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.
Vision
To provide equal access to sustainable, fair trade ideas.
Leadership Team
Andrea Reyes
Executive Director
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
Vice President
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.
Grace Alignay
Treasurer
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.
Edvina Ikeljic
Secretery
Edvina Ikeljic, an FIT International Trade and Marketing graduate currently working with USAID’s program for youth in Bosnia. She has worked with the NYC FTC since 2020 first as an intern herself, later as the internship coordinator, and now as secretary. Her role includes speaking with students and recent graduates gauging their interest and expectations when showing interest in working with the NYC FTC.
Advisory Board
Naika Colas
Ovation In-store
Naika is a Sustainable Designer and founder of the Eco-Friendly Fashion brand; Jacques Louis, which focuses on creating innovative clothing for consumers using natural fibers, dead-stock fabrics, rPET materials, and recycled textiles. She has more than 12 years of experience in fashion design, sustainability, and strategy.
She is a full-time Sustainable Design Director and Marketing Lead at Ovation In-Store, a retail merchandising brand. Naika earned her master’s degree in design management from Pratt Institute and a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry and Marine Biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Andi Licari
St. John's Univserity
Dr. Licari has been teaching both Management and Marketing at St. John’s University. She has chaired the creation of the Hospitality, Real Estate and Fashion course development at the university. Dr. Licari previously came from an international career in marketing, working for global corporations such as Trans World Airlines (now American Airlines), Union Carbide and Prudential Securities. Dr. Licari is a Fulbright scholar and a United States Study Center (USSC) scholar. Her specialized research has been in the training field of game and simulation theory, linking theory to application. She started her interest in Game Theory when she was a consultant for the Army ROTC program. Her research is in the field of using business games as a teaching method, and in which she has written two books. Dr Licari was Chairperson for Innovative Curriculum Development for Management Education Development and is a member of the International Management Education Committee of the Academy of Management.
Jordana Guimarães
Fashinnovation
Jordana has over 15 years of experience as a Marketing & Public Relations Director in the lifestyle & fashion industries.
Awarded ‘Women of Inspiration’ by Delivering Good, in 2022. She’s also the author of the book: It Can Be You: Humanizing Homelessness, as an inspirational and philanthropic project.
Co-Founder of Fashinnovation alongside her husband/partner Marcelo Guimaraes – a global platform bringing Founders & CEOs together from the ecosystems of technology and fashion, to adopt more sustainability throughout supply chain. Recently rang the Opening Bell at NASDAQ.
Jane Leyva
Fair Trade USA
Jane is a member of the Fair Trade USA Factory program where she works on the business development and partnerships team and supports transforming responsible business and building more resilient supply chains. Prior to joining the team, Jane worked as a product merchandising professional with brands and retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue and Patagonia and holds a Master’s in Apparel Design from Cornell University.
Alissa Westervelt
Donate NYC
Alissa Westervelt has over a decade of experience in sustainability and an M.S. in Environmental Policy. Her career has led her from modern dance, to hospitality, to food policy, and even a brief stint as a traveling fishmonger. In her most recent role at DSNY she leads the Donations and Reuse Unit, launched the donateNYC Food Portal, and spearheads ReFashion Week NYC, a yearly event series celebrating low-waste and sustainable fashion. Alissa specializes in materials reuse, textile waste, food systems, and circularity, most recently launching the NYC Circularity Network, with the goal of building community in the circular economy.
John-Paul Parmigiani
Impact Hub
John-Paul Parmigiani serves as co-founder and CEO of Impact Hub New York Metropolitan Area. He is also a co-founder and Board Chair of Impact Hub Accra, and serves on the boards of The African Innovation Centre and Crowdfrica.
Impact hub New York is located at 417 5th ave (between 37th and 38th streets) on the 8th floor, and is focused on supporting the impact community in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and taking action on climate action.
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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