Fair Trade 101

I was interested in attending this workshop because I wanted to see how students felt it best to present the concepts in fair trade to others, and to see if I might give them some pointers on how to present it such that they are not later confused by the mixed messaging, and confused concepts, of McDonald's fair trade vs 100% fair trade.

The students started by talked about some of the tools and activities they employed to introduce people to fair trade for the first time.

• Movie showings, ex. Black gold
• Teach Ins: where invite economics professor and others to present first globalization issues, and then the potential solutions to these problems as presented by fair trade.
  
• One on one discussion
  
• Talking in front of students in classes.
  
• Free samples, tastings, always popular
  
• Don’t assume a base of knowledge when speaking, start with the basics
  
• www.eq.tv by transfair USA

It is was pointed out how important it is to have a good, quick, clear spiel on fair trade that will spark people's interests, and leave them wanting to find out more.  However, there was some divergence in view point about what such a 2 minute sound bite should feature.

One student gave one, approximately as follows:  There are a lot of bad things happening in the world, and fair trade is a concrete, simple action that one can take that will make inroads against that.  Just look for the label.

However, Kim Elena of Counter Culture, and I were quick to point out that relying on the simple logo was not enough, since some of the "messed up things in the world" were carried out by large corporations, some of whom are now carrying said label.  We thus searched for another clearer way of presenting th values of fair trade, without presenting all the grays that might turn off potential supporters.

I suggested talking about more than just the "fair price", as price is not always such a clear cut benefit.  When the market it high, it is merely a bit more above the NY C, and when the market it low, it acts as a safety net but not a living wage (if using the FLO standards).  One way that I suggested that they talk about it is to fit fair-trade within a larger consumer consciousness awareness.  In our culture, our primary designation is often that of a consumer.  This identity carries with it a lot of power as our society places a lot of emphasis on what succeeds in the market place. This power is a privilege that we should take full  advantage of.  By going about our lives, trying to make sure that we are not disjointed from the things that we buy, but instead that we are connected to them, and that they reflect our personal values.  Using language like value and mission makes it a lot easier for a consumer to understand the difference between corporate social responsibility fair trade, and mission based fair trade.