Madison Oeff, intern

World Fair Trade Week, hosted by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), takes place in Europe every other year. For this celebratory week, the WFTO names one city the “Global Capital of Fair Trade.” Milan, Italy had the honor of hosting the fair trade festivities this past May. Artisans, farmers, retailers, consumers, and advocates gathered to share their fair trade experiences and innovations. For the first time ever Global Mamas attended the conference with the goals of networking with our global partners and to gauge the European consumer response to our products. Maria Jose Vidal and volunteer Robin Ross represented Global Mamas at the conference and determined it to be a success.

Many events took place during World Fair Trade Week, including an international symposium, fashion show, cooking events, and a fair trade expo. The 2015 expo, called Milano Fair City, invited producers from all over the world to show their fair trade goods. Milan is one of the major fashion capitals of the world – what better place to display our products? First open to wholesale buyers and then later to the general public, thousands of consumers had the opportunity to see and purchase Global Mamas items.

Milano Fair City expo was a great way to spread awareness of the Global Mamas’ brand, especially to European consumers. Seeing Europeans interested in and purchasing our fashion was very exciting! The expo acted as a stepping-stone for us to increase European recognition of Global Mamas. Kristin Johnson, Global Mamas Co-Founder noted, “It was wonderful to meet many of our existing retail partners in person for the first time. We also developed relationships with new buyers, who provided great feedback about our products and prices.” We believe our products will be well received, and we’re excited about our future European endeavors.

People from all over the globe convened in Milan for World Fair Trade Week. Meeting and networking with so many diverse fair trade advocates was a huge opportunity for Global Mamas. This fair trade forum allowed Global Mamas to share strategies and ideas for the future with people engaged in similar work. “Fair trade is all about helping each other, learning from others,” Maria said. Participating in World Fair Trade Week definitely made a positive impact on Global Mamas’ international networking and exposure, and we look forward to seeing our partners and fair trade friends at future events.