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Chicago Fair Trade

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Chicago Fair Trade cultivates a community dedicated to an economy that values the labor & dignity of all people.

CFT is the largest grassroots fair trade coalition in the United States. We increase support for economic and environmental justice through consumer education, advocacy, and promotion of local fair trade businesses.

We’re proud to be a local and national leader in raising awareness about and building support for fair trade and its principles of environmental sustainability, ethical production methods, fair wages, and safe working conditions.

Two people viewing a wall of informational cards

Visit the World’s First
Fair Trade Museum in Chicago!

We will open in our new home at 2352 N Clark Street in Chicago on October 1.

Learn More

Upcoming Events

Oct 01, 2023 - Dec 24, 2023
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

10th Annual Chicago Fair Trade Holiday Pop-Up Shop & Museum!

Chicago Fair Trade Pop-Up Shop & Museum
2368 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL 60614

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Oct 19, 2023
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Threading the Needle: the Connection between Clothing and Climate

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Oct 20 - 22, 2023
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Fall Clothing Swap!

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Our Vision​

Think about how good it feels when you have an authentic, personal transaction: grabbing coffee at a locally-owned coffee shop, buying produce from your local farmers’ market, or shopping for gifts at Chicago Fair Trade’s holiday pop-up shop. Imagine having that feeling day in and day out when you spend money!

Get Involved

Chicago Fair Trade comprises a dedicated base of member businesses, educational institutions, congregations, non-profit organizations, and individual activists.

We’re supported by a strong network of passionate volunteers. Student groups, families, and individuals alike are invited to volunteer.

Become a Member
Become a Volunteer

Cheers to Fair Trade Coffee!

Have you tried Chicago Fair Trade’s coffee? We partnered with Metropolis Coffee, a Chicago-based award-winning coffee roaster, to create 4 custom blends that help to support fair trade coffee farmers in South and Central America.

Interested in selling CFT coffee at your next fundraising event for your school, congregation, association, or community group? Find out more about Fundraising With CFT.

Buy Coffee
Fundraising
Join us for an inspiring evening at the Climate Ac Join us for an inspiring evening at the Climate Action Museum to learn  more about how you can be part of the global movement to build a better, fairer clothing industry.
Co-hosted in collaboration with local non-profits Chicago Fair Trade and Empowerment Collective, the event will feature delicious lite bites and drinks, interactive exhibits and games, music, live artistic performances, and short informative talks, with plenty of time to browse the museum and meet and mingle with other guests.
Special guests will include Chicago broadcasting legend Jerome McDonnell, formerly of WBEZ’s Worldview, and global human rights advocate Nasreen Sheikh, a social entrepreneur and former garment worker. Lucky Plush Productions will also share an excerpt from Right Here, created by Melinda Jean Myers in collaboration with Lucky Plush ensemble members and composer/musician Lex Leto. This dance-theater-rock-musical explores how the body holds opposing states of motivation and apathy, abundance and loss, and hope and despair during a climate crisis.
Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of an event that combines education, inspiration, and action to address one of the most pressing issues of our time. Book your early bird ticket for just $19 today and become a catalyst for positive change for our planet!
#chicagosustainability 
#fashionrevolution
Fair Trader friends- We are thrilled to share so Fair Trader friends-
 
We are thrilled to share some happy news with you today. Thanks to you, our Flash Fundraising drive this year has raised an amazing $28,648 from 257 donors, making it our most successful Flash Fundraiser ever! 
 
As a small non-profit, this is huge for us. Chicago Fair Trade relies on your generosity to keep doing what we’re doing – and in just three days, your efforts have given us the security we need to plan ahead for the next year.  Plans include expanding our work educating youth,  advocating for garment workers, mentoring other fair trade grassroots organizations, and of course we'll continue to host creative events throughout the year. 
 
A HUGE thank you to everyone who donated, and a special shout-out to our core team of fundraisers who worked so hard to make this happen! 
 
Missed the deadline? Never fear… you can still donate! 
 
P.S. We hope to see you at our Pop-Up Shop AND Museum soon!!
Day 3 of 3 of our Flash Fundraiser. Here is a note Day 3 of 3 of our Flash Fundraiser. Here is a note from CFT Board Member Chipo Nyambuya who is participating from Liberia. 

Today is the third and final day of Chicago Fair Trade’s flash fundraising drive. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support. Please donate today and help us reach our goal! 

I am so committed to Chicago Fair Trade’s work that I am participating in this fundraising drive from Liberia, where I relocated earlier this year.  I am also extending the Fair Trade mission and message to Liberia. 

While Chicago Fair Trade’s work focuses on serious topics like labor rights and combating climate change, I love that Chicago Fair Trade always makes time to celebrate the good. Chicago Fair Trade is a joyous community. We embody the philosophy: if I can’t dance, I can’t fully be part of the revolution.

