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From the Witherspoon
conference on mission and justice:
Moving ahead in promoting fair trade
by Gene TeSelle,
Witherspoon Society Issues Analyst
[9-23-05]
At the conference jointly sponsored
by the Witherspoon Society and the Worldwide Ministries Division at Stony
Point (September 9-11, 2005), there were "open space" sessions in which a
number of people raised the question how we might advance fair trade.
To begin with ourselves
first (we asked for it!), there were suggestions for the Witherspoon
Society, especially that we regularly have a link to the "sweat-free"
program of Enough for Everyone, chiefly fair-traded coffee and T-shirts and
sweatshirts — and to other web sites, too.
There were suggestions
for the already vital Enough for Everyone program, especially that it
broaden the number of products it offers (agricultural products, crafts, and
other kinds of goods) and to expand its web site, including a forum on which
congregations could share their experiences with fair trade.
A suggestion for the
Worldwide Ministries Division surfaced during the conference, when
Vice-Moderator Jean Marie Peacock mentioned that she (along with Marian
McClure, Director of WMD) had visited a community in Congo that was
interested in producing palm oil for marketing through the PC(USA). As
funding from the PC(USA) is cut back, this kind of direct marketing could
become increasingly important, stimulating self-sufficiency in the process.
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Our General Assembly agencies are
already deeply involved with these issues. We might mention three
publications in particular.
Joining Hands
Against Hunger: An Invitation (PDS# 74 360 03 333) is a 10-page
booklet designed for all ages.
Worship Guide
on Trade and Globalization (PDS# 74365 05 360) offers 16 pages of
resources for the Global Week of Action in pursuit of "trade justice"
(this year it was April 10-16), including a litany and other prayers,
songs, sermon ideas, and a children's program.
Just Eating? Practicing Our Faith
at the Table (PDS# 74365 05 361) is the longest at 67 pages. There
are six "units" dealing with various issues, as well as additional
resources. |
The chief recommendation to come out of the discussions was that
overtures be sent to the 2006 General Assembly, requesting that the
General Assembly Council develop and implement a purchasing policy that
gives preference to "sweat-free" products (i.e., produced by worker-owned
cooperatives, or in factories where labor conditions are monitored by the
workers themselves or by independent observers).
All participants recognized that
purchasing practices are complex, and that the Purchasing Office would need
to be consulted in order to identify the issues that need to be raised in
advance and find the most feasible ways to implement a "sweat-free" policy.
But we would not be starting from Square
One. There are various bodies in our church that already have experience
promoting sweat-free practices.
In many of our presbyteries, the Hunger
Action Enablers have been in the forefront promoting fair-traded coffee
and making it available in presbytery offices. Their experience could
certainly be drawn upon.
At several of our Presbyterian colleges
and seminaries the issue has been raised and in some cases acted on.
Those who were involved in the discussion mentioned Macalester College,
Davidson College, and McCormick Theological Seminary. We are not in a
position to report on what has been done at these and other institutions.
Therefore we invite your reports on discussion and
action at these institutions of our church.
And then there are the many camps,
conferences, and centers affiliated with the PC(USA). They shape their
own policies, but we know that some of them have a policy of purchasing
fair-traded coffee and using sweat-free T-shirts and sweatshirts.
Again, we need your reports on what is being done and what
could be done.
In the meantime, there was a suggestion
that all of us could follow, both individually and in our congregations.
What about devoting each successive month to study, reflection, and
action about some specific issue? Then we could develop our own
twelve-step program for dealing with issues of justice in the
production, trading, and marketing of the food, clothing, and other products
that we purchase on a regular basis.
Do you know of other resources or
actions
in support of fair trade?
Please send a
note,
and we'll share it here.
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