Fair Trade on Film

Adelphi students learn to become socially responsible
citizens and to extend themselves across international
borders by organizing events on issues of universal
significance including fair trade, an international
movement intended to promote selling goods that comply
with international labor laws. Fair trade is meant to create
equal opportunities, treatment, and wages for farmers and
factory workers, according to Josselyn Portillo ’09, who
is an accounting and international studies major and the
president of both Adelphi’s Amnesty International and
Accounting Society.
“Unfair trade is an
international issue that
has caused problems
in many developing
states [such as Ethiopia,
Jamaica, and Cuba]
and has caused a
disadvantage to many
small farmers,” said
Amnesty International
Vice President Joanna
Kurylo ’11, majoring in
political science and
history.
The Adelphi chapter of
Amnesty International joined forces with the Accounting
Society and the Human Resources Society to host
the “Corporate Responsibility: Fair Trade Film Festival”
on March 4, 2009. The event raised awareness and
solicited petitions for signature, urging the World Trade
Organization to implement fair trade rules in developing
countries. The festival featured movies, such as Black Gold,
which highlighted the discrepancy between the coffee
growers in Ethiopia who barely make ends meet, and the
Westerners who enjoy sophisticated lattes, according to
blackgoldmovie.com; faculty and student panel discussions;
and fair trade refreshments, including coffee and sugar.
Associate Professor of Political Science and adviser
of Adelphi’s chapter of Amnesty International Katie
Laatikainen served as a faculty panelist, and explained
the role of the Fair Trade movement in providing market
access to small and marginalized producers, and promoting
sustainable trading relations.
“The premise is that once consumers understand that
their choice for fair trade-certified goods results in more
direct support for marginalized agricultural producers
of commodities, such as coffee and cocoa, the demand
for socially responsible goods will increase,” Professor
Laatikainen said. She pointed out that many economists are
skeptical about the fair trade movement because they believe
it replaces one failed
pricing system with
another in taking
away the support for
agricultural producers
in rich countries, while
introducing overpriced
consumer goods.
Associate Professor of
Management James
Hazy presented the
business perspective
of the fair trade
movement. “Fair trade
is purely a consumer
awareness trend, which
has a minimal impact
on global trade,” he said. “It’s important because it raises
awareness about issues that should be included in future
policies and treaties regarding trade.”
Professor Hazy also discussed the negative aspects of
fair trade, including the fact that the movement operates
outside the market system, distorting market dynamics.
Ms. Portillo, a member of the student panel and a film
festival organizer, believed students should be aware of
how demand for certain goods and services can harm
the rights of workers in Third World countries. “We will
become professionals one day, and our decisions could have
negative or positive consequences on society,” she said.