Since February, we have hosted a variety of creative and joyful events including: 

A Fair Trade Nowruz (Persian New Year) celebration
A World Refugee Day celebration and donation drive
A One-Stop Plant Swap 
Chocolate making workshops

We love hosting a wide variety of events every year to help build connections in our community, introduce our members to new organizations and ideas, and grow our collective movement.

We would really appreciate your support to continue building community connections. Donate today so we can celebrate reaching our goal!

Many thanks,

Chipo Nyambuya
Chicago Fair Trade Board Member
DAY TWO OF THREE OF OUR FLASH FUNDRAISER! AN UP DAY TWO OF THREE  OF OUR FLASH FUNDRAISER! 
AN  UPDATE AND NOTE FROM JEROME MCDONNELL
I’m a long-term supporter of fair trade. As the host of Worldview on WBEZ, I had the opportunity to interview many fair traders, from former child slave laborer Nasreen Sheikh to slow fashion pioneer Jamie Hayes, and countless other local fair trade business owners and champions.
I’m proud to serve on Chicago Fair Trade’s Board of Directors and help play an active role in dismantling harmful systems that persist in many industries around the world, including the fashion industry. We work to change unjust labor practices and dangerous working conditions that put workers at risk. We act to stop water pollution and rampant overproduction of garments that threaten our planet. The traditional fashion industry goes against all of the principles that we at Chicago Fair Trade stand for.
In an effort to rally our community around a more ethical fashion system, CFT hosted a clothing swap in April that drew over 400 attendees. Over the course of a weekend, visitors to the swap were able to actively participate in dismantling harmful systems by extending the life cycle of clothing, reducing demand for new garments, and keeping hundreds of pounds of clothing out of landfills. Additionally, Chicago Fair Trade continues to advocate for policies to improve the apparel industry. CFT serves as the Illinois Coordinator for the Fabric Act, a powerful piece of legislation reintroduced in Congress this past week that, if enacted, will improve conditions for 100,000 garment workers here in the U.S. 
By supporting Chicago Fair Trade, you help advocate for a better world. Click here [insert personal fundraising link] to show your support with a financial gift now!
In solidarity, 
Jerome McDonnell
Chicago Fair Trade Board Member
If you follow us in IG, you know that we do a whol If you follow us in IG, you know that we do a whole lot on a modest budget. With just two full time staff, we opened the world’s first Fair Trade Museum this February. The museum has hosted over 2,000 visitors, celebrations, swaps, and workshop, and after school programming. We rely on donations from people like you. Every donation is so appreciated. Thanks!
Instagram post 18001689794105021 Instagram post 18001689794105021
Calling all Chicago high school students! Join Ch Calling all Chicago high school students! 
Join Chicago Fair Trade’s  Museum Makers Fall 2023 Program!

Earn money. Learn new skills. Gain friends.

The newly opened Chicago Fair Trade Museum in Lincoln Park invites talented teens to become museum curators and design a brand-new, teen-focused exhibit to be displayed in the museum. Over the course of this ten-week program, teens will learn all about fair trade businesses and how they use their profits to benefit people and planet. They will then share their new-found knowledge with other teens and the wider community by working together to create a museum exhibit all about conscious consumerism in Chicagoland. On the final week, the museum will host an opening ceremony and launch party to celebrate the opening of the teens’ exhibit, which their friends, family, and the general public will be invited to. 

Link in bio to apply. 

#fairtradeleaders
#chicagoyouth
#afterschoolmatters
#lincolnparkhighschool
Join us in giving a warm welcome to new Chicago Fa Join us in giving a warm welcome to new Chicago Fair Trade business member, @seresfootwear!

In 2016, while working in fashion in New York City, SERES's founder Vanessa Arroyo came to a stark realization about the exclusivity and wastefulness of the industry. Musing about how to disrupt the industry, she knew she wanted to promote sustainability while putting a spotlight on her Mexican American heritage. To this end, she dropped everything and moved to the capital of premium leather and master zapateros in León, México.

While in León, Vanessa was an apprentice to shoemakers who taught her the difficult and tedious process of producing shoes with her hands. This was an opportunity for Vanessa to learn the intricate processes of handmade shoe production, meet the people behind her mission and deepen her connection to the land and materials. After moving back to her home city of Chicago and teaching classes at the Chicago School of Shoemaking, she launched SERES Footwear in 2023 to bring her beautifully-made footwear to a wider market.

You can check out SERES's gorgeous footwear at www.seresfootwear.com and at our Holiday Pop-Up Shop when it opens on October 1 at 2352 N Clark!

“Demand quality not just in the products you buy, but in the life of the person who made it.”

Orsola de Castro, designer and cofounder of Fashion Revolution

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