Every item bought in a store was created by an individual or a worker in a factory. Every day after work, they head home to their families and lives. The work they do warrants them money to pay for the lives they want. Their hours are fair, and they are paid a living wage. In the world of fair trade, this is an accurate depiction. However, in many places this is not the case. Workers are paid low wages for hard work and long days. 

   

As a way to combat this injustice, the fair trade movement was developed. Fairtrade is a guarantee that the item’s creator was paid fairly for the work they did.    

  

Five Pound Apparel is a local clothing and accessory store with Fairtrade items that is owned by Brina Thomas. To her, the definition of fair trade is closely related to the certification process. 

   

“Fair trade is an organization that has been certified through the Fairtrade Certified Act that makes goods overseas and employs people in those specific areas,” Thomas said. “They also give them a fair living wage for their area. They provide them with healthcare, a clean working environment, don’t overwork them and have no child labor.” 

   

The importance of fair trade lies in the workers and their lives. Every product has a birthplace and creator. Fair trade hopes to share that story with the consumers. Askinosie Chocolate is a Springfield brand that works closely with the fair trade movement. David Langdon, Askinosie’s retail manager, believes people need to be aware of the origin of their products.

  

“There are things in your life, well most things, that just appear on a shelf,” Langdon said. “Generally, there is a huge human story behind where those products are coming from. Those products have to move over oceans and continents, thousands of miles from where they’re grown to where they’re produced to where they’re consumed. The fair trade movement is really addressing that story, and more so than that, it is really making people aware of what is going on in the world around them.”

   

Many places in Springfield sell fair trade items, both in the retail and food industries; however, Springfield’s only fully fair trade store is Global Crafts of the Ozarks. With a recent change in ownership, the store moved from Republic Road to Sunshine Street and is now located inside of DeSales Catholic Bookstore. Tracy King, the owner, has a close bond with the fair trade movement because of the trips she went on as a child. 

 

“We traveled a lot when I was a kid. We have lived in other countries and seen how things were made and seen how people live in what we would usually consider substandard existence,” King said. “By making stuff, they have a spirituality and happiness about them.”

   

Members of Fairtrade companies create their products from anything they can find. Many of the common countries that are involved in fair trade are located in South America and Africa. 

   

“We have earrings made out of tin cans,” King said. “Things that we might just toss, even if we recycle them, [the workers] have used to create their living. We have a lamp that’s made out of magazine ads, and that one came out of Africa.” 

   

Becoming certified Fairtrade is a long process, so Springfield businesses are using other options. The factory of Askinosie Chocolate is located on Commercial Street. The brand believes in the fair trade movement, but it has not gone through the certification process. 

  

“When we use the term Fairtrade, we use lowercase f and lowercase t,” Langdon said. “The Fairtrade certification process is actually really time consumptive, and since we work closely with all of our farmer groups, we don’t actually require that they go through that process. Instead, what we do is actually go and visit them ourselves.

Once a year, Shawn Askinosie, our founder and CEO, goes to these farms and makes sure that things are working up to our standards.”

  

There are many opportunities to buy Fairtrade items in Downtown Springfield. Mudhouse Coffee sells coffee beans that are certified Fairtrade. Five Pound Apparel, located both Downtown and in Farmer’s Park, offers some brands that are a part of the fair trade movement. Brina Thomas purchased the store in 2017, and it is in its eighth year of existence. 

   

“We have a couple of clothing brands, mostly women’s clothing, that are Fairtrade,” Thomas said. “We have two bag and wallet brands. One is a leather, so they have genuine or vegan leather. All of their products are made in Ethiopia. The other one is made in the Himalayas, and they do handblock stamping on all organic cotton. They have some leather in there as well.”

   

For the future of Five Pound Apparel, Thomas is wanting to expand on the Fairtrade brands they carry. She is following different routes for both men and women’s clothing. 

   

“Right now our menswear is not technically Fairtrade,” Thomas said. “The majority of it is made here in the U.S. or is made sustainably. All of the materials that they’re made of are going to be a natural fiber, so they are all really high quality. Our women’s side, though, I am focusing on going a little more towards the Fairtrade brands. One brand that we are getting this spring is the brand People Tree. We are going to be one of the first retailers to actually carry that brand in the stores. It’s all certified Fairtrade.” 

   

One might think fair trade is a popular system, but the truth is that it is only now gaining its popularity. One reason for this is that Fairtrade items can be more expensive because they guarantee the product’s maker is being paid fairly.

   

“Clothing is so cheap right now,” Thomas said. “Whenever you do have an item that is more expensive but is handmade and the workers didn’t have to work a 12 to 15 hour day to make that item, it really does add more value to it.”

   

As society increases its desire for social justice, the fair trade movement increases. People are becoming more conscientious about where their products come from. 

   

“For the future, I think a lot of the younger generation has a more global outlook,” King said. “They’re more at home with items that are from someplace that they don’t know about or want to learn more about that item. We try to tell people how it’s made and what it’s made out of.” 

   

All of these businesses are stepping towards lowering the injustice on the working class all over the world. To support fair trade, stop by any one of these locations and shop. The money spent will go towards a fair wage for a hard worker.