Hal Taussig and Media Borough Councilperson Monica Simpson at the ceremony declaring Media the First Fair Trade Town in the US

Hal Taussig, co-owner of Untours, a unique travel business, has been a long time supporter of Fair Trade. His foundation, the Untours Foundation, has been actively supporting Fair Trade for over a decade. Hal dreamed the idea of Media being a Fair Trade town, and inspired the town to embrace it.

Media met the five criteria established by the British Fairtrade Foundation to become a Fair Trade town. The criteria are that:

• a certain number of retailers, based on population, sell Fair Trade Certified items,
• a certain number of businesses use Fair Trade Certified items,
• the elected body of the community pass a resolution in support of Fair Trade promising to serve only Fair Trade Certified products at its meetings and events,
• an ongoing committee promotes Fair Trade, and
• lots of media coverage exists about Fair Trade.

On July 12, 2006, Media held a public ceremony announcing that it was a Fair Trade town.

Almost four years later, there are now seventeen other Fair Trade towns in the US, thirteen in Canada, and dozens working toward this distinction!

                                                              JOIN US ON FACEBOOK!