Bringing fair trade to Humber

Fair Trade week is here at Humber College, but will it catch on with students?

Sponsored by the the Humber Public Interest Research Group (HumPIRG) the event aims to persuade the Humber administration through the student body to adopt a fair trade policy for businesses on campus.

Supporters of fair trade aim to build co-operative communities for the sustainable development of environmentally friendly products through humane working conditions of employees who are paid at a baseline salary.

If Humber were to fully adopt fair trade practices and only allow fair trade businesses to operate on its campuses, it would be the first college in Ontario to do so.

Essentially, fair trade calls for consumers to vote with their dollars, imploring them to support businesses that care about how their products are made and how their employees are treated, but will students care enough to pay higher premiums on their purchases, even if for a good cause?