Our Mission
The NYC Fair Trade Coalition offers a unique educational experience for ethically-aligned businesses, students of sustainability, and advocates by creating space to incubate and activate local communities.
Our Vision
To provide equal access to sustainable, fair trade ideas.
Board Members
Natalia Cerqueira
Membership Chair
Natalia is from Brazil and back there she created and owned an online thrift/vintage shop that was born from her personal solution to deal with fashion. Reusing and being creative started with her very own personal life and wardrobe and she extended it, turning it into a business. She put her business on hold when she moved to NYC and here she got to know NYCFTC and all its actions regarding how we as a society, as business owners, as consumers can take better steps and make better choices for everyone involved in the chain. She’s currently a FIT Image Consultant student and willing to learn as much as she can about reuse, sustainability, better consumption, new habits and make them happen in other people’s lives.
Fernanda Daudt
Marketing Chair
Fernanda is a design consultant for the leather goods industry with more than 15 years of experience in the field. She advocates for Sustainable and Ethical Fashion and has testified on how creative ways to manufacture products ethically can help to bring development to impoverished communities and/or individuals.
Fernanda is the founder of Volta Atelier, a brand of upcycled leather accessories hand-stitched by Haitian refugee women living in Brazil. She strongly believes that businesses and consumers have the power to create a brighter future.
Grace Alignay
Treasury Chair
Grace Alignay is a U.S. Army veteran with 15 years of accounting experience in non-profit, fashion, and tech organizations. She is a Fair Trade Advocate with a passion for all things ethical and small business and loves supporting her Meetup community of Fashion Rebels. She is also an ambassador and participant of the Custom Collaborative program, a business member of the New York Fair Trade Coalition.
Andrea Reyes
Events Chair
Andrea Reyes is a fair trade advocate, educator, and small business owner. She is the Chair of the NYC Fair Trade Coalition, a network of small ethical business owners and advocates. She is also the founder of A. Bernadette, which provides mentorship to students, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and those who wish to incorporate more sustainable practices into their businesses and lives. Lastly, she teaches fashion marketing, international trade, and business development classes at Baruch College, LIM College, and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Carla Farina
Video Editor
Carla Farina is the owner of eddys brand, a children’s wear company focused on sustainability through reuse and take back. eddys makes tiny sweaters with a big impact! After creating her own promo video on iMovie, she started editing the videos from all of the NYC Fair Trade Coalition virtual events.
Before starting eddys, Carla studied Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in her home town of New York City. She worked in design, product development, and manufacturing for ten years for small contemporary companies followed by larger private label companies where she designed for large retailers.
Lea Freni
Graphic Design
Lea Freni is an NYC-based apparel designer with 5+ years of experience designing womenswear for American sportswear brands. She received a B.S. in Fiber Science and Apparel Design from Cornell University.
As a Fair Trade Advocate, Lea enjoys connecting with other NYC FTC members to discuss and promote ethical supply chains and explore creative approaches to sustainable design.
Learn about the importance of fair trade.
What is fair trade?
Fair trade is a trading partnership based on reciprocal benefits and mutual respect between producer/artisan and seller. Fair trade partnerships ensure that 1) prices paid to producers truly and justly reflect their work, 2) that workers have the right to organize, 3) that national health, safety, and wage laws are enforced, and 4) that products are environmentally sustainable and conserve natural resources. Fair trade offers better wages to producers/artisans, improved terms of trade, and the business skills necessary to produce high-quality products that can compete in the global marketplace. Through this model of respectful trade, farmers and workers can improve their lives and plan for their futures. Today, fair trade benefits more than 1.2 million farming families in 70 developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Fair trade is respect, empowerment, and sustainability.
Why should I buy fair trade?
Fair trade is a tangible and powerful way to reduce poverty through everyday shopping while conserving the natural resources of the planet. The NYC Fair Trade Coalition explains fair trade purchasing as “voting with your dollar.” When you buy fair trade, you are empowering the producer/artisan and showing the global market that you respect the life at the other end of the supply chain and that you want companies and businesses to do the same.
New Yorkers have major consumer pull and our city is an enormous and bustling market. The more you buy fair trade products or ask your retailers to carry fair trade, the clearer the message is: New York City wants ethical/sustainable products and business practices. Companies and businesses look at the bottom line. If you are not buying their product, they notice. If you hold back a purchase until those companies start practicing fair trade, you will see change and a positive impact. If you start buying more fair trade products, companies will want to adopt such practices.
How do I know that a product is fair trade?
The easiest step in identifying a fair trade product is the label. Click on the links to see the identifying fair trade label and to read more information.
Other Information
If you don’t see a fair trade label on a product, do your own due diligence and research the company to see if they meet your value standards. It seems like a lot of work, but take a few minutes to ask the following.
◉ Where is this product coming from?
◉ How was it produced?
◉ Who produced it?
If the company is responsive and responsible, continue supporting their efforts and hold them accountable for maintaining fair trade practices and environmental stewardship. If a company lacks information on their practices, start writing emails and requesting transparency. We have amazing power as consumers. Companies need us and we should only support businesses that align with our values of fair trade and mutual respect. Exercise your fair trade buying power!
Thank you Fair Trade Resources Network and Fair Trade USA for help with these answers.
More About Us
OUR Impact
The coalition relies on interest from our business members, advocates, and partners to support our mission. We all work to promote fair trade businesses.
THE SDGs
The NYC Fair Trade Coalition is proud to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals.
SFCC
We’re bringing you a one-of-a-kind experience filled with SWAPPING and CONNECTING. Visit our SAFE space to explore the Swap and Gift Shops.
More About Us
OUR Impact
The coalition relies on interest from our business members, advocates, and partners to support our mission. We all work to promote fair trade businesses.
THE SDGs
The NYC Fair Trade Coalition is proud to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals.
SFCC
We’re bringing you a one-of-a-kind experience filled with SWAPPING and CONNECTING. Visit our SAFE space to explore the Swap and Gift Shops.
STAY CONNECTED WITH US!
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