Everyone has received one: a holiday gift from an employer that is quickly
consigned to the closet and soon becomes landfill. But now there is an
alternative; Global Exchange¹s new Socially Responsible Corporate Gift
Program that makes socially conscious, environmentally friendly products
available to everyone, including corporate gift buyers. Never before have
companies had a chance to do so much good with their gift-giving programs
during the holidays.

"I contacted one of our Fair Trade suppliers last year for more items to
fulfill a corporate order, and she responded that this one sale was large
enough to have a significant and positive impact on their community,² says
Global Exchange online store manager Tex Dworkin. ³That was a marvelous
moment, when I fully understood how much effect this type of program can
have on communities of artisans and producers around world."

Fair Trade ensures farmers, artisans and producers around the world a living
wage for their labor, instead of the paltry sums that the current global
trade system provides. Companies that choose the Socially Responsible Gift
Program are not only giving high-quality gifts, they are making the world a
better place by helping coffee farmers in Nicaragua, cocoa growers in Ghana,
and artisans around the world simply by choosing gifts from the
international human rights group Global Exchange.

The new program offers high-quality items, a gift-wrap option, and the
convenience of direct shipping to each recipient. Among the Fair Trade gifts
available are Ithaca Fine Chocolates, which uses cocoa from the El Ceibo
cooperative in Bolivia. Every corporate gift purchase of El Ceibo Fair Trade
cocoa means agricultural improvements and a community development fund for
projects, activities, and medical emergencies. What makes the new program so
unique is volume: while individually purchased Fair Trade gifts are
wonderful, Corporate Gift orders are larger and can make a huge difference
in the lives of Fair Trade producers.

"This program is a winning situation for all involved," asserts Paul
Phojanakong, operations manger for the Global Exchange Online Store. "Each
Corporate Gift sale gives producers who supply the goods a fair price while
the business doing the giving is remembered for the quality, socially
conscious gift they gave. Finally, the recipient is honored with a
thoughtful gift, and Global Exchange can continue our human rights mission."

The Corporate Gift Program is now available on Global Exchange's revamped
online store, www.globalexchangestore.org. This interactive site makes
choosing easy, and is designed so that shopping becomes an educational and
satisfying experience. Buyers can learn all about where the gifts came from,
who made them, details about the country of origin and about Global Exchange
programs affiliated with those regions.

CONTACT:  Tim Kingston (415) 575-5543
Tex Dworkin, (415) 553-4411