Fair Trade Blog

If you are like I am, you want to support local business as much as possible.  We are blessed here with some wonderful locally-owned places to shop, but that leads to a dilemma.  Where do I spend my dollars?  

We have a co-op and a home-town grocery in our village.  There is a co-op in the town where we work as well as a little general store.  In summer there is the added choice of a farmers market.  I want them all to thrive, but my dollars are limited. 

In our little village of 654 souls, business survives on very little.  Every dollar counts.  If a small percentage take their money elsewhere, I could quickly lose some of my choices.  So, I want to spend my dollars more wisely. 

After thinking about this lately, my shopping decisions are admittedly random and have more to do with convenience than purpose.  Sometimes the hours don’t fit my schedule, sometimes it is not on the way to where I am going. 

It is up to me and you to make our local businesses sustainable.  We have to make intentional choices to accomplish that goal.  If we simply think a little more and plan ahead, we can all spend more dollars with our local merchants. 

Here are some ideas for you to think about.  

1. Go to your farmer’s market.   It doesn’t come any fresher, unless you pick it yourself.
2. Ask your local merchant to carry items that you want or need.  Trust me, we love to know what you want, rather than try to guess.
3. Spend dollars where you know they will come back to you.   If you sell your milk to the local cheese maker, shouldn’t you buy their cheese? 
4. Look for locally made products wherever you shop.  Sometimes even big boxes have locally made products.
5. Move your money to a neighborhood bank or credit union.  Most local financial institutions have competitive services and returns.  Focusing your money on local lending may not cost you a thing.  

What are your ideas about keeping your dollars local?

Keep shopping your good values!  

Pie and coffee are a great combination.   It’s easy to find a good cup brewed with beans from another country that were fairly traded, but the locally grown berries in your pie probably weren’t.  While the principles of fair trade are spreading throughout the developing world, it is ironic to realize they are largely not practiced right here in the US. 

My hat is off to the Local Fair Trade Network, based in Minneapolis, Minn., for trying to change that.  This grassroots effort, supported mostly by food co-ops in Minnesota and Wisconsin, is working to get fair trade practices adopted by growers of local produce. 

To that end, they have called for growers and retailers in the Midwest to take the pledge.  The pledge commits growers to practice principals including, respect for worker’s freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, providing adequate health and safety protections, and providing a living wage. 

Just a few local farms have taken the pledge, but I hope more will join in making fair trade principles part of their production process.  

Note:  Don’t miss Sarah Chayse on Bill Moyers Journal this Friday night on PBS.  Check your local listings, as they say…

Keep shopping your good values.

Kile