Fair Trade is founded on a vision growing out of our Biblical faith and our own life experiences. Without a vision, we are victims of what is, and easily fall into despair and cynicism. We react rather than act. We are pulled down rather than forward. We let what is, be, rather than working for what could be. As the Bible says, "without a vision the people perish." A vision can transform lives from accidents into adventures.

So what is the vision behind and energizing fair trade? It is a vision of a world where persons are the first priority – where the unique value of each person and his or her basic rights to food, clothing, shelter, etc. are affirmed in daily decisions, be they political, economic, educational, or whatever.

In such decisions, the first question asked is what effect this decision will have on persons, on human relationships, on the common good. The oneness and interdependence of the human family is affirmed. There are no "theys"; it's just "we, we, we all the way home!"

If this sounds like "pie in the sky," just consider the alternative – more social and economic injustice as persons are used as things or written off because of their differences. Visions have to be made visible; otherwise they become an illusion. You have to "tangibilitate" your vision and make it visible in some way.

Fair trade is one specific way of making the Biblical vision of justice visible; it plows that vision into reality right here and now.

The basic point of the partnerships of fair trade is to enable artisans to help themselves. It is a hand-up, not a hand-out. Most of the producers so empowered are women who are often economically discriminated against in their own cultures. A hand-up empowers and produces a sense of self-worth. A hand-out creates dependency and low self-esteem.

There are over one-hundred fair trade retail shops in the U.S. They carry a wide variety of fair-traded products, from coffee and chocolate to embroidered pictures from Viet Nam and beautifully woven clothing from Guatemala. The best way to locate a shop near you is to go to the Fair Trade Federation website and then to their list of retailers. Many of the shops, including the three I have been associated with, are run entirely by volunteers, so consider giving some of your time and ideas in this way.

As I said before, our shopping dollars have power. It matters where you shop. This Christmas, make your gifts ones that "give twice, once to your loved one and once to an impoverished artisan who depends on our shopping choices for his/her receiving of economic justice."