Norman — Editor, The Transcript:
Last Sunday I had the privilege of hosting Break the Chains: A Modern Slavery and Fair Trade Event. The next morning I was excited to see that we received front page coverage. My excitement began to drain from me, however, when I saw a very significant inaccuracy that appeared several times. The article portrayed the event as supporting “free trade” when in actuality it should have said “fair trade.” It may seem like a minor mistake, but fair and free trade are very different and, although I am not of this mind, some would even go so far as to say they are opposed to one another.
As I understand it, free trade occurs when two or more nations make an agreement that goods manufactured in those countries can be traded in the other countries without being subject to tariffs. Unfortunately, many American corporations abuse and exploit this opportunity by manufacturing their goods in other nations in ways that focus entirely on increasing the profit margin, regardless of what that means for the people who make them. Sometimes this results in sweatshops, beatings and forced labor. Fair trade certification is an attempt to address the abuses that can occur within free trade. To be in favor of fair trade is not necessarily to be against free trade. As I understand it, supporting fair trade is to make purchasing decisions based not solely on how cheaply I can buy an item, but on what is fair for my fellow human being who made it. It is certainly not impossible for this to occur within free trade, but it does require a great deal of responsibility on the part of governments, corporations and consumers. To use the word “free” instead of “fair” system which is intended to avoid those abuses.
What an unfortunate error. It is all the more unfortunate because I know Christian Potts personally and I know him not only to be a good journalist and a good person, but also someone who has recently become very interested in the issues of modern slavery and fair trade. I appreciate that he was at the event and got it on the front page of the paper. Because of all this, I hope we passionate fair traders will take it easier on him. The truth of the matter is that he made a mistake between two word that can easily be mixed up. We should all be glad that when we mess up at work it doesn’t appear on the front page of the paper. Remember that time you left the cash register drawer open or the back door unlocked or put that decimal point in the wrong place? So educate people, buy Made in USA, buy Fair Trade Certified, but don’t lambast the guy for an honest mistake. As much as I support the effort to make Norman a certified Fair Trade Town, it is much more important to me to live in a community that offers understanding and forgiveness when one of us makes a mistake.
EVERETT MILLER
Norman
