Fair Trade Cities: A step in the right direction

Congratulations are in order for Wakefield/La Peche , which recently became Quebec's first "Fair Trade" municipality. They, along with Wolfville , Nova Scotia who made the shift last April, are the first Canadian municipalities to join the movement to apply principles of fair trade to public institutions.

The Fairtrade Town Campaign began in Garstang England in 2001. Initiated by a local Oxfam group, they began with simply promoting the public and private purchasing of certified fair trade goods in the town. The group took their experiences and created the Fairtrade Town Goals and Action Guide to encourage other municipalities to follow their example.

In the five years since the movement started, over 209 British towns have been awarded Fair trade Town status. Today there are fair trade towns in over ten countries.

According to the Fairtrade Foundation , a UK-based fair trade licensing organization, five goals must be met in order to become a fair trade town:

1. The town council must pass a resolution supporting fair trade, and serve fair trade coffee and tea at its meetings and in offices and canteens,

2. A range of fair trade products must be readily available in the area's shops and served in local cafés and catering establishments (targets are set in relation to the population),

3. Fair trade products must be used by a number of local work places (estate agents, hairdressers, etc) and community organizations (churches, schools, etc). There is also talk about expanding the use of fair trade products into the town governments as well,

4. Attract media coverage and popular support for the campaign,

5. A local fair trade steering group must be convened to ensure continued commitment to Fair Trade Town status.

Canadian certification includes a sixth goal, according to Canada's fair trade licenser Transfair : The promotion of other ethical and sustainable initiatives within the community.

While these are not the most rigorous standards, they are a strong step towards adopting fair trade principles across all public and private institutions, regardless of size.

I applaud any gains we can make in applying the principles of fair trade to towns and cities. In fact, municipalities and all levels of government should be held to the "fair trade" standards of paying good wages, keeping the workplace secure and free from harassment, and setting standards to guarantee the quality and accessibility of employment, goods and services.

While our public sector may seem over-regulated and over-burdened, it is in a strong position to demonstrate fair trade principles to society as a whole. As fair wages, working conditions, and purchasing practices are adopted across the board, it will make the economy more transparent to buyers and sellers, as they can more fully comprehend the struggle to maintain and improve the quality of life here and abroad. The premium that taxpayers pay to have a more just and equitable public sector is easier to bear when we know that the money is being put to a good use: fair trade.

So let's buy fair trade products, and encourage our cities and towns to do so as well, but let's push further and enshrine the principles of fair trade at all levels of our society. Respecting the value of others increases our value as well.

—Roger