Trade As One

Trade as One has been blessed with so many people who have given so much of their time and talent to support what we do. They’ve worked tirelessly to help us accomplish our goals, and we can honestly say that our success has hinged on their efforts. We call these people our stalwarts, and we’re going to profile them here on our blog so that you can see what they’ve done and why they do it. First on the list: Shelton Green. We’ve posted excerpts from an interview we did with him below. Make sure to read through to the bottom to see the radical decisions he’s made regarding his own consumer behavior. If you’d like to volunteer with us, please send us an email at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

What sparked your interest in fair trade?

I first became seriously interested in fair trade when my faith community, Journey, hosted a Trade as One market in 2007. I had heard of fair trade before that and knew it was a good thing, but really only associated it with coffee and little knick-knacks and trinkets.

How did you get connected with Trade as One?

After the market at Journey I emailed ‘info@tradeasone.com’ saying that I wanted to help in any way that I could, and specifically to connect Trade as One with more churches in Texas.  I fully expected to get a very polite email back in a week saying ‘thank you, we will be in touch’ and for that to be the end of it.  However, I got a personal email back a couple hours later from Nathan George saying “Yes, would love to discuss how you can help Trade as One in Texas.”  From there we planned a speaking tour of Austin churches in spring of ‘07 and connected Trade as One with churches to host fair trade markets. 

Which product is your favorite?

The Hagar Laptop case.

What motivates you to give your time and talent to fair trade/Trade as One?

I am committed to fair trade for a simple reason…it is just.  I am committed to specifically helping Trade as One because they have a unique vision for the modern church and I want to be a part of that.  The people in churches across America want to do good and they want to help those less fortunate, however it is hard to find concrete ways for an entire church to do maximum good.  Trade as One has created a sustainable and replicable model to A) assist the church in redeeming the way we spend money and B) giving hope, justice and dignity to many across the world who produce fair trade products. 

How have you incorporated fair trade into your life? how is your life different?

After working with Trade in 2007 to set up the events in Austin I took a very critical look at how I spend money, shop and consume in general.  I decided to not buy any clothes in 2008.  It was an incredible experience.  Very hard for the first few months.  After a while the “habit of buying” started to break.  After the year of no clothes it was very clear to me that I didn’t need any clothes.  The only exception was that I did need some socks, underwear and undershirts.  Something unexpected happened, I got really comfortable with the clothes I already own.  I began to like them and feel like they were “good enough.”  That may seem weird.  Even now in 2009 I don’t find myself buying clothes for the sake of buying them or just on a whim.  I buy things when I need them.  Also, I learned to mend clothes.  I mended several items instead of throwing them out and buying something new.

What else are you passionate about?

Part of the reason I became so passionate about fair trade is it’s close link to work being done with victims of human trafficking. A group of us in Austin helped promote the film “Call + Response” and from that we launched our own organization to help folks in Texas end human trafficking.  “What’s Your Response?” is the name of our local organization (you can find the website here).  The major activity of what’s your response will be a coaster campaign that will tell the story of different trafficking victims from Austin, confronting them with the facts and asking “What’s Your Response?”