Fair Trade Towns USA

Environment

Fair Trade enables farmers and workers to practice sustainable farming, convert to organic, conserve water, and preserve their land for generations. When you work with local farmers, grocers and ‘Buy Local’ advocates to support Fair Trade, you are not just promoting sustainable agriculture for your community, but also extending benefits of the global farmers market to producers in developing countries.

Fair Trade Universities

University and college campuses across the U.S. are joining the Fair Trade movement, raising awareness of Fair Trade and embedding Fair Trade principles within administrative policy and the social fabric of the academic community.

Get involved! Help make your school a Fair Trade University, College, or High School.

Environment

Fair Trade helps families keep their children in school. Parents can pay tuition and uniform costs, set up scholarships, and ensure education in isolated communities. When you share the story of Fair Trade with students and youth, you are providing a powerful lesson in global citizenship, and also empowering them to support education for their peers in the developing world.

Poverty Alleviation

Fair Trade is a market based system in which producers are empowered with the tools and resources needed to lift themselves out of poverty. When you work with community organizations like churches, schools and offices to serve Fair Trade, you are both empowering your community at home, and helping Fair Trade workers and farmers to fight poverty in theirs.

Healthcare

Fair Trade provides access to health care where there has previously been none. Communities build clinics and hospitals, and gain access to basic medicines that save lives. By working with your local healthcare community to make Fair Trade options available you are not only promoting healthy consumerism, you are providing access to care that is desperately needed in developing communities.

Sustainable Business

Fair Trade provides producer organizations support to build business capacity, allowing them to negotiate directly with buyers, thus ensuring both fair prices for their products and fair wages. When you work with local retailers to promote their Fair Trade products and celebrate their commitment to Fair Trade, you are helping to foster sustainable businesses both in your city and abroad.

Empowering Women

Fair Trade provides women access to health care, child care, freedom from harassment, and equal representation so they are able to play a leading role in their families and their cooperatives as well as to start their own businesses. When you support women-owned businesses that offer Fair Trade products in your town, you are also supporting women’s empowerment abroad.