When I was in Seattle earlier this summer training a group ofCRS Fair Trade Ambassadors, one of the best parts was a talk given by Scott James, founder and CEO of Fair Trade Sports. Scott is known in the Fair Trade world as a entrepreneur of the best sort: super-smart, passionate about justice, full of ideas, and all around nice guy. He spent a couple hours with us CRS Fair Trade folks sharing his approach to and enthusiasm for economic justice and word-of-mouth marketing.
These past few weeks, as I watched some of the Olympics, I wondered what Scott (shown below with yours truly) was thinking about, beyond the extraordinary athleticism on display. Scott was kind enough to submit his observations and perspectives, which do not necessarily represent CRS, but do give us much to think about as the Olympics wind down and the need for international respect continues.
From the keyboard of Scott James:
“This summer has been one of the most memorable in years! The Beijing Olympics have opened up an ancient city that’s been elusive to visitors for thousands of years. A new spirit of hope graces the world right now, opening the doors for newfound respect between nations. The question I ask myself often these days is how can we channel this new global attitude towards improving social and economic conditions everywhere?
Fair Trade establishes economic justice by giving indigenous peoples the ability to become self-sufficient. Self-sufficiency includes more than just survival. Self-sufficiency includes having a living wage that sustains self-reliance and respect, which empowers even the poorest nation. Nations can build, recover and grow with the self- reliance inherent in the Fair Trade movement.
Major athletic sponsors, such as Nike and Adidas, are making huge corporate profits from the Beijing Olympic Games. When you browse their websites, you’ll find jackets, pants and even sports balls related to the Olympics selling for well over $100. Are the prices of their products indicative of production costs? Unfortunately, they are not.
Adidas is the official sponsor of the Beijing Olympics, and Nike is a major contributor of sports equipment and uniforms for the teams. Both companies have less than stellar Fair Trade and employee rights records (try a quick search on their brand names on the Coop America website). Too often, profits are pumped into the pockets of investors and celebrity athletes rather than the economies of the product’s producers. This disrespects the integrity of those who work long hours in unhealthy conditions. Such a lifestyle deprives them of self- sufficiency and is an injustice that destroys entire countries’
economies. But I believe these large companies can change; that change will occur when they are under enough pressure, both external and internal.
External pressure from the market has proven a great force of change in many industries. Fair Trade companies like mine provide actionable education through our blog that Adidas and Nike can use to begin their own certified Fair Trade and eco-certified product lines. We will count it as a victory when one of the Top 5 multinational brands converts their sports ball line to certified Fair Trade like ours. As the public becomes more educated by Fair Trade companies, they are more likely to buy Fair Trade products and pressure larger athletic companies to comply.
Internal pressure within multinational companies like Adidas and Nike can come through inspired employees and corporate managers willing to think holistically and make change towards a truly sustainable (and thus, ethical) supply chain. These folks do exist; I’ve helped train some of them at the sustainable MBA program Bainbridge Graduate Institute.
Global respect can be transferred to corporate respect. The major athletic brands we see behind the Olympics need to understand the crucial link between respect and economic justice. By pumping their profits into respect for the indigenous workers, they will get ten- fold return on their corporate identity. Fair wages and healthy working conditions increase employee productivity and the entire community’s stability. With Fair Trade, it is possible to undo the years of economic injustice by simply giving authentic respect to the producers of our products.”
To respond to these thoughts, please leave a comment below. 
To read more from Scott, visit his blog: www.fairtradesports.com
