Guest Editorial: MPIRG offers alternate lives to traditional holiday consumerism
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Opinion
The following is a guest editorial by MPIRG Fair Trade Task Force member Eric Lemke.
As people lined up at the doors to catch the 4 a.m. deals that Black Friday offered, they overlooked the big questions about the things they were purchasing; such as, who makes the products? What conditions are they made in and what wages the workers are receiving? Black Friday, the day that traditionally moves retailers from the red "loss" to the black "profitable" margins, sensationalizes the consumerism that already grips us around the holiday season and makes us forget that we can make conscious consumer choices to buy products that are sweatshop free and fair trade. Fair trade advocates that the workers producing consumer goods are guaranteed fair wages, good working conditions and help develop sustainable economic policy. MPIRG offers a solution to your holiday shopping needs by hosting local and Fair Trade vendors from around the state in our Holiday Fair Trade Bizarre.
Free trade, exemplified by regional trade agreements facilitated by North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has opened countries up to international trade by eliminating tariffs and trade restrictions. While multinational corporations have wreaked the profits from this trade liberalization, farmers and local artisans, unable to compete with the giants of the international market, are forced to sell their goods below the cost of production. This has resulted in widespread poverty, lower standard of living, job loss and global racial inequalities in developing counties. Farmers and artisans are forced into a cycle of poverty and debt that ravages themselves, their families and their communities. Fair Trade is a viable and growing international movement that combats the global exploitation of large corporations. Fair trade is a strong tool that gives consumers an opportunity to use their power as a purchaser to tilt the system to favor those that have suffered under NAFTA and the free trade system. Creating partnerships between producers and consumers by offering high quality goods that are made under economically and environmentally sustainable environments, fair trade has helped millions around the world lift themselves out of poverty and take responsibility in their communities.
MPIRG is committed to making Fair Trade a viable, affordable and accessible means to buying gifts for the holiday season. Rethinking our holiday shopping this year to purchase Fair Trade and locally-made goods can not only help us spread holiday cheer to our family and friends but also those around the world that are striving to give their families and communities a better life. Becoming more informed on where our products come from and if they are sweatshop free can help make us more conscious consumers and strive towards a better future. The MPIRG Holiday Fair Trade Bazaar will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 and will feature local artists, free fair trade coffee and information about making conscious consumer choices. MPIRG will also host the movie "BLACK GOLD" about the $80 billion-a-year coffee industry and the effects Fair Trade is making on coffee farmers in Ethiopia on Monday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Kirby lounge.
As people lined up at the doors to catch the 4 a.m. deals that Black Friday offered, they overlooked the big questions about the things they were purchasing; such as, who makes the products? What conditions are they made in and what wages the workers are receiving? Black Friday, the day that traditionally moves retailers from the red "loss" to the black "profitable" margins, sensationalizes the consumerism that already grips us around the holiday season and makes us forget that we can make conscious consumer choices to buy products that are sweatshop free and fair trade. Fair trade advocates that the workers producing consumer goods are guaranteed fair wages, good working conditions and help develop sustainable economic policy. MPIRG offers a solution to your holiday shopping needs by hosting local and Fair Trade vendors from around the state in our Holiday Fair Trade Bizarre.
Free trade, exemplified by regional trade agreements facilitated by North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has opened countries up to international trade by eliminating tariffs and trade restrictions. While multinational corporations have wreaked the profits from this trade liberalization, farmers and local artisans, unable to compete with the giants of the international market, are forced to sell their goods below the cost of production. This has resulted in widespread poverty, lower standard of living, job loss and global racial inequalities in developing counties. Farmers and artisans are forced into a cycle of poverty and debt that ravages themselves, their families and their communities. Fair Trade is a viable and growing international movement that combats the global exploitation of large corporations. Fair trade is a strong tool that gives consumers an opportunity to use their power as a purchaser to tilt the system to favor those that have suffered under NAFTA and the free trade system. Creating partnerships between producers and consumers by offering high quality goods that are made under economically and environmentally sustainable environments, fair trade has helped millions around the world lift themselves out of poverty and take responsibility in their communities.
MPIRG is committed to making Fair Trade a viable, affordable and accessible means to buying gifts for the holiday season. Rethinking our holiday shopping this year to purchase Fair Trade and locally-made goods can not only help us spread holiday cheer to our family and friends but also those around the world that are striving to give their families and communities a better life. Becoming more informed on where our products come from and if they are sweatshop free can help make us more conscious consumers and strive towards a better future. The MPIRG Holiday Fair Trade Bazaar will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 and will feature local artists, free fair trade coffee and information about making conscious consumer choices. MPIRG will also host the movie "BLACK GOLD" about the $80 billion-a-year coffee industry and the effects Fair Trade is making on coffee farmers in Ethiopia on Monday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Kirby lounge.
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