Fair Trade Campus: Identifying Support within the Dalhousie Community

Abstract

The primary objective of this research project is to determine the level of support that is present at Dalhousie University for becoming a Fair Trade Campus. This is a holistic study that will take into account the opinions of students, staff, instructors and faculty as to ensure that the results encapsulate how the entire Dalhousie community conceptualizes what it means to be a Fair Trade Campus. By comparing Fair Trade definitions, the Dalhousie community will also have the opportunity to rate whether or not this step towards a Fair Trade Campus is adequate and in-line with Dalhousie Sustainability objectives. In cooperation with the client Staci Farrant, the Dietitian and Manager of Wellness and Sustainability for Dalhousie Food Services, the Fair Trade Campus Research Group (FTCRG) aims to gain perspectives on the Fair Trade Campus designation. This discussion will involve comparisons to the University of British Columbia, which is currently the only campus nation-wide to acquire the designation. The client perceives the FTCRG’s research as a crucial step to validate support for Fair Trade designation and as a source of Dalhousie community perspectives that may aid in shifting the current beliefs of Food Service providers on campus. These aims are to be achieved through the collection of quantitative and qualitative data responses and through analyzing data in lieu of current standards. The results should form a basis for further research and allow for Dalhousie Food Services to consider the demand for Fair Trade products on campus. There were overarching themes which emerged from the results: the first being that there was overwhelming support for Fair Trade Campus designation, taking into account the definition provided (Figure 3). The second theme was that a significant number of individuals felt that the Fair Trade Campus designation was deemed insufficient and that more should be done if Dalhousie University is to be seen as an actor towards social change. The most constructive feedback that we received was that the Fair Trade designation was not inclusive of franchises on campus. The study concludes with recommendations for further study. This would include working alongside Staci Farrant and Sophie Henderson from Engineers Without Borders to further enforce the results found in the study. Funding from the Dalhousie Student Union has approved financial aid for the change, allowing for attention to be paid to ending the current exclusivity contract that Sodexo has with a major corporation, so that Dalhousie may include Fair Trade products. The study ends with a final recommendation of the continued promotion of the idea of Fair Trade on campus. With the aid of promotional material