O, come all ye Fair Trade

In the past, both the Diversity Center and Students Encouraging Economic Development through Solidarity (SEEDS) have hosted events promoting Fair Trade items. However, this year the two groups paired up and hosted the Ethnic Arts Bazaar and the Fair Trade Fest together. These events were intended to bring attention to the Fair Trade movement.

Fair Trade aims to help farmers and artisans in developing countries obtain better trading conditions. It also advocates for fairer prices for producers and enforces social and environmental standards.

The Ethnic Arts Bazaar started out as a simple event that was put on after people expressed interest in items displayed by the Diversity Center.

“Sonya Lund started it in the late eighties after several people requested items like those displayed on the international students’ culture tables at the Ethnic Arts Festival,” Darlene Fossum-Martin, program director of the Diversity Center, said. “These were brought to Luther by the international students themselves. Later Sonya found SERRV [an expansion of Sales Exchange for Refugee Rehabilitation and Vocation] and ordered many of her items from that company.”

SERRV is a nonprofit organization that works with developing regions of the world, marketing their handcrafts and agricultural products. Its mission is similar to the goals the Diversity Center has for the bazaar.

“[The goal is] to provide unique items that will offer, to the customer, an appreciation for other cultures and countries,” Fossum-Martin said. “It is also to provide hope for people in developing countries by the sale of their items through SERRV.”

The student group SEEDS has similar goals at its annual Fair Trade Fest.

“It fits with our mission statement. It’s thinking about other people before ourselves,” Kimberly Larson (‘11), a member of SEEDS, said. “It’s making a sacrifice ourselves, for something better for everyone else. It really fits with our statement to think about what it means to wear an item of clothing. What is the story of the sweater from the thread to what it is now?”

The Fair Trade movement aims for social justice, but some farmers and artisans involved in the movement are still not earning a living wage.

“A main con is that it’s not a living wage [for farmers and artisans],” Larson said. “It’s a decent wage, but a living wage is one you can get by with. You can pay all of your bills.”

Though Fair Trade wages still leave some in poverty they are a great improvement from sweatshop-quality wages.

“It’s better than not trying [to do something],” Larson said. “It’s a step better than the worst. It’s a step towards something better.”