Kaitlin Ramirez, leader of the UW-River Falls Fair Trade Committee, discusses information related to sustainability with an attendee of Earth Fest at the university on April 22. Such efforts have helped UWRF be designated as a fair trade university. UWRF photo.

UW-River Falls receives national Fair Trade designation 

Effort focused on education, implementing sustainability practices

June 13, 2023 - The University of Wisconsin-River Falls has received designation as a Fair Trade School, a recognition of the university’s commitment to purchasing products from companies that empower farmers and workers while also protecting the environment. 

The designation was announced June 13 by Fair Trade Campaigns, a coalition of organizations that recognizes municipalities, universities, K-12 schools and congregations across the U.S. for devising and implementing fair trade purchasing practices into their operations. 

Mark Klapatch-Mathias, coordinator of the UWRF Sustainability Office, said receiving the fair trade designation shows the university’s ongoing focus on implementing sustainability into campus operations and activities.  

“Fair trade designation demonstrates UWRF’s commitment to all aspects of sustainability, including social, environmental, and economic,” he said. “This designation advances our progress on the sustainability goals identified in the Sustainable Campus Community Plan as well as the broader UWRF strategic plan.”

To qualify for fair trade designation status, universities and other entities must document that they have met a series of goals that demonstrate their commitment to fair trade and other sustainability practices. At UWRF, those goals included not only campus outreach and working with the campus food providers to make fair trade food products available, but also putting on multiple campus education events. 

Certification requirements also include the development of a fair trade resolution and the adoption of such a resolution by the UWRF Student Government Association. 

In addition, the designation required that UWRF develop a Fair Trade Committee to develop and lead a fair trade campaign. That group ensured completion of fair trade goals and continues to monitor progress. A senior environmental planning major Kaitlin Ramirez, of Round Lake, Ill., led the committee. She was joined on the committee by Klapatch-Mathias, adjunct faculty member and Sustainability Specialist Tovah Flygare, and students Amber Rappl, a senior biotechnology major from Mt. Calvary, and Chloe Elftman, a junior majoring in environmental planning from Brooklyn Park, Minn. 

Among their efforts, committee members ensured that UWRF Dining, Chartwells and the Falcon Shop include a minimum of two fair trade products at each location. 

To raise awareness about the importance of fair trade policies, students on the committee hosted numerous events, such as Fair Trade Finals at the Sustain Your Brain event, and at Earth Fest in April. Students also share information about fair trade and its importance through the UWRF sustainability social media accounts. 

Ramirez said the process to receive fair trade designation provided a clear framework for her and Fair Trade Committee members to follow. The designation is important, she said, because it shows that UWRF is committed to fulfilling its sustainability commitment and is prioritizing the planet and its people. 

Attaining fair trade designation wasn’t easy, she said, but “the Fair Trade Campaigns team provided excellent support throughout the process, and we are thankful for them doing this important work.”

Rappl said the committee’s work shows an increasing awareness about the importance of acting related to fair trade and other sustainability measures.  

“I am excited UWRF has received this designation because it demonstrates that we care about people, including their work conditions and wages as well as the environment,” Rappl said.

Klapatch-Mathias praised the work of Fair Trade Committee members, saying numerous parts of campus came together to work toward a greater commitment to sustainability.

“This designation is only possible thanks to the efforts of many individuals and departments across campus,” he said, singling out Ramirez for her work leading the effort. 

UWRF is among about 280 active institutions in the U.S. that have attained fair trade designation through Fair Trade Campaigns. The program in America US is an outgrowth of similar work in Europe toward increasing demand for fair trade and ethically produced products to be incorporated into institutional purchasing decisions.