Fair Trade Retailer Focus: Pangea Artisan Market and Cafe

We are excited to announce one of our newest retailers, Pangea Artisan Market and Café, located in Washington D.C not far from the White House!

After crossing paths with the Pangea Crew at the Summer 2009 Fancy Foods Show in NYC, we became interested in their store, their ideology, and essentially their active participation in the Fair Trade movement.


Fair Trade certifies that farmers and artisans in developing countries are paid reasonably and promised safe and healthy working conditions. Fair Trade also prohibits child labor and supports social and business development in communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Purchasing a high quality, beautifully handcrafted item from Pangea supports skilled artisans in developing countries and their communities.

While browsing the store for unique gifts and home décor, visit Pangea’s café and enjoy the Trade coffee, paninis and SEN CHA Fair Trade Green Tea bars!

Sencha Naturals Invites First lady Michelle Obama To Make The White House A "Fair Trade Home"

Press Release

LOS ANGELES, CA, AUGUST 2009:
Sencha Naturals, an organic green tea infused snack and mint manufacturer, is reaching out to the White House as a part of the national grass-roots, nonpartisan coalition “Fair Trade the White House.”

The Fair Trade the White House coalition consists of fair trade organizations, vendors, retailers, schools, and individuals, who are all cordially inviting the First Lady to join the fair trade movement and declare the White House a “Fair Trade Home.” By declaring the White House a “Fair Trade Home,” Mrs. Obama can encourage households throughout America to continue refining their buying habits toward ethical consumption so that poverty, both in America and around the world, is reduced.

Sencha Naturals is encouraging the public to sign the public invitation to the First Lady, online at www.fairtradewhitehouse.com. From Girl Scout Leaders, to actors such as Tony Hale from “Chuck,” and “Arrested Development” fame, all types of fair trade supporters are signing the First Lady’s invitation to show Mrs. Obama the momentum of the fair trade movement that has grown to over $4 billion in 2008 global revenue, and accounts for over 1.5 million workers around the world (FLO, 2009).

Through fair trade, people producing a product are treated fairly, paid fairly, and are being fair to the environment. Desiree Thomas, Marketing Director of Sencha Naturals, notes, “Through fair trade, we link small organic green tea farmers with ethical consumers. In doing so, shoppers directly support sustainable farming, fair environmental practices, and fair job creation in both the States and in countries throughout the world.”

If the First Lady accepts the “Fair Trade the White House” invitation, the goal is to conduct a ceremony in May 2010, “World Fair Trade Day.”

ABOUT SENCHA NATURALS
Enlightening mouths since 2001, Sencha Naturals is a leading purveyor of green tea inspired foods. Based out of Los Angeles, Sencha’s all-natural line of gourmet Green Tea Mints & Green Tea Bars currently consists of four luscious flavors, available at cafes, tea shops, natural & specialty food stores worldwide.


ABOUT FAIR TRADE THE WHITE HOUSE
Fair Trade the White House was initiated in February 2009 by Anti-Body (anti poverty, beautiful body), a fair trade body-care company. A steering committee joined Anti-Body in June 2009 and is comprised of representatives from Alter Eco, Dr. Bronner’s, Equal Exchange, Fair For Life (IMO), Fair Trade Federation, Fair Trade Resource Network, Green America, Handmade Expressions, L. Ishii & Associates, TransFair, and advocate Jacqueline DeCarlo. For a complete and current list of supporting parties, visit:
http://www.fairtradewhitehouse.com/ftwh_media_kit.pdf

We have a winner!

We would like to start off this week’s blog by congratulating Daniel Bonneau of Webster, Massachusetts for winning the first ever SEN CHA Pop Quiz! He did the research, and in turn has been handsomely rewarded with a SEN CHA “tea shirt,” and samples of our products. Be sure to stay tuned in to our blog and Facebook for upcoming quizzes, games and opportunities to win free stuff.

Become a SEN CHA Facebook fan:

Sprouting Sites
In our free time we enjoy surfing these sites for natural resources..

www.recyclebank.com

The recycle bank system rewards for curbside and electronic recycling. They have created a point system enhanced with an RFID chip attached to your recycle bin which weighs your recyclable waste. The reward; valuable coupons! Vouchers from Target, Kraft, and countless other vendors are rewarded to those who participate in the program.

www.tastybaby.com

Tasty Baby is the gluten free, frozen organic baby food that uses recyclable BPA free containers that has been making its mark on the natural foods industry. Whether you have kids or not , this is a great site to keep you updated with green celebrities, fashion, events, and news. Our favorite part of their site is called the “Tasty Throw down,” where Tasty Baby takes a hot topic in the news and stimulates debate.

www.localharvest.org

Includes a search engine for finding fresh grown food in your area. Just type in your zip code for a list of nearby farmer’s markets, grocery co-ops, and restaurants that can provide you with fresh and organic foods. Local Harvest gives resources on finding CSA (community supported agriculture) systems near you, and gives access to community farm news and photos.

www.Teance.com

At SEN CHA, we love our tea, and that’s why we love browsing the Teance website, which includes their fresh picked loose leaf teas that can be purchased online, all of which are as pure and premium as possible. Teance also provides information on all things tea, including how long to steep tea and store tea. If you are in the San Francisco area, participate in one of their classes for a small fee where you can sample their teas, take “steeping classes” and write “tea poetry.”

The Quiz starts now!

The first 10 people who correctly answer the Pop Quiz questions correctly will receive a SEN CHA Green Tea product giftpack with goodies including our Green Tea Mints, Bars, and an awesome SEN CHA “tea-shirt.” Good luck!

1.) Name all 4 flavors of SEN CHA Green Tea Mints and Bars.
2.) How many cups of Green Tea are in 1 SEN CHA Green Tea Bar?
3.) How many cups of Green Tea are in 3 SEN CHA Green Tea Mints?
4.) Which award did the SEN CHA Delicate Pear Bar win last year at the Fancy Foods Show?
5.) SEN CHA Green Tea Bars are Vegan, Fair Trade Certified, Gluten Free and Sugar-free.
True or False?
6.) SEN CHA’s mint manufacturing facility is powered by solar energy.
True or False?

Submit your final answers to jamie@senchanaturals.com. The last submission will be accepted on Monday August 10th at noon. The first winner will be announced on our blog Wednesday August 11th at 3:00pm.