•  Paying a fair wage in the local context.
•  Offering employees opportunities for advancement.
•  Providing equal employment opportunities for all people, particularly the most disadvantaged.
•  Engaging in environmentally sustainable practices.
•  Being open to public accountability.
•  Building long-term trade relationships.
•  Providing healthy and safe working conditions within the local context.
•  Providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible.

Historically, the Fair Trade movement has emphasized an equitable and fair partnership between marketers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other parts of the world, but more recent efforts have been more global - to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society worldwide.  IFAT is a global network of Fair Trade Organizations whose mission is to improve the livelihoods and well being of disadvantaged producers by linking and promoting Fair Trade Organizations, and speaking out for greater justice in world trade. 

We support the concept of bringing Fair Trade home, and, as stated by Co-Op America, to  "work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come."  When possible, we support locally produced products.

 FAIR TRADE = SOCIAL JUSTICE + ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY = GREEN

 Co-Op America points out that "every stitch of every T-shirt or jacket that we wear was put there by another human being located somewhere on the planet that we share", and that achieving an ethically traded global network requires a fair supply chain for every item that is traded.  And remember that Fair Trade begins at home!  Buy locally grown or produced products whenever possible, shop responsibly, and support a fair supply chain.

Actively promoting Fair Trade supports Economic and  Environmental Justice.  Fair Trade also supports Sustainable Living, because Fair Trade producers use sustainable methods and have a vested interest in being good stewards of their land and resources.  In addition, many products from underdeveloped countries are manufactured from recycled or local sustainably harvested materials.

Our educational and sales activities help the Green Sanctuary Committee fulfill its mission, to uphold The Seventh Principle of Unitarian Universalism:
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.