While living on the wages of Nike sweatshop workers in Indonesia, the producers of the movie “Sweat” lost 40 pounds.
Their movie, which compiles stories and information from primary sources, will be screened tonight by Students for Fair Trade and Amnesty International to promote awareness of fair trade.
“The point of the documentary is that buying from companies like Nike perpetuates human rights abuses,” said sophomore Nikki Spencer, co-president of Amnesty International. “Buying [products] from a second-hand dealer or trading with people doesn’t perpetuate their economic benefit.”
Fair trade refers to the idea of ensuring fair payment for producers, while taking into consideration social and environmental factors. The fair trade logo on a product is a guarantee of these terms.
Spencer knows that there are companies with fair trade conditions who do not have the logo, but she hopes that these companies will make this information readily available.
With this in mind, the students are also hosting a clothing swap, in which students can trade unwanted clothes with each other rather than buy new ones from a company.
A few fair trade clothing stores, including Ploughsharing Crafts on the Loop, are also allowing students to model clothing to help sell the idea.
Junior Julia Baskin, president of Students for Fair Trade, noted that fair trade clothes look similar to regular ones, though they have a more earthy and hand-made feel since they are not mass-produced.
“Half the reason these companies [create fair-trade clothes] is because they believe in the values they promote,” said Baskin.
The night is part of series of social action programs, including the recent Indigenous Awareness Week and next Tuesday’s Ethics of Food.
For the former, students considered the treatment of American Indians and how it led to problems with poverty, depression and alcoholism. They also discussed the rights of indigenous groups in Latin and South America.
Additionally, Amnesty International will soon host a former worker from a Gap sweatshop in the Mariana Islands to speak about her efforts to unionize workers before being forced out of the company.
“The current theme is different products around the world that we take for granted that are totally abusive of the local population,” said Spencer. “The list goes on and on. It seemed to be something that kept coming up.”
Baskin became involved with Students for Fair Trade during her freshman year when she worked on getting the Washington University campus to switch from Starbucks coffee to Kaldi’s. She felt that the message has continued to spread and is gaining momentum.
“I’m getting so much more feedback this year from people telling me that it’s really important that we’re doing something like this,” she said. “And I’ve heard a lot more people talking about the issue of fair trade lately.”
Baskin also recognizes the influence that college students can have on fair trade issues.
“We have huge consumer power and we’re buying all the time,” she said. “I think people will really grab onto the idea that they can make a positive change.”
The fashion show hits the runway at 7 p.m. at Ursa’s Stageside.
Other companies modeling their products include Boutique Chartreuse, the first organic boutique store in the Midwest; an Ethiopian fair trade company run by a student’s mother; and other local stores.