Local Group Seeks to Make Healdsburg a Fair Trade Town

A steering committee of local business owners and residents is working to position Healdsburg as the next certified Fair Trade Town in California.  San Francisco, Chico and Berkeley are among the rising numbers of Fair Trade Towns in the United States.

The Fair Trade Town movement is international in scope. There are already more than 500 certified Fair Trade Towns in the United Kingdom and is in 18 other countrites, too. In the United States, 23 towns have already earned that status.

The committee for Fair Trade Healdsburg has identified a number of local stores that already carry certified fair trade items.  Bean Affair, Big John’s Market, Shelton’s,  as well as Copperfield’s Books, Café Gratitude and Earth Buddha carry certified Fair Trade products. There are a number of other local businesses that carry these products, as well.

 “So far, people seem really excited about it,” said steering committee Chair Annette Ballestero at a recent meeting.

The committee is well through the process of surveying local merchants on their fair trade products and their willingness to become part of Fair Trade Healdsburg. They have five steps to complete before becoming certified with Fair Trade Towns.

“It boils down to business—socially responsible business,”  Ballestero said when the committee discussed marketing the concept.

 Ballestero and her husband Ray are already in a certified Fair Trade business, One World Fair Trade, located on the Healdsburg Plaza.

From the Ballestero’s One World Fair Trade website, “We believe that when people understand that trade can be a force for positive change they will use their purchasing power to ‘make their purchase make a difference’ in the lives of people and communities.”

 “When you choose to purchase Fair Trade products, you are endorsing an economic system that provides opportunities for producers to lift themselves out of poverty," according to the Fair Trade Towns USA website. "Fair Trade provides assurances to consumers that producers are paid fair prices for their products and labor.”

Fair Trade Towns USA is the organization behind the certification movement.

 “Fair Trade is a system of exchange that honors producers, communities, consumers, and the environment," according to another environmental and social responsibility website, Green America, "It is a model for the global economy rooted in people-to-people connections, justice, and sustainability.”

Steve Martin, another member of the steering committee, met with .  Chambers seemed to be receptive to the idea, Martin said.

Another Fair Trade Healdsburg committee member, Becky Miller, has presented the idea of Fair Trade to unit councils at Kaiser Permanente Medical in Santa Rosa. Miller works for that organization. Businesses such as Kaiser can make a large impact by serving Fair Trade coffee.

Recent Healdsburg High School graduate is researching options for T-shirts to use in the program that will include the Healdsburg logo. The shirts they choose will be organic and certified Fair Trade.

The current phase of the campaign includes inviting local churches to come on board with the Fair Trade Town concept. 

Healdsburg High School Progressive Club member Aaron Miller is on the steering committee. Miller is involved in many progressive campaigns at the school and beyond.  He said he endorses the Fair Trade concept and would like to see Healdsburg as a Fair Trade Town.

For some people, Fair Trade has a reputation for being more expensive that other items; however, committee members believe it is possible to find competitively priced Fair Trade products.

Adopting Fair Trade is a solid marketing concept for Healdsburg, as well. More people are using their dollars to “vote for” social responsibility and many Healdsburg tourists are already aware of the concept. In addition, the city would receive additional exposure on the Fair Trade Towns website.

The committee will continue to meet at Bean Affair, where owner  carries Fair Trade coffees.  Fair is also on the steering committee.