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Craft Sale and Cultural Event
November 2008

Welcome to the Women and Fair Trade event page organized by the American Friends Service Committee - Austin office. The 2007 event was a success! Women's cooperatives who came from all over the world told their stories about globalization and sold their beautiful, handmade items. There was also our Fair Trade Fashion Show and our documentary film presentation. Each November, we hold this event hosting women's cooperatives from around the world who sell fair trade products.

This sale is about much more than purchasing quality products. It is about:

• Supporting women’s cooperatives that serve as a living alternative to dominant forms of production and distribution that exploit rather than support the creators of the goods we purchase.
• Influencing consumer’s purchasing habits which will favor small producers instead of adding to corporate profits.
• Shortening the gap between producer and consumer.

Fair trade acknowledges the human beings that make our products. It means that small producers receive fair prices for their products, helping them build a better future for themselves and their communities. This helps to reverse current trends that reward the middle man or woman more than the producers themselves.

The AFSC-Austin staff and volunteers have long been committed to moving the debate around trade out of the realm of theory and into real life. There is nothing more real than women searching for ways to provide for their families while maintaining dignity and preserving their culture.

The sale also showcases other cooperatives that work at the grassroots level in enabling their communities to prosper and continue their cultural traditions based on weaving, sewing, basketry, ceramics and other local crafts. We will also include cultural and educational aspects such as musical performance, poetry reading, and a documentary film.

Purchasing fair trade products is a very good way to do your part, but we encourage you to do more. If you look closely, each vendor participating in this sale has a story that can offer you a window into the lives of the producers’ family, their livelihoods, and how they are impacted by the broader global economy. So take the time to read the producer profiles and chat with the vendors.

10% of all proceeds go to the AFSC-Austin office to help ensure this event continues on an annual basis. Please visit our Trade Matters web site for more information on AFSC’s work on trade issues.

To volunteer call (512)474-2399 or email staylor@afsc.org

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