Dr. Gavin Fridell (centre), with Joey Pitoello and Vicki Matthews of Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op in Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. Just Us! serves as a community partner and case study for Fridell’s fair trade classes at Saint Mary’s University. CREDIT: Ian Selig.
Creating local to global connections in a meaningful way to foster equitable, ethical and sustainable trade relationships is what the fair trade movement is all about.
And according to Saint Mary’s University (SMU) researcher Dr. Gavin Fridell, the challenge is to achieve these objectives by combining certification and advocacy into a united movement.
Fridell says that while there’s no one road to fair trade, people who are interested can, “use that fair trade cup of coffee or banana as a moment of reflection on what you think the world needs.” PHOTO CREDIT: Ian Selig.
A Canada Research Chair in International Development Studies at SMU, Fridell studies issues around trade from both social and social justice lenses, including perspectives of politics and history.
As a long-time advocate for price regulations, and after years of collaboration with groups including the Canadian Fair Trade Network, Fridell also delves into more abstract mechanisms of fair-trade advocacy, rules and politics in the global trading world.
“There’s a need for real government support and government policies for small farmers to thrive,” Fridell says. “If you remove government support, you open up the market to the largest players, who very often crush the small ones.”
Locally, the Just Us! Coffee Roaster Co-Op in Grand Pré models many of the objectives that Fridell advocates for. Run as a democratic co-operative with an awareness of social, environmental and economic impact, partnered with small-producer farm co-ops in the global south, Just Us! serves as a community leader and case study for his students, including a class field trip to the roaster.
In his classes and on the broader university campus, Fridell says he’s observed interest in fair trade from others, but that the challenge is translating these interests into impact, and lessening barriers to doing so.
“I don’t think there’s one simple road, but you can use that fair trade cup of coffee or banana as a moment of reflection on what you think the world needs,” says Fridell. He says this awareness can be the beginning for thinking politically about what it means to live in a world with so much unfair and unsustainable trade.
For those interested in advancing the goals of Fair Trade, Fridell recommends The Fair Trade Handbook: Building a Better World, Together. Published in October 2021, the handbook features contributions from fair-trade organizations and researchers, including Fridell as author and co-editor.
“The book is designed to motivate ideas and energize people to get involved in fair trade, but the discussion also acknowledges the limits of fair trade,” says Fridell. “The book can be read as a continual dialogue which is, I think, what fair trade should be, ultimately.”
For more information on Dr. Gavin Fridell’s research, visit smu.ca/researchers/arts/gavinfridell/.