Student group sponsors alternative shopping

Just in time for holiday shopping, IU faculty and students will have the opportunity to buy gifts with a good conscience. Students in Free Enterprise is hosting a fair trade benefit sale from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today in the Georgian Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. \nThe sale will feature unique crafts and handmade gifts created by artisans from around the world. All merchandise will be provided by Global Gifts, a fair trade store in Indianapolis. \nFair trade is the equal partnership with Third World countries to better the lives of artisans, producers and workers. All of the items made follow the fair trade standards of paying workers fair wages while using environmentally friendly methods. \nThe fair trade sale is fair to its customers, too. Neither students nor Bloomington residents will need to break the bank to shop at the campus sale. Gifts for the whole family include clothing from India, handcrafted jewelry, home decor and holiday decorations. Everything falls between $1 and $200, said Mary Embry, an apparel merchandising faculty member and advisor to SIFE.\n"The holidays are a prime time to attract potential consumers because of the accessibility of the sale as well as the philanthropic opportunity it allows to the public," Embry said. \nEmbry and SIFE members arranged details for the sale. The group chose Global Gifts as the supplier because the store promotes fair trade standards.\n"The objective of the sale is to use the opportunity to encourage people to take a look at what fair trade has to offer and to potentially develop a fair trade storefront in town," Embry said. "The holiday sale is a stepping stone in creating a lasting fair trade niche in the Bloomington community." \nEmbry is also in the process of founding a fair trade store in downtown Bloomington, similar to Global Gifts. The IMU currently sells fair trade coffee products at Sugar & Spice. \nThe Union sale kicks off a weekend-long event featuring fair trade goods in the Bloomington area. Two days following the sale at the IMU, the University Baptist Church on East Third Street will host a continuation of the campus sale that is open to the community. \nFor more information about fair trade efforts in Bloomington, contact Embry at mcembry@indiana.edu.