Supporters of the Southeastern Wisconsin Initiative for Fair Trade (SWIFT) dba Four Corners of the World Fair Trade Store have been asked to explore the connection between the concepts and practices of Fair Trade and Sustainability. In doing so, it is the intent of  SWIFT, its Board members, staff, Education Committee members and supporters to educate themselves in regard to Sustainability and to incorporate the language of Sustainability into the language of Fair Trade. It is immediately evident that this is not only a possible but an honest thing to do since sustainable practices are inherent in the practices of Fair Trade. Thus it is important to note that this was true prior to the current new found interest in things “green” and sustainable related to planetary practices of all kinds. 

This paper will address four threads of Sustainability and Fair Trade: ecological, economic, social and cultural. In doing so, it will borrow from sources which will be cited. The first is a piece from the Fair Trade Resource Network (FTRN), the educational affiliate of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF), the umbrella organization in the U.S. which certifies companies importing and selling artisan crafts and clothing from developing countries. Four Corners has an application for membership pending in the FTF.  

The Top 10 Reasons to Support Fair Trade according to the FTRN:

-Fair Trade means fair pay and working conditions for farmers and producers. Fair Trade products are made in safe and healthy working conditions where farmers and producers receive a fair price and have a voice in how their workplace is run.

-Fair Trade is better for the environment. Fair Trade supports sustainable practices that minimize our environmental footprint.

-Fair Trade means high quality goods. Artisans and farmers take pride in their work. Crafts are often handmade, which translates into closer attention to detail and in the end higher quality products. 

-Fair Trade means better tasting food. Farmers are involved and invested in the entire production process and crops are grown and harvested in smaller quantities. As a result, Fair Trade food is fresher and tastier. 

-Fair Trade is safe. Fair Trade actively promotes integrated farm management systems that improve soil fertility and preserve valuable ecosystems and limit the use of harmful agrochemical that present dangers to farmers’ health. That means food that’s safer for you and for the people who grow it. 

-Fair Trade supports communities. By working through cooperative business structures, Fair Trade artisans and small farmers are able to invest Fair Trade earnings in their communities by improving housing, healthcare and schools.

-Fair Trade is trade producers can count on. Fair Trade is committed to strengthening direct partnerships between buyers and producers. These partnerships provide an avenue for buyers to purchase quality products from people they trust, and offer a sustainable and reliable way for farmers, artisans and their families to improve their livelihood. 

-Fair Trade connects you with other cultures. Fair Trade products are unique to the places they come from and the people who make them. Farmers and artisans are involved in the entire process and Fair Trade products reflect the people and cultures they come from. 

-Fair Trade means sustainable local economies. Fair Trade gives farmers and artisans control of their own future. They can build their own businesses rather than working for a middle man and the profits stay in their communities and go back into their businesses. 

-Fair Trade means what you buy matters. By choosing Fair Trade products, you are not only accessing high quality products, you are making a difference in the lives of the people who grow the food you eat and make the goods you use.

The practices implicit in the above principles are followed by the crafts and clothing importers and retailers which are members of the Fair Trade Federation.

As you can see in the points above, all aspects of Sustainability are addressed in the process of doing Fair Trade as opposed to the practices of Free Trade neo-liberal capitalism which, despite its proponents’ promises, has caused an increase in poverty, massive dislocation of peoples and their respective cultures, extensive exploitation of natural resources, increasingly serious food shortages and an increase in wars and violence. 

A similar but somewhat expanded set of principles for Fair Trade are found in documents from the coffee certifying arena. TransfairUSA is the primary certifying agent for coffee and other food commodities, although as with any evolving methodology, there are companies which have developed their own variation of Fair Trade principles and practices. 

The Fair Trade Principles listed by Transfair are:

-Fair Prices: Democratically organized farmer groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price and and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farmer organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.

-Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited.

-Direct Trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.

-Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues. 

-Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement training and organic certification. 

-Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemical and GMO’s are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations. 

Additional principles are stressed by coffee importing cooperatives such as JUST Coffee in Madison. These include:

-Direct and Lasting Relationships: Importers purchase directly from fair trade producer cooperatives and commit to long term relationships.

-Pre-financing: Importers offer pre-harvest financing or credit - often 60% of the purchase price. In coffee country, traditional types of credit are scarce and expensive. 

Although the word and language of sustainability was, and still is for many, relegated to ecology and the environment, it is quite evident that the practices of Fair Trade have been carrying out the core elements of sustainability from the beginning. These are activities and behaviors which make life itself sustainable for those who have access to them. Fair Trade  supports social and cultural traditions in community through activities which are ecologically  and economically sustainable.

A word must also be said about the seeming contradiction of supporting locally sustainable living and retailing global imports. Four Corners of the World is an active member of the Vliet Street Business Association which focusses on the support of locally owned small businesses which provide goods and services to the surrounding neighborhood and supports activities, such as a Community Green Market for local farmers and artisans. At the same time, the Board members of SWIFT recognize the rights of all persons in our globalized economy for justice and peace and believe that the requirements of solidarity require international Fair Trade commerce.        

Thanks again for continuing to support us!

