Clockwise from top: Kara Joy McKee, Gene Perry, Ajit Bhand, Stephanie Bates, and John I. Gutirrez discuss and plan upcoming Fair Trade events at Cafe Plaid Tuesday evening. October begins Free Trade Month. Merrill Jones/The Daily

Student Organization for Fair Trade, or SOFT, has begun meeting weekly in an effort to raise awareness of Fair Trade issues.

In the past, SOFT successfully petitioned OU President David Boren to ensure 50 percent of campus coffees and teas would be Fair Trade certified, said Cindy Woods, SOFT president.

However, the group disbanded about four years ago, she said.

Woods decided to restart SOFT this year as OU’s official Fair Trade organization.

“OU is a very progressive campus,” said Woods, an international securities studies junior. “I know that we can get behind Fair Trade. We have in the past. We’re just trying to push it more, and make it a big presence on campus.”

Fair Trade is a social action movement that focuses on six main principles: fair prices, fair labor conditions, direct trade, democratic and transparent organizations, community development and environmental sustainability, according to the TransFair USA Web site.

“It ensures that farmers and other producers are getting living wages for what they’re doing,” Woods said. “So you might pay a little bit extra, but more of your money is going [to] the farmer. And if a farmer is certified Fair Trade then all of their practices are made public, and they’re not allowed to use pesticides or other harmful things for the Earth. So it’s not just about them earning more money. It also helps the environment.”

OU graduate student and supporter of Fair Trade, Stephanie Bates, said TransFair USA is the only organization in the U.S. that certifies products.

According to its Web site, TransFair USA started certifying coffee in 1999. Since then, the organization has added tea, herbs, cocoa and chocolate, fresh fruit, sugar, vanilla, rice, flowers and honey to the list of certified products.

Ajit Bhand, OU graduate student and an organizer of Norman Fair Trade, said there seems to be a lot of interest for a movement like this, but he said a lot of people still might not know anything about Fair Trade.

Bhand said with businesses like Native Roots Market and Café Plaid, it’s easier for people to find these products around Norman. But he said there’s still room for improvement on campus, so SOFT, Norman Fair Trade and OUr Earth are working on a petition to convince the university to sell 100 percent Fair Trade coffees and teas. Bhand said they already have more than 1,000 signatures.

“We should make sure that the dollars that we are spending do not go towards child labor or child exploitation,” he said. “Also sustainable living means that we protect the environment, and Fair Trade practices ensure that that happens. We are all in this together. If we are going to pollute the environment in one place, it’s going to eventually affect us as well. It’s also sort of a moral responsibility as a global citizen to do the right thing.”

Woods said buying Fair Trade products sometimes means paying a little more money, which can be tough on the college-student budget. But, she said, buying Fair Trade helps her maintain a good conscience. And to her, that’s the most important thing.