If you’re like most New Yorkers, you probably take your daily coffee break with a handful of coworkers or friends. But how about sharing a cup of joe with thousands of others across the country?
That opportunity was presented nationwide as part of World Fair Trade Day, Saturday, May 10. Organized by the Fair Trade Resource Network, the hope was to gather 3,000 people over an afternoon to help spread awareness of fair trade products and practices.
That expectation was met and exceeded; as of press time, the tally was up to 7,400 participants in 78 communities, according to Sara Stender of Fair Trade Towns USA. The final tally will be posted on ftrn.org.
Locally, the Mango Tree Imports store on Route 50 in Ballston Spa was the place to be for fair trade coffee drinkers.
Fair trade coffee, like all fair trade products, involves businesses that strive to pay fair wages and provide safe working conditions for workers in developing nations.
According to Kim Anderson, who owns and operates Mango Tree Imports with her husband, Chris, fair trade is all about developing a connection between the producer and consumer of a product.
In many of the conventional trade routes, a product will leave a producer and potentially go through an exporter, distributor, a U.S. wholesaler there can be multiple steps along the way before it reaches a store, said Anderson.
`What happens with fair trade is that the route from the producer to the consumer is a much shorter path, often the producer to the store.`
By cutting out the middlemen, a better wage can be offered to artisans or farmers.
`It’s really all about respecting the artisan or the farmer,` said Anderson. `The primary goal of fair trade is poverty alleviation in the Third World.`
Mango Tree offers products from about 50 countries of the developing world. Anderson said her store takes great care to make sure everything for sale is free-trade certified.
Often this means working with wholesalers who are Fair Trade Federation or International Fair Trade Association accredited. Consumers looking to buy fair trade should look for those groups’ seals.
Ballston Spa resident Frank Conte was enjoying a cup of fair trade coffee just outside the door of Mango Tree Saturday afternoon.
He said he frequents the store often because of its unique items.
`I try to buy fair trade if I can,` he said. `It usually costs more, but it’s not difficult.`
Indeed, the idea of fair trade is catching on. Though her store is the only area business shelving exclusively fair trade items that Anderson knows of, fair trade coffee can be found at many local coffee shops.
Though Mango Tree only logged 11 participants this year, plans are already in the works to make next year’s local coffee break even better. Anderson expressed hopes that by that time Ballston Spa could be on its way to becoming a `Fair Trade Town.` A Fair Trade Town hosts campaigns to increase awareness of fair trade products, and must have a certain number of stores carrying fair trade products. A resolution would also have to be passed by Ballston Spa’s Town Council.
Though the push for Ballston to become a Fair Trade Town is in its earliest stages, Anderson has high hopes for the initiative. `I think it will take a little work, but it’s all education,` she said. If the program succeeds, Ballston Spa would be the first town in New York to become a Fair Trade Town.
Mango Tree Imports is also the home of Las Mariposas Language Center, which offers classes on nine languages at the adult and child level and also provides corporate language programs. It’s all a part of raising awareness of the world around us, according to Anderson. `I think knowledge of culture and language is important in today’s world,` she said.“