Each week The Bellingham Herald takes a closer look at a business in Whatcom County. This week: Fair Trade Haven.
What’s new: Fair Trade Haven sells fair-trade certified products, which means the workers who made them were paid a living wage and weren’t working in a sweatshop, owner Karin Porrini said.
Porrini partnered with Moka Joe to participate in the nationwide event Fair Trade Coffee Break on May 10, celebrating World Fair Trade Day. The local event, at the Village Green, gave attendees a chance to sample fair-trade certified coffee and other snacks like nuts, tea and chocolate. Porrini said events like that are important to boosting her company’s profile in the community, because she doesn’t do much advertising.
What’s next: Porrini moved to Bellingham six years ago after living in France, and said the United States lags behind Europe in the fair-trade movement. Grocery stores in England and France have fair-trade sections, similar to U.S. grocery stores’ organic sections, she said.
Porrini said that more education is needed to get Americans on par with Europe in the fairtrade movement.
She said many people have no idea what’s happening outside the U.S. “Still, I see a progress here, even if it’s slower than Europe. I think people are open to fair trade, it’s just a question of education.”
Company history: Porrini opened Fair Trade Haven three years ago in the Bellingham Public Market on Cornwall Avenue.
She moved to Fairhaven, near the Colophon Cafe, in April 2007 to have a larger space to stock more merchandise. She said the move has been a boost to her bottom line, as Fairhaven attracts more tourists and foot traffic.
Marketplace: Porrini sells food, clothing, jewelry, baskets, textiles and toys that are all certified by the Fair Trade Federation.
She said clothing sales make up 30 percent to 40 percent of her revenue.
She has a young customer base because, she said, younger people have been more receptive to supporting the fair-trade movement.
Revenue: The holiday season gave Porrini a spike in sales in December that brought in $30,000 in revenue, but an average month’s sales bring in about $8,000 to $9,000.
Employees: Porrini has two employees that do basic retail tasks, including stocking and inventorying merchandise, working the cash register and talking with customers.