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.

Just three years later, there are now twelve other Fair Trade towns in the US, two in Canada, and dozens working toward this distinction!

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