Chicago Celebrates World Fair Trade Day

2019 Fair Trade Expo
Chef Aaron Lindgren of ChicAgo ArtiZen, which creates handcrafted chocolates at Worldview Broadcast at 2019 Chicago Fair Trade Expo Jenny Friedland
2019 Fair Trade Expo
Chef Aaron Lindgren of ChicAgo ArtiZen, which creates handcrafted chocolates at Worldview Broadcast at 2019 Chicago Fair Trade Expo Jenny Friedland

Chicago Celebrates World Fair Trade Day

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The largest fair trade coalition in the U.S., Chicago Fair Trade is marking Friday’s World Fair Trade Day with a daylong celebration. The fair trade movement works toward sustainable development and community empowerment, certifying ethically-produced goods from around the world. What does that look like on the ground in Chicago? We visit Chicago’s World Fair Trade Day celebration to find out. To learn about the state of fair trade in 2019, we speak with Katherine Bissell Cordova, the executive director of the board for Chicago Fair Trade, and Chris Solt, the executive director of the Fair Trade Federation. Joining them are two business members of Chicago Fair Trade: Nicci Pain, the founder of ethical fashion company KOLUNTU, and Laura McMahon, the co-CEO of Susu accessories. Both businesswomen will be running a pop-up shop in collaboration with Chicago Fair Trade for three months starting on June 1.