York University’s annual Fair Trade Fair will take place Wednesday, Jan. 18 in Vari Hall and the Ross link from 10am to 4pm.
The Fair Trade Fair is an annual celebration of all things fair trade, from coffee and tea to bananas, textiles, arts and crafts. The fair also serves as a forum for the York University community to learn more about fair trade and how purchasing habits can improve the lives of others.
In addition to vendors offering fair trade certified products, there will also be opportunities to design fair trade t-shirts, get a temporary Fair Trade tattoo, or to learn more about fair trade from vendors, students and faculty who work in and study the fair trade movement.
What is fair trade?
Fair Trade Canada describes fair trade as a “way for all of us to identify products that meet our values so we can make choices that have a positive impact on the world.”
Over the years, York University has developed and adopted many fair trade initiatives. The University was the first in Canada to sell certified, fair trade clothing in its campus bookstore, and this year the bookstore will be selling fair trade t-shirts at the fair.
York University also has its own brand of fair trade coffee, Las Nubes, which is grown in the Las Nubes rainforest in Costa Rica (of which York is a part owner). Las Nubes coffee is also available at the York Bookstore. For more information on the Las Nubes project, visit the Las Nubes website at www.lasnubes.org.
To learn more about fair trade at York and other sustainability initiatives, visit http://www.yorku.ca/sustainability or e-mail sustainability@yorku.ca.