Pittsburgh Catholic Newspaper

Editorial

Support mothers
current editorial
by: Edirorial

Editorial

The concept of fair trade is catching on. This business model, which puts Catholic social teaching into practice, emphasizes a fair wage and safe conditions for the workers who produce a wide range of products in economically struggling areas of the world.

Catholic Relief Services is at the forefront of efforts to help farmers and entrepreneurs in third-world countries market and distribute their goods in the United States.

Local parishes and businesses have committed to connecting with growers and artisans to aid their fledgling efforts.

St. Stephen Parish in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood offers freshly brewed fair-trade coffee between Sunday Masses. The parish’s Ladies of Charity worked with CRS fair-trade ambassador Janet Berna to host a sale last November, and St. Valentine Parish in Bethel Park has held similar events. Fair-trade products such as coffee, chocolate and sugar, as well as beautiful crafts by artisans from more than 20 countries, have been featured.

May 12 is World Fair Trade Day this year, and it’s the perfect time to pledge your support for the many poor artisans in the third world. As Berna said, most of the crafts producers are women. What’s better than giving a helping hand to poor women in Africa and elsewhere on the day before Mother’s Day? By creating a reliable market for farmers and artisans, their lives and the lives of family members become more secure; children go to school, medical fees are covered, living conditions improve. (See http://www.crsfairtrade.org for more information.)

Young and old, women around the world are earning a living by selling their artistic handicrafts through partners who are committed to the fair-trade business model.

This year, as you think about honoring the mothers you know and love, try to honor them with a gift that comes from the hands of a fair-trade farmer or artisan. Chances are, she’s a mother, too.