To further our mission of promoting Fair Trade, Four Corners of the World joined with more than twenty other members of the Milwaukee Fair Trade Coalition in organizing the first annual Fair Trade Day Crawl on Saturday, May 10. For the list of shops and sponsors involved in the Coalition go to www.milwfairtrade.org.

For Spring, Barb has really stocked up the store beautifully. And we always have frequent new deliveries. Most recent are new sterling silver jewelry with semi-precious stones from Nepal including necklaces, pendants, earrings, and rings. We also have new batik blockprinted 100% cotton wrap skirts and purses. You won’t want to miss the colorful, contemporary summer dresses, skirts, blouses and jewelry made in India for our new supplier, Mata Traders. The unique fabrics are hand blocked using vegetable dyes. Mata Traders is a Midwest based company that works with two women’s cooperatives in India. They choose to support home-based industries to keep the cultural fabric of local societies intact. 

Thank you for continuing to support us in our mission of Fair Trade. 

Milwaukee has been named a Fair Trade City - one of only four in the nation. Social Justice teaches us that by our choices, initiative and investment we enhance or diminish economic opportunity, community life and peace in the world. One way to start is to make sure the T-shirts purchased for church and school activities are made  in a factory that pays a fair wage. Four Corners of the World Fair Trade Store will order sweatshop free shirts for you for a $10. fee and can help you find a silk-screener for your design.

Samples of colors can be seen at the store or at www.nosweatapparel.com or www.ethicalgoods.org. Go to Affiliates and click on Sweatshop Free T-shirts for more information about the companies, colors and prices.   

By Amy Guckeen
Catholic Herald Staff
12/14/07

MILWAUKEE - For every $3 latte, a farmer receives a meager two cents.

Milwaukee area residents looking to change that have plenty of opportunities to do so through fair trade gift giving in the city.

Approximately 2.7 billion people in the world exist on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank. Fifteen thousand children between the ages of 9 and 12 have been sold into forced labor on conventional cotton, coffee and cocoa plantations, according to a 2000 U.S. State Department report. Through the purchase of fair trade items, those statistics can change.

“People always ask, ‘Where can you buy something that’s not made in a sweatshop?’” said Mike Howden, with the Southeastern Wisconsin Initiative for Fair Trade and Four Corners of the World, which sells fair trade items. “We really have two missions, one to run the store, and to act as a marketplace for artisans and farmers and sowers from around the world who really need a marketplace so they can have a decent wage and raise their kids. The other is to educate people.”

Awareness of the opportunities to purchase fair trade items should be high in the city of Milwaukee, the first major designated fair trade city, as passed by the Milwaukee Common Council in a resolution this fall.

“By supporting fair trade, not only are we supporting human rights by reducing the exploitation that takes place in sweatshops, but also protecting American jobs that are lost to these unethical business practices overseas,” said Alderman Tony Zielinski.

Sandy Murphy, owner of Highlands Café, chose to serve fair trade coffee when she opened her café.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to have to harvest a field in some of these countries where it’s very hot and the conditions are poor,” Murphy said. “These people are trying to feed their families and provide a living. If there’s a process out there that can help govern that, I’m definitely all for it.”

According to the Fair Trade Federation, “fair trade is a system of exchange that seeks to create greater equity and partnership in international trading system,” through various ways, including fair wages, public accountability, consumer education, cultural identity, and financial and technical support.

For Steve Braun, owner of Fair Grounds Coffeehouse, who was educated in Catholic schools, including Catholic Memorial High School and Marquette University, not choosing fair trade products didn’t even cross his mind.

“I didn’t think there was an option really,” Braun said. “Coffee is like the second most traded commodity in the world. It’s made in Third World countries and First World countries drink it. I wanted to support the communities that make the coffee and make sure the farmer can support himself and his family.”

Fair Grounds not only provides fair trade coffee to its customers, but also fair trade tea, hot chocolate, spiced chai and sugar packets.

The choice has little negative effect on the bottom line, Braun said, but rather brings in customers.

“The economic standpoint from our end isn’t that much of a difference, so that wasn’t a factor at all,” Braun said. “I was actually surprised to learn of customers going out of their way to seek us out because we are fair trade.”

Murphy agreed.

“People are very conscious now of what’s going on in other countries and how manual labor and employees are being treated,” Murphy said. “People are very health conscious, very earth conscious and community conscious. It’s a driving factor.”

It’s not just about coffee either. Fair trade encompasses clothing, food, furniture, home décor, housewares, jewelry, tea, toys and personal accessories, according to the Fair Trade Federation.

“I think people like to feel that they’re doing something, maybe not consciously, for the greater good of the world,” said Sue Heeley, a member of St. Sebastian Parish, Milwaukee, and owner of Art and Soul Gallery which sells primarily the work of local artists, including glass, pottery, jewelry, fine craft and fine arts. “People like to feel that they’re close to home. It’s a little nostalgic from the old shopkeep kind of thing instead of a mall.”

For Howden, the idea of buying fair trade stems from his faith.

“I’ve known Catholic social teaching on justice for most of my life,” Howden said. “It comes out of the way my wife and I have tried to live and educated our children.”

- By Amy Guckeen

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