Principle Six

Started by Equal Exchange, pioneers in the fight for fair trade food, Principle Six (P6 for short) is a movement to build a better food system. P6 works on a local level with co-ops around the country, labeling foods that meet at least 2 of 3 certification criteria: locally grown or produced, provided by a small farmer or producer, and sold by a co-operative or non-profit.

This is a program that empowers consumers to make better choices regarding the food they eat; choices that benefit not only themselves, but the entire community. It's fully transparent, fully democratized and fully fair food directed.

It's not easy to stay fair trade focused. One of the cause's biggest assets is also one of its biggest challenges - there is so much information out there! Equal Exchange started P6 with the goal of including consumers at its core. This isn't about talking at them, it's about letting them drive the conversation.

We decided the best way to support this ideology was to build a community-based website to support thoughtful discussion. Users can see the difference they make in the movement as they nominate foods to be P6 approved. P6 can monitor the conversation around each nominated item, and ultimately induct those foods that uphold the P6 values.

One of P6's primary goals is to socialize and mobilize the masses. Being that the P6 initiative is so driven by and dependent on user input, it was only natural to give P6 a presence on Facebook. However, a Facebook page alone would simply not do. We needed something fun. We needed something educational. We needed something people would post to their timeline and claim bragging rights to. By the might of Zeus, we needed a Facebook quiz.

Using the charming graphic identity Spunk Design Machine created for P6, we fashioned characters that represented varying levels of P6 know-how and expertise. After answering a series of questions based on P6 principles, users discovered their level of food hero city and received tips on increasing their impact.

As additional incentive to participate in the P6 community, we designed a series of badges users could unlock by performing various tasks on the site and on Facebook. Because people love digital badges; LOVE them.