KPIRG Could Help KPU Become A Fair Trade Campus

Public Interest Research Group encourages students to get goods without abusive labor

The Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group hosted “Fair Trade Campus Week” at KPU from Sept. 26 to 30. The initiative was an opportunity to celebrate the fair trade movement and encourage fair trade certified products on campuses across Canada.

“[A fair trade campus] means that organizations which are operating within the context of the university—or are contractual entities that are operating on the university—[are] sourcing their materials from fair trade sources when available and when necessary,” says KPIRG’s administrative & resource coordinator, Richard Hosein.

SFU, for example, is a fair trade campus, meaning a certain percentage of the goods sold on their campuses was purchased via their fair trade initiative.

“The goal of this initiative is to raise more awareness on fair trade and the influence it has on all of us, even though we may not feel that it affects us,” says KPIRG’s Director of Campus Life, Lincey Amora. “We want students to know that it’s accessible and that they can support fair trade initiatives even on a small level.”

Fair trade groups like KPIRG are focused on eliminating the abuse and exploitation of labor throughout the production and distribution of goods in hopes of improving the treatment of workers.

“In this event, we’re celebrating and promoting it, and you get free coffee,” says Amora. “We just want to raise awareness for fair trade so it goes above and beyond just this week. Fair trade products are also helpful to the environment, like how this coffee is 99 per cent biodegradable, so it ties into more environmentally and socially-just issues.”

KPIRG hopes to continue its fair trade awareness campaign by coordinating with the KSA and the university itself.

“It’s been a long-standing campaign that we’ve been doing,” says Hosein. “We’d love some solidarity and overlap with the student association and the university, because really a fair trade campus won’t come into fruition unless those other stakeholders are involved. So [KPIRG is] just here letting folks know, but it’s the university and the KSA, as policy makers of the school, that are really going to make the impact.”

During October of 2013, KPIRG helped coordinate their first fair trade event at KPU—a free, one-day symposium that sought to raise critical policy questions related to fair trade production and purchasing practices.

“[The symposium] was a good collaboration to bring fair trade into the limelight at KPU, and certainly if KPU becomes a fair trade campus, it [will] really set them apart from other universities,” says Hosein. “The reason we’re trying to push for it is because we’re striving for the best for KPU and for the greater community, and this is sort of an initiative that does both.”

Fair Trade Campus Week was just one of the many social justice events KPIRG intends to facilitate in the coming semesters. They hope to build on the momentum of the progress made thus far and continue advocating for KPU to become a fair trade campus.

“KPIRG is a strong proponent for securing the dignified rights of workers locally and worldwide,” says Alex Dingiria, KPIRG’s Volunteer Coordinator. “Therefore, we support the fair trade initiative because it is a step towards achieving [worker’s rights]. It’s not the end goal, but it is a step in the right direction towards securing [these rights].”