The Catholic Review of Baltimore, Maryland recently ran an article about a 16 year-old girl who organized her fourth sale Fair Trade coffee and chocolate last month. Maria Louzon, a member of Church of the Resurrection, learned about Fair Trade at a youth retreat two years ago. At the retreat, she discovered that simple actions on the part of an individual can make a big impact on the lives of other individuals half a world away. When reflecting on the retreat, Maria said, “You can do something locally to affect people globally – I’d never heard of anything like that.” Since that retreat, Maria has taken on the task of raising awareness of fairly traded goods within her congregation. Initially her sales consisted only of coffee, but since then she has expanded to chocolate and other fairly traded goods.

The Fair Trade movement grew out of a recognition that in many countries around the world farmers who labored long hours in their fields to provide the world with basic goods often receive very little income for their efforts. The poorest farmers have often felt the greatest impact of exporters and wholesalers who compete to maintain low and competitive prices for coffee, chocolate, and other products. These economic systems have often left poor farmers without enough income to feed their families, but the Fair Trade movement affirms the dignity and value of all people and their work. By providing workers fair wages for their products, Fair Trade affirms their dignity as individuals. One of the seven primary themes of Catholic social teaching as defined by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is in fact “the dignity of the human person”. The Conference has also written that “the measure of every institution is whether it protects and respects the life and dignity of the human person.” (from Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility) Supporting business organizations that have instituted Fair Trade practices is just one way in which we can recognize the worth of all individuals, regardless of where they live.

Each of Maria's sales have raised around $1200, which she then sends to the Archdiocese to help other young people attend social-justice activities, including the weekend retreat she attended in 2006. Through her efforts, Maria has helped people in countries she may never visit, and has raised awareness of basic justice issues in her home congregation.

Learn more about Catholic Relief Services’ Fair Trade projects

Catholic Connections

Have you ever paused to think about where your dollar will go before making a purchase?

In what ways can young people use their financial power to promote justice?