EHE News
Consumer Science students run fair trade store on campus
Susan Zavotka
Connie De Jong
5-1-11
Global Gallery, a Columbus non-profit fair trade business, has expanded its operations to include a store run by Consumer Science interns on the Ohio State campus.
In Campbell Hall, 25 student interns and a grad student have roles at every level, including management of the Global Gallery. They sell clothing, accessories, jewelry, tea, snacks, chocolate and coffee – all fair trade items – Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in a section of the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection.
"I'm thrilled to be able to offer fair trade products on campus in an innovative experiment. I am happy that Consumer Sciences has opened the doors for an opportunity for students to gain experience in a hands-on retail environment that promotes best practices for workers and farmers around the world," said Connie De Jong, Global Gallery executive director.
De Jong is teaching the students in conjunction with the Fashion and Retail Studies program in the Department of Consumer Sciences. The store is a pilot program to determine if a student-run operation can flourish.
"Global Gallery is the epitome of what Fashion and Retail Studies is," said Susan Zavotka, associate professor of consumer sciences. Cultural milieu, customer preferences and behavior are all vital to retailing, she explained. In the store, students will try to create an atmosphere in touch with their source of merchandise. For instance, they might arrange Guatemalan dresses from the Historic Costumes and Textiles Collection on the second floor of the Snowden Gallery, so customers will connect the clothing to Global Gallery selections made from natural resources by Guatemalan workers.
"We're trying to tie the whole concept together and educate people about fair trade," Zavotka said.
De Jong said, "We are also interested to see if fair trade products will sell to students and staff."
Anh Nguyen, a second-year master's student in Consumer Sciences, is surveying students, faculty and staff about their interest.
Both Global Gallery and the students have a task to expand knowledge of fair trade and environmentally sustainable practices. The students have decided that they would like to continue to sell fair trade products after this pilot program ends.
"Everybody felt like it was an important cause to get behind, and not just fair trade but eco responsibility as well. The focus will not only be on the store but on the mission it promotes," says Mariel Hilts, a store intern majoring in Fashion and Retail Studies.
Global Gallery was founded in 1991 in the Short North of Columbus with support from local churches. Global Gallery then opened a coffee shop in the Clintonville area in 2008. Global Gallery consists of a board of directors and is supported by local volunteers. The mission is to promote and educate people on fair trade and an environmentally sustainable lifestyle through the stores and events.
Fair trade can most easily be defined as ethical business. It encourages respect for cultural traditions and encourages entrepreneurship by building long-term business relationships with artists, farmers, students and consumers all over the world. Fair trade pays a fair wage, empowers women, provides equal employment opportunities, ensures healthy and safe working conditions and invests in cultural sustainability. It enables an underprivileged person to come out of poverty and provide him/herself and for his/her family.
Writer: Allysa Mousourakis, a third-year student at Ohio State majoring in Strategic Communications and minoring in Russian.
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