Consuming with a Conscience

Toews is giving presentations covering Fair Trade, Environmental Sustainability and Purchasing for Positive Change as part of a Fair Trade Education Tour, organised by Ten Thousand Villages Canada and Level Ground Trading. During his time in Montreal, Toews will also speak to students at McGill University, to volunteers from the city's three Dix Mille Villages stores and will give a free public presentation at the Isaiah 40 Foundation in NDG.

"We are very excited about Stacey's visit to Montreal," says Sally Richmond, Manager of Dix Mille Villages NDG. "He is an excellent speaker who is passionate about Fair Trade and sustainable business, and who has a great rapport with young people. This is a terrific opportunity for all of us to learn about the positive impact of Fair Trade in the developing world as well as how we can ensure that our consumer choices make a difference."

Level Ground Trading Ltd. was started in 1997 in response to trade inequity and a lack of communication between producers in developing countries and North American consumers. The company is a direct importer and roaster of coffees, naturally dried tropical fruit and cane sugar. Their mission is to trade fairly and directly with small-scale producers in developing countries, and to market their products in North America, offering customers ethical consumer choices.

In 2005 Level Ground Trading Ltd, was awarded the Ecostar award for Waste Reduction, after managing to reduce their waste to landfill by 90%. In 2007 the company was named the Vancouver Island small business of the year at the Business Examiner's 2007 Vancouver Island Business Excellence Awards.

Toews' free public lecture will take place at the Isaiah 40 Foundation, 5867 Cote St. Antoine Road, at 7 pm on Friday 30th January. Refreshments will be provided.

For further information about the Fair Trade Education Tour, or about Dix Mille Villages, contact Sally Richmond:In the store: 5674 Monkland Ave, Montreal

By email: montreal.monkland@villages.ca

By telephone: 514 483 6569

Or visit our website: www.tenthousandvillages.ca

For further information about Level Ground, please visit the company’s website:

www.levelground.com

Ten Thousand Villages is the oldest and largest Fair Trade organization in North America. Through a network of 50 stores, as well as through hundreds of Festival Sales, Ten Thousand Villages Canada sells products from over 120 artisan groups in more than 30 countries. In Montreal the stores are located on St. Denis, Monkland Avenue and in Pointe Claire Village.

Ten Thousand Villages has its roots in the work begun by Edna Ruth Byler in 1946.

Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed, providing sustainable income through Fair Trade. This income helps pay for food, education, health care and housing. Thousands of volunteers in Canada and the United States work with Ten Thousand Villages in their communities.

Ten Thousand Villages is a member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), a coalition of Third World handicraft and agricultural producer organizations and Fair Trade organizations from both the North and the South. For more information, please visit our website at www.TenThousandVillages.ca