Fair Trade Towns USA is “a campaign organized by local and national Fair Trade advocates whose aim is to encourage and support the Fair Trade Movement
in the U.S. Following the example of the Fair Trade movement in Europe, the campaign strives to support local, grassroots groups by offering tools and resources to become a Fair Trade town or city through successful local campaigns.”

This campaign makes it even easier for your town to become a Fair Trade town, following in the footsteps of Media, PA and Brattleboro, VT. This campaign has developed guidelines on how to achieve the five goals required to become one:

1. The formation of a steering committee that
meets regularly.
2. Availability in local stores, cafes, and other venues
of a range of Fair Trade products that are either certified by
TransFair USA or sold by retailers that are members of Fair Trade
Federation.
3. The use of Fair Trade products by a number of local
organizations, such as places of worship, schools, hospitals and
offices.
4. Attraction of media attention and visible public support of
the local campaign.
5. Passage of a resolution supporting Fair Trade by
the town or city council/governing body and a commitment to serve Fair
Trade products at meetings.

A Fair Trade Toolkit(pdf) is available that covers in depth, each of these five goals.

Forming a steering committee is the first step towards your towns new designation. Check out Co-op America’s list or search your community groups and find out if a Fair Trade coalition already exists in your area. If not, start one up! The toolkit offers advice on how to structure your group and ideas for hosting various events in your community.

The second item states that Fair Trade must be available; there should be “at least one business selling Fair Trade products for every 2,500 residents in a town of 10,000 or less. There should be at least one store selling Fair Trade products for every 5,000 residents in a town that has over 10,000 residents.” To increase the number of Fair Trade products offered, consider sending aletter or hitting your grocery store with Co-op America & Oxfam’s Super Market Campaign Kit. To get a gauge on your town’s knowledge and interest in Fair Trade send out the Merchant Survey and use this as a baseline to measure your progress. This survey can also be useful in getting Fair Trade products into local organizations such as churches, schools, hospitals and offices.

To assist in media attraction, begin building relationships with the press. Send out press releases each time there is an event (including your very first event, the coalition formation!) Offer to be a speaker or an interview candidate.

Finally getting the local governing body to pass a resolution use all your previous accomplishments. Present a collection of merchants that sell Fair Trade, and show the growth using your Merchant Survey. Compile signatures and proclamations of support from local community members and business leaders along the way. Bring in all media coverage as well as your own coverage of all meetings and events, including future plans.

The ultimate goal of the Fair Trade Towns movement is to grow Fair Trade through grassroots efforts including access and education. Beyond the normal benefits of Fair Trade to both the producers and consumers, Fair Trade Towns bring together diverse people within the community united towards a single goal, receive recognition from the community on up, and lead the way in making positive changes within our world.

For more information, contact Fair Trade Towns coordinator Sara Stender by phone: 802.356.0551, or email: sara@fairtradetownsusa.org .