PUTNEY — Landmark College has been officially designated a Fair Trade College, joining a national initiative by Fair Trade Campaigns to engage students in issues related to global poverty.
The liberal arts college that exclusively serves students with learning differences becomes just the third college in Vermont to receive fair trade status. Nationwide, the Fair Trade Campaigns organization has enlisted nearly 300 schools and communities to its cause of educating students about the issues of fair trade and sourcing fair-trade products.
Victor Tomelden, president of the Landmark College Student Government Association, credited his fellow SGA members and the Landmark Entrepreneurial Accelerator Project (LEAP) for their efforts to garner the Fair Trade College designation.
Fair trade is an economic system that assures consumers that the products they buy were grown, harvested, crafted, and traded in ways that improve lives and protect the environment.
Fair Trade Campaigns officially recognizes schools in the U.S. committed to educating students about the issues of fair trade and sourcing fair-trade products - like coffee, tea, and bananas - in the cafeteria, in offices, and at events.
To receive the designation, students worked with Landmark College's food service provider, Chartwells Higher Ed; the college's bookstore; and other campus offices to increase the availability of fair-trade products. The students are also committed to holding events that will raise awareness about the principle.
More than 170 colleges and universities in the United Kingdom alone have earned the designation.
The U.S. program grew out of work in Europe and the increasing demand that fair-trade and ethically produced products be incorporated into institutional purchasing. Fair Trade Campaigns sees the tremendous impact that institutional purchasing in the U.S. can have on farmers and artisans worldwide.
For more information, visit fairtradecampaigns.org/campaign/landmark-college.