A couple of weeks ago, Chicagoans
united in Daley Plaza to celebrate World Fair Trade Day, and we were so lucky
to be a part of this celebration. The event, co-sponsored by Chicago Fair Trade
and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, focused this
year on ethical apparel as the campaign for sweat-free Chicago has moved
forward in City Council that would govern public procurement of apparel. The
disaster in Bangladesh last year heightened awareness of the dangerous
conditions for the majority of apparel workers.
To contrast worker conditions of
ethical and mainstream apparel, a fashion installation called “Going Sweat-free”
was set up in Daley Plaza. The installation was flawless. Scattered mannequins
wearing hangtags describing sweat-free vs. sweatshop labor practices drew
crowds. Passersby were intrigued to learn more about fair trade and join the
celebration.
WBEZ’s Worldview host, Jerome
McDonnell, also joined the fair trade fun. He interviewed various fair trade vendors
represented in Daley Plaza including our founder, Christine Hutchison! Listen to
this podcast or jump to 24 minutes to hear her short interview with Jerome: https://soundcloud.com/wbez-worldview/worldview-heads-to-world-fair-trade-day.
