Troy, NY – The Emma Willard School is the first high school in the nation to receive the Fair Trade status! The school now offers only ethically grown items in both the cafeteria and bookstore.
Fair Trade items are goods that have met strict economic, social and environmental criteria in both the production and trade of an agricultural product.
Emma Willard now offers ethically grown and harvested coffee, tea, sugar, rice, ice cream and chocolate in the cafeteria. The bookstore offers jewelry and woven goods that are also certified as Fair Trade.
The Fair Trade status was made possible by the efforts of a student group, Slavery No More. The group is dedicated to educating the community on human trafficking and exploitation.
With the realization that purchasing Fair Trade items helps to reduce trafficking and slavery in the cocoa trade in Africa, the group decided to make a difference starting with where they spend the most time.
Do YOU check if an item is Fair Trade before you purchase it?
