Lexington, KY - What does Lexington have in common with San Francisco, Burlington, Vt., and Buena Vista, Colo.? Yes, all of them have gorgeous natural landscapes and strong community aspects. What you might not know is that each of these towns has also expressed a strong commitment to fair trade, the international movement and trading partnership that works to improve environmental, social and economic conditions for workers and producers in developing countries.
This month, a group of local fair trade advocates is planning to officially kick off the push to put Lexington on the list of official Fair Trade USA Towns, a list that currently includes 15 cities nationwide (including San Francisco, Burlington and Buena Vista).
The designation is administered by Fair Trade Towns USA, a national non-profit that started a campaign in 2007 to raise awareness about the fair trade movement and build demand for fair trade products within the United States (the movement is popular in Europe as well). According to Fair Trade Towns USA, Fair Trade towns must meet the following guidelines: the establishment of a Fair Trade Steering Committee; a range of fair trade products available in local stores, cafes, etc.; the use of fair trade products by a number of local organizations, including churches, schools, hospitals and offices; and the passage of a fair trade resolution by the local city council or governing body.
With the establishment of a fair trade Steering Committee, a grassroots group that includes retailers, academics and other concerned citizens, Lexington is one step closer to that goal. The next step: increasing awareness within the town in order to eventually build the momentum to pass a resolution by the Urban-Couty Council.
Even though the roots of the Fair Trade movement go back to the 1950s, national awareness has picked up in the last decade, growing rapidly over the past three to five years. This is partially due to large corporations like Starbuck's and major grocery stores increasing their stock of fair trade coffee. But some of Lexington's fair trade advocates encountered the concept in a more tangible, personal way - through firsthand experience with Central American workers whose quality of life had been improved by their involvement with fair trade cooperatives.
Fair trade advocate Sarah Lyon, PhD., a UK anthropology professor and steering committee member, first learned about fair trade in the '90s, while deciding on a topic for her dissertation. She originally wanted to focus her research on migrant-sending communities. But then someone suggested that instead of doing her research on migrants who left these small towns, she should consider focusing on a way to help them stay. Lyon stumbled upon the concept of fair trade and was drawn to it as an alternative market that would pay farmers - small farmers, specifically - a fair price for their products.
"It gives them a way to survive on their own and be the independent business people that they want to be without having to take charity or travel and migrate in search of jobs," Lyon said about the farmers she worked with in Guatemala. "The difference in what they're getting goes beyond monetary reward. They have a long term market they can count on, and that makes a really big difference,
because they can engage in long-term planning."
Fair Trade Lexington committee chair Teresa Hendricks also worked with fair trade artisans and producers in Guatemala, where she lived for 12 years after graduating from UK's Patterson School of Diplomacy.
"When I was down there, I hadn't really heard about fair trade," she said. "It's just what I was doing anyway."
Hendricks continued the relationships she had forged with artisans and cooperatives once she moved back to Lexington, carrying many of their products in her Woodland Triangle shop, Lucia's World Friendly Boutique, which is the only store in Lexington that exclusively carries fair trade certified items.
One question that may come to mind for local-minded Lexingtonians is whether or not the movement, which supports workers and artisans in developing countries, undermines the efforts of Local First Lexington, a movement that has grown substantially in the past two years. But Hendricks, a member of Local First Lexington, and Lyon, who considers herself a strong supporter, see a lot of potential for synergy between the two movements.
"There are certain commodities that no matter how hard we try, we're never going to be able to grow here in Lexington - coffee, bananas, oranges, sugar," Lyon said. "Why not make sure the coffee we are buying is as sustainable and fairly produced as the Local First products that we're trying to produce as well?"
"It also sends a really important message about some of the values that Lexington as a community holds," she added. "(A commitment to fair trade) shows that we're cosmopolitan and thinking about other people around the world - not just oursleves."
For more information on fair trade and becoming a Fair Trade Town USA, visit FairTradeTownsUSA.com. If you are interested in helping Lexington become a Fair Trade Town, contact Teresa Hendrick at teresa@luciasimports.com.