Living and working in Latin America as medical missioners for 20 years, we have witnessed the tremendous improvement that Fair Trade makes in the lives of individuals and whole communities. Food on the table, children in school, democratically organized cooperatives, and environmentally friendly farming are the norm where Fair Trade has taken root. The Fair Trade movement allows millions to lift themselves out of poverty while providing quality products to consumers worldwide. The movement goes beyond charity to promote sustainable development at the grass roots level. It’s free trade at its best and makes globalization work for all.

As Fair Trade advocates at the local level here in the US, we have seen how TransFair/Fair Trade USA has been instrumental in helping Fair Trade grow amongst consumers and retailers. The organization oversees a rigorous certification process for products and provides an eye catching label to alert the consumer. It provides a wealth of well designed educational materials, marketing materials and videos that effectively put forth the case for Fair Trade to consumers and retailers alike. Short videos such as “Santiago’s Story” and “Fair Trade: The Story” have been extremely useful in our advocacy work. And the Fair Trade Towns and Fair Trade Universities initiatives are providing us with platforms to move the message of Fair Trade to wider and wider audiences. We’re grateful for the outstanding work that TransFair/Fair Trade USA does to raise awareness of Fair Trade and increase access to Fair Trade products.

Joseph Michon Jr MD
Linda M Michon