A cup of coffee can be a college student's best friend. One thing many coffee-drinkers often don't consider, however, is the story behind their product: Who is producing it and how is it affecting their lives? Through the increased availability of Fair Trade products around campus, answering these questions is becoming easier for UW-Madison students .
For many farmers and farm workers in developing countries, their livelihood depends on the production of items that Americans consume every day. Low wages and market instability often keep these farmers in intense poverty and dismal living conditions. This in turn damages the families, communities, and environments dedicated to producing the goods.
The Fair Trade program looks to solve these problems. The organization TransFair USA audits transactions between companies and their suppliers to ensure they are providing fair product pricing, good labor conditions, direct trade, community development and environmentally sustainable farming practices. Goods produced under these guidelines are labeled with a recognizable logo.
Suppliers are required to be transparent with their business practices, from where products are being sold to where they were grown.
""With Fair Trade, you can be familiar with the characteristics of the coffee as well as the co-op it's grown in,"" said Lori Henn, owner of Fair Trade Coffee House and Michaelangelo's Coffee House on State Street. Henn switched to selling Fair Trade coffee in 2009 through the company Equal Exchange.
It is becoming increasingly easy for students to further the Fair Trade cause (and get some damn good food and drinks in the process). There are nearly 30 vendors of Fair Trade certified products in Madison, with seven on State Street alone. A wider variety of certified foods are available at some grocery stores, including Whole Foods Market on University Avenue and Sam's Club on Watts Road. You can even show your Badger pride with Fair Trade cotton apparel sold in the University Bookstore.
Individual involvement in Fair Trade can extend far beyond buying their products. For those who want to promote Fair Trade on another level, look for events and volunteer opportunities from the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG), which, among other social justice projects, is dedicated to making UW-Madison an official Fair Trade University. Students can also look out for upcoming events promoting Fair Trade, like the Community Action on Latin America (CALA) Fair Trade Holiday Festival
These individual commitments have had a substantial effect on the success of Fair Trade. All the Fair Trade products available in the University Bookstore and the designation of Madison as an official Fair Trade city were made possible because people made their voices heard. ""Students should ask for Fair Trade; when companies hear the demand they will see the importance of providing more products,""said Erica Symonds, the WISPIRG Fair Trade Campaign Coordinator.
When asked what students can do, Henn replied simply ""Be bold. It's a time for boldness.""
