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The single-serving coffeemaker in Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss' office is swapping its old blend for a new brew - call it Green Mountain Fair Trade Select.
That unremarkable event is the latest sign of a fledgling campaign to put Burlington at the center of a fair trade revolution. The Queen City recently became the country's 12th Fair Trade Town, joining a tiny handful of cities that have made a symbolic commitment to its inherent principles of fair trade: fair prices for goods, just labor conditions and environmental sustainability.
Fair trade is not new to Burlington. Stores have been selling fair trade coffee, honey, fruit, vanilla, chocolate and artisan crafts for years.
But organizers hope the new moniker will shine a brighter spotlight on fair trade products and the local businesses that sell them. Last week, a new Burlington Fair Trade Town website went live. An October 17 forum on the subject at Burlington City Hall Auditorium will bring together coffee companies and activists to preach the fair trade gospel. Organizers hope a Guatemalan coffee farmer will be there, too.
For all the grassroots promotion, however, no one is putting actual money behind marketing Burlington as a Fair Trade Town beyond free pamphlets. Not the organization that certifies Fair Trade Towns. Not the City Council that passed a resolution officially declaring its support for fair trade. Not the largest corporate partner, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which made an early and significant commitment to fair trade and to underpaid coffee growers around the world.
Burlington is not unique in that respect. Fair Trade Towns around the country rely...