Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO: David L. Corliss, City Manager

CC: Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager

FROM: Kevyn Gero, Management Intern

DATE: 3/04/2015

RE: Fair Trade Town Designation

Background

The City received a request to consider and act on a resolution or proclamation supporting fair trade in Lawrence, Kansas.

Considerations for Fair Trade Town Resolution or Proclamation

The national initiative, Fair Trade Campaigns (fairtradecampaigns.org), is a grassroots movement that establishes five comprehensive steps for a Fair Trade Town Campaign to receive a Fair Trade Town designation. The website is an advocacy tool for citizens to organize, launch and track their campaign. The mission of the Fair Trade Lawrence campaign is to demonstrate and build upon a socially responsible community and its already established fair trade presence. The local campaign has identified over 30 fair trade locations in Lawrence.  Ten Thousand Villages, Third Planet Imports, Kretyen Fair Trade Gifts and Coffee and Dillons Supermarket are some of the retail locations identified selling two or more fair trade products. Various community organizations using or serving fair trade products were also identified including: The Shelter, Inc., Hilary’s Eat Well, and Tall Grass Studios. A full list of the retailers and community organizations identified by the Fair Trade Lawrence campaign can be found at: http://fairtradecampaigns.org/campaign/fair-trade-lawrence-kansas.

A proclamation or resolution is the final step for Fair Trade Lawrence to officially designate Lawrence as a Fair Trade Town by the nation-wide organizing effort Fair Trade Towns USA. The City Attorney’s Office and Sustainability Coordinator have been actively involved in reviewing the proposed proclamation.

By issuing this proclamation, Lawrence would join over 30 other municipalities already recognized as a Fair Trade Town including Norman, OK and Taos, NM. Currently there is one other Fair Trade Town campaign in Kansas located in the City of Overland Park. If signed, the City of Lawrence would be the first city in Kansas to be designated as a Fair Trade Town by Fair Trade Town USA. The proclamation expresses the City of Lawrence’s support for fair trade awareness and encourages community organizations to initiate a campaign to promote the City as Fair Trade City. There are no duties, obligations and liabilities of the City of we join the campaign.