors, and consumers supporting Fair Trade, we represent 81 organizations, account for over $3.91 billion in annual sales and work with approximately 56,480 artisans, farmers, and producers around the world.

We look forward to your RSVP,