St. Thomas Aquinas College has been officially designated a Fair Trade College — part of a national initiative by Fair Trade Campaigns to engage college and university students in issues of global poverty. Fair Trade is an economic system that ensures consumers the products they buy were grown, harvested, crafted and traded in ways that improve lives and protect the environment. Fair Trade Campaigns officially recognizes schools in the US committed to educating students about the issues of Fair Trade and sourcing Fair Trade products, like coffee, tea and bananas in the cafeteria, offices and at events.
With over 170 Fair Trade Colleges and Universities in the United Kingdom alone, the USA program grew out of work in Europe and the increasing demand for Fair Trade and ethically produced products to be incorporated into institutional purchasing. Fair Trade Campaigns sees the tremendous impact institutional purchasing in the US can have on farmers and artisans worldwide.
“There are few things more exciting than seeing today’s youth come to understand the role that they can play as consumers in making the world a more fair and just place. To see them become not just conscious consumers, but advocates for Fair Trade, should challenge all of us to do the same.” stated Billy Linstead Goldsmith, Director, Fair Trade Campaigns.
There are now over 280 active Fair Trade Campaigns in towns and schools, as well as on campuses across the country. Deirdre Engels, Associate Professor of Marketing at St. Thomas Aquinas College added, “We are thrilled to be the 53rd US College in the nation to earn the Fair Trade Campus Certification, that makes us the 6th College in New York State. This student-led initiative began as a small independent study which was highlighted at the Ignite Research symposium. Since Fair Trade principles of sustainability and social justice are a natural fit with our campus, the STAC New Hope Movement was born. This collaborative team of students, faculty and administrators worked to meet the campus certification requirements through further incorporating Fair Trade principles into our curriculum and serving fair trade products such as Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream at our campus dining facilities. We are so proud of the team’s accomplishments and we are excited to introduce our third wave of independent studies where students gain experiential skills in running a Fair Trade startup business in collaboration with Haitian artisans. We are so happy to see that a small idea can build into campus-wide movement.”
Facebook Comments