Niagara Region resident Kellen Spence says he’s been intrigued by the idea of fair trade since he was a youngster.
Growing up near Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., Spence was exposed to the idea of fair trade at Ten Thousand Villages Canada stores, then headquartered in nearby New Hamburg.
The charity-run chain once had shops across the country, filled with items made in countries around the world, and featuring information about their makers and how purchasing the item supported fair pay and global trade. Its corporate operations ended in Canada in 2020.
Then, working in the supply chain and logistics field as an adult, Spence got more interested in the idea that people who make products in lower-income countries should be paid fairly for their work.
“I got to really see behind the scenes as far as where products come from,” Spence told CBC Hamilton. “Fair trade looked like an avenue to solve some of those problems and close the gap.”
Kellen Spence manages Dharma Fair Trade in Port Colborne, Ont. He says the movement is a way to give consumers more choice, and support workers in the developing world. Port Colborne is Ontario’s only Fairtrade Canada town.
Fair trade most commonly refers to the practice of companies paying fair trade organizations in developing countries to certify products as complying with certain economic and ethical standards. Additional costs over the market rate might go toward social development projects where the goods are produced.
Spence and his partner, Jenn Neilson, are big supporters. They run Dharma Fair Trade, a soap and candle business in Port Colborne, Ont.
It’s the province’s only fair trade town, a Fairtrade Canada certification the municipality has held for 15 years.
Since the mid-2000s, 26 Canadian municipalities have been certified fair trade towns. Three others — Barrie, Toronto and Guelph — were previously certified, but since 2019, none recertified and lost their status. In addition to Port Colborne, there are 15 active fair trade towns in Canada, including Winnipeg and Edmonton.
Certification efforts dropped off during pandemic
According to Loïc de Fabritus Gautier, who manages advocacy and citizen engagement for Fairtrade Canada, other Ontario municipalities, including Toronto, lost certification early in the pandemic.
The designation requires having a steering committee that holds annual events, which many communities couldn’t keep up during the public health crisis, he said.
But the pandemic also saw renewed interest in supporting local businesses and in how supply chains work, de Fabritus Gautier said.
He said that despite high inflation, Fairtrade Canada has not seen a decline in the purchase of fair trade goods.
Fairtrade Canada, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is the local chapter of an international organization advocating for fair trade. In addition to municipalities, it certifies campuses, organizations, businesses and products.
Ontario has 18 Fairtrade Canada-certified post-secondary school campuses — most recently Toronto’s York University — where such products are made available, de Fabritus Gautier said.
“Students engaged and involved in those campuses as well come to reinforce the fair trade towns,” he said.
“Port Colborne is that beacon where we’re on that fair trade path no matter what kind of hurdles we have to jump over.”
The municipality, which has a population of about 15,000, has four or five fair trade businesses and a handful of cafés, Spence said. It also has a fair trade citizens committee on which Spence sits.
Fair trade is “one of those high-tide-raises-all-boats scenarios,” Spence said, improving working conditions for producers and product quality for buyers.
He and Neilson started Dharma Fair Trade when they began adapting artisanal soap recipes to ones using fair trade agreements.
Fair trade pricing includes a premium negotiated by the importer and producer, he said, and that does mean fair trade goods can cost more.
In a cost of living crisis, it’s important for people to have options and understandable if they don’t want to pay more for something like coffee, Spence said. However, he thinks consumers appreciate the option and trying to do the cheapest business possible is an outdated model.
A way to support local
De Fabritus Gautier said that as fair trade products have become more popular, prices have gone down, too.
“You can now purchase fair trade bananas at Costco or have your fair trade coffee with a store brand.”
In Port Colborne, Spence said, local fair trade cafés are bustling and young people seem especially keen to embrace what they see as more socially responsible purchasing.
Highlighting the movement as a way to support local business owners is one of the keys to Port Colborne’s success in maintaining its status, de Fabritus Gautier said.
And, Spence said, having a committee has been key. It advocates for fair trade, promotes fair trade businesses in town and helps businesses source such products, he said.
It’s not an official city committee, city spokesperson Jasmine Peazel-Graham said, but council endorsed the application for Port Colborne to become a fair trade town in 2009 and supports the committee’s mandate by serving fair trade coffee, supporting their events and inviting the committee to city gatherings.
“It just means a lot to know that the community supports the vision that I had with my business,” Spence said, “and to know that we can be a launchpad or a case study for other towns to adopt it and grow that fair trade town model.”