On Thursday, March 13th, 2014, York Sustainability, in cooperation with OPIRG, hosted the annual Fair Trade Fair in the Bear Pit! The event was a major success, with vendors including: Tight Knit Syria, Nharo, Cambodhi Silks, Hamro Village, The Las Nubes Student Association, Fair Trade Toronto, OPIRG, Green Campus Co-op, and the York University Bookstore. The Fair offered the York community many great, fair trade items including arts and crafts, clothing, coffee, chocolate, jewelry and other nifty accessories. The event also doubled to serve as a forum for faculty, staff and students to learn about fair trade and fair trade initiatives at York.
So for those who could not attend, 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.”
Being the leader university that it is, York has developed and adopted many fair trade initiatives over the past few years. For instance, York became the first university in Canada to sell certified, fair trade clothing in its campus bookstore.
Moreover, York also has its own brand of fair trade coffee, Las Nubes, which is organically grown in the Las Nubes rainforest in Costa Rica (of which York is a part owner). Las Nubes coffee is available at the York Bookstore and all Food Services outlets. The Las Nubes Student Association also sells cups of coffee, chocolate and other baked goods on Monday to Thursday from 10 – 4pm. All proceeds go towards building a community library in Costa Rica.
Additionally, York students have also demonstrated leadership in fair trade. The York Federation of Students Is committed to the Canadian Federation of Students’ Students for Sustainability campaign and is an active participant in many social justice and sustainability events and campaigns. As well, the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) is a longstanding supporter of Fair Trade, whilethe Green Campus Co-op is another initiative that is promoting Fair Trade at York.
To learn more about fair trade at York and other sustainability, check out these links or contact us at sustainability@yorku.ca.
Las Nubes Student Association
Website: http://lasnubes.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lasnubesproject
Fair Trade Toronto
Website: http://fairtradetoronto.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TOfairtrade
OPIRG York
Website: http://www.opirgyork.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/opirgyork
York University Bookstore
Website: http://bookstore.blog.yorku.ca/
Yfile: http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=16648
Green Campus Co-op (GCC)
Website: http://greencampuscoops.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greencampuscoop
Tight Knit Syria
Website: http://tightknitsyria.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TightKnitSyria
Hamro Village
Website: www.hamrovillage.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hamrovillage
Nharo
Website: http://www.nharo.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NharoAfricanArt
Cambodhi Silks
Website: www.cambodhisilks.com
