More Thoughts on Fair Trade and the Fashion Show

From senior David Idler:

A few weeks ago, a few of my classmates and I decided to help prepare for the Fair Trade Fashion Show. In the process, I learned a lot about fair trade and how crucial the bare bones of any project, like a fashion show, are. Although we spent most of our time driving around helping pick out decorations and fair trade products, the fashion show couldn’t have taken place without our help, and my classmates and I helped raise awareness about the importance of fair trade. After extensive research on different fair trade chocolate and coffee brands, which we were looking at to buy for the fashion show, I discovered how important the fair trade system was, as it offers better trading conditions to, and secures the rights of, marginalized producers and workers. We looked at brands such as Sunspire, Green Mountain, Nibmore, and Equal Exchange to distribute at the fashion show to help raise awareness to fair trade. We helped instill the fact that we must continue buying fair trade brands in order to try to discontinue sweatshops and other inhumane manufacturing methods. 

One of the fair trade chocolates we bought for the fashion show

Overall, I’m very happy I participated in assisting in the fair trade fashion show; I gained an understanding that even the most seemingly meaningless part of an operation could, in retrospect, be the most important part. Similarly, while some may think fair trade brands are simply ridiculous, slightly more expensive brands, the work I put in for the fashion show helped me realize that fair trade is certainly an ongoing problem throughout the world. Even the miniscule percent of people that learned about the importance of fair trade thanks to our work is a big step forward to terminating this worldwide dilemma.