Face of Fair Trade: Fair Trade Author, Jacqueline DeCarlo

So, the other day my friend peeked in my room and called me out when he saw Jackie DeCarlo's Fair Trade for Beginner's book at my bedside. Yes, my friends, it's true. This is my latest before-bed-slash-for-leisure-slash-fun book. Aaand, let's just say this isn't the first time I've read it. Hey! It's very informative. So imagine my excitement when Jacqueline DeCarlo herself agreed to be featured as a Face of Fair Trade. Thanks, Jackie.

What is your role in the Fair Trade movement?

I try to help people in the United States understand and get involved with the global Fair Trade movement.  I’m really fortunate because I can do this in a variety of ways that keep me continually learning from consumers and producers themselves. I have a “day job” with the economic justice team at Catholic Relief Services in which I reach out to millions of Catholics and connect them to the work of our partners, including those based in 100 different countries.   I also use my book, Fair Trade: A Beginner’s Guide, as a platform for sharing and reflection on my blog.  I am often asked to speak at community events, which is something I love to do because consumers ask great questions and expose me to wonderful activism at the local level. And, of course, I’m a consumer trying to live a Fair Trade live, and I’m fortunate to live in the great city of Washington, D.C. where there are lots of activities to participate in.

How did you first get involved with Fair Trade?

Back in 1999 I took some time off to study Spanish, process some personal losses that had happened, and explore Latin America.  While in Chiapas I was introduced to a coffee cooperative and learned how important Fair Trade was to creating the kind of life the farmers wanted for their families and communities.  On a long bus trip across Mexico I had an “ah-ha” moment when I realized that Fair Trade offered opportunities for the producers, and it also offered consumers a more authentic way to shape their consumption.  I had been involved in efforts at simplicity in my Quaker community in DC, and Fair Trade seemed an excellent way for producers to improve their livelihoods AND have U.S. citizens consume responsibly.  I ended up volunteering a bit for the Mut Vitz cooperative and then when I returned to States I joined the Fair Trade Resource Network, where I eventually got a job.

Why is Fair Trade important to you/in general?

I try to remember every day that I am incredibly privileged to be living in a democracy, situated in the middle class, with so many resources, such as a roof over my head and clean water coming out of the faucet.  Between my Fair Trade travels and the work I used to do for refugee and immigrant concerns, I know that my lifestyle is very far removed from the majority of the world in terms of the basic expectations and opportunities that people have for their lives.  I believe deeply it does not have to be this way.  If we use the framework of Fair Trade—making sure people and the planet are protected as we trade, using long-term relationships to create equitable systems, investing in communities not just in personal gain—then we’ll be able to create a fair, just, sustainable world.

What do you see as the challenges of the Fair Trade movement?

Frankly there are lots, but I think that proves that the movement is on to something! For example, Fair Trade means many different things to many different people, and although diversity can be a great thing that means that the movement is open to a lot of interpretation.  Sometimes that takes it away from its fundamental purpose: to create partnerships that “seek greater equity in international trade.”  Now, that doesn’t mean that Fair Trade shouldn’t evolve or be a role model for other economic justice movements, but it does mean that we can’t apply the term willy-nilly without rooting ourselves in the injustices that Fair Trade is trying to address.  To help us do that, we need to return again and again to the producers themselves to see what they want from the movement, and we need to check in with the consumers who are driving its growth in the “minority world.”

For more from Jackie, be sure to check out her blog where she picks up where her book left off and continues to inform about Fair Trade and her work to further the cause.

[Photo: Sara Stender]