For the second consecutive year, York has earned the Silver Fair Trade Campus designation, highlighting the University’s commitment to ethical sourcing and sustainability.
This designation, awarded by Fairtrade Canada, reflects York’s ongoing efforts to foster a socially responsible campus culture through collaboration, education and action.
Fair Trade-certified products – such as chocolate, coffee, tea and bananas – are available at various YU Eats locations including Stong College, Winters College, Central Square (Keele Campus) and Glendon Campus. The initiative also extends to apparel, with the York University Bookstore offering certified fair trade T-shirts and hoodies though a partnership with Green Campus Co-op, a student- and faculty-founded organization established in 2011.
Driving these initiatives are Professor John Simoulidis and Tom Watt, senior director, business development, Ancillary Services, who co-lead York’s Fair Trade Steering Committee, along with Sasa Nestorovic, director, Bookstore, Printing and Mailing Services.
Nicole Arsenault, director, sustainability, says the designation "represents years of dedicated work by students, faculty and staff who have championed fair trade and helped integrate it into campus life.” These efforts, she adds, support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a key component of the York University Academic Plan.
To mark this recognition and continue building awareness, York will host a Fair Trade Fair in Vari Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The event will feature Chartwells, the York University Bookstore, and Green Campus Co-op, as well as a variety of external vendors offering fair trade products and samples.
Learn more about Fair Trade at York here.
With files from Nicole Arsenault