Saturday marked the seventh-annual Fair Trade Holiday Festival, which aims to bring together local vendors and producers and educate the public about fair trade and its ideals. The event was held at the Pres House in Library Mall.
“Basically, the idea is to educate the public about an alternative to the free trade system, that there are opportunities for them to spend their holiday dollars purchasing goods that positively impact the producers of the goods in a more direct way,” said Randy Mullis, treasurer of Community Action on Latin America, the group that organized the festival.
“Fair trade is really based on a notion that there’s a direct link between the consumer and the producer, and that’s our intention — to help people understand that.”
Mullis said he believes a market system that focuses on purchasing as directly as possible from producers could work on a large scale.
“I think that it would require a lot on intentionality and some commitment,” Mullis said.
According to Community Action on Latin America, vendors at the festival knew the producers and their families, which allowed vendors to educate consumers and ensure a fair price is paid for the labor and resources.
Mullis said the big players in the market control what is done in a free trade system, but a fair trade system is run differently.
“The people, the producer, would have more of the control than they have in the free trade market,” Mullis said.
Matt Earley, one of three partners and founders of Just Coffee, a local coffee roaster, was one of the vendors at the Fair Trade Holiday Festival. He expressed his gratitude for the support he receives from the Madison community.
“We’re doing better than we had projected. We’re really happy with how people have embraced us in our own community,” Earley exclaimed.
Mullis also sees the support from Madison residents.
“The Madison community is unique in that respect,” Mullis said. “They usually come out in droves to support events like this, and the fair trade organizations that sell year-round in Madison do very well.”
Elizabeth Harris, a UW student and customer at the festival, said she tries to support local vendors often.
“It’s a more direct way to benefit people’s businesses rather than shopping at a chain,” Harris said. “Its good to support the people who are living in your community.”
“This way I can at least have some confidence that I’m supporting good work policies and supporting people who might otherwise be mistreated,” Harris said.
Earley thinks the Fair Trade Holiday Festival helps to raise fair trade awareness.
“Every year it’s getting bigger and we can see it,” Earley said.
Last year, the festival brought in about 600 customers and generated around $24,000 in sales. Mullis had higher hopes for this year’s numbers.
“The way the flow has been today, I suspect that we’ll be somewhat higher than that,” Mullis said. “I would say something in the area of 800 customers and close to $30,000 in sales.”
