Fair Trade Designers Kate Sage & Sharon Mok

[NatashaM]

by Anna Gallagher Ross

The Fair Trade Clothing Co-Op may be hidden at the back of Seekers Books in Toronto’s Annex neighborhood, but its members’ ability to popularize Fair Trade Clothing is no secret. Over the past year word has spread—through university campuses, across Canada, and around the world—about this fresh young group of social entrepreneurs who are actively distributing Fair Trade Certified clothing, fairly traded clothing and other fair-trade products here in Toronto. Sharon Mok, Katherine Helena Sage and Fraser Thomson run the Co-op together; I sat down with the two female members, Sharon and Katherine, to discuss their enterprise.

The Co-op was founded in the summer of 2006, operating out of a small space in Kensington Market. But their business continued to grow and garner attention, and they soon required a more functional space, moving to their current location at 509 Bloor St. West “Thru Seekers Books”. Katherine joined the Co-op last year as she was finishing high school, taking on a full-time role as Retail Manager and Financial Director upon graduation. “I came to the Co-op because of the intent behind it,” says Katherine. “In high school, I became very aware of sweatshops and slave wage labor and their effect on people, families, communities and economies around the world, and, being a blatant idealist, I came to believe an alternative was possible.” Katherine put her idealism to work at the Co-op, which exists to prove that private enterprise need not exploit others for the sake of the bottom line.
As for Sharon, before she became webmaster, marketing manager, secretary and volunteer coordinator at the Co-op, she was a student at Queen’s University. “Being a student of Economics, I have always found the idea of direct trade interesting. I learned so much about generalized trade theory at school—and believed none of it. Fair trade principles appealed to me not only because of my interest in labour rights, but also because of their capacity to make a difference in the lives of many poverty-stricken and low-income families from developing countries. Many of these people have been marginalized by a global trading system that fair trade works hard to fight against, one family at a time.”

Because of these core principles, the Co-op is also committed to supporting the futures of individual labourers and families worldwide. Their closest supplier is the Cooperativa de Madres Solteras de El Salvador (the Single Mothers Co-op of El Salvador). The company is collectively owned by the women involved, and allows single mothers to produce apparel from their own homes, reducing work hours, and increasing wages, while avoiding the wasted time, and financial burden, of commuting. Most importantly, the women are able to work while caring for their children themselves.

In addition to all this, the Co-op’s members have also set out to educate the public about fair trade. This past year, Sharon organized an event at Queens called WearFair, showcasing ethical clothing (either sweat-free, environmentally sustainable, or fair trade). The Co-op is also organizing a university speaking tour in September 2007, featuring the founder of the Single Mothers Co-op “In raising awareness about the single mothers”, Sharon explains, “we are hoping to increase demand for their merchandise and employ more women in San Salvador.”

Katherine and Sharon both believe in the importance of supporting the business endeavours of other women around the world, and the majority of their suppliers are organizations run by women. Katherine is inspired by the positive changes being made in the lives of these suppliers: “When I see the quality of the clothing made by the single mothers improve – knowing that they are improving of their own accord – and as I learn day by day how to manage and deal with the Co-op, I feel proud of our accomplishments, something the women in El Salvador must feel ten-fold, as their challenges are much greater than mine. This work is important to me because I know that through my small actions, I give others the opportunity to positively affect their lives.” Sharon also identifies strongly with her work: “Entrepreneurship is quite empowering for me as a woman and ethnic minority (even the fair trade industry can appear heavily male at times). I love working for the Single Mothers Co-op and showing support for these strong women. I believe we make a positive impact on the lives of these single mothers and it is important for me to express solidarity in such a direct way.”

Theatre Revolve is proud that the Co-op will be producing tee-shirts made by the Single Mothers Co-op exclusively for Theatre Revolve. These shirts will feature a custom-designed “Theatre Revolve” logo created by Katherine and participants of Theatre Revolve. We are very excited about this collaboration, and pleased to be a part of the Fair Trade Clothing Co-op’s valuable work!

If you want to find out more, the Co-op will be celebrating its Anniversary on August 4th at the Smiling Buddah with live music and performances by the Dope Poet Society, LAL, and Lila Rose. Visit www.fairtradeclothing.ca for more info.
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Natasha Mytnowych
Artistic Director, Theatre Revolve

[~*juliette*~]

hey, what else we can ask i just love the workshop, i learned a lot, and we made so wonderful t-shirts.

thanks a lot kate!
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~* JULIETTE PAOLA BURGOS GARCIA *~