5 Easy Swaps for Living Fair Trade
Living fair trade doesn’t have to be complicated. At its heart, it’s about making conscious choices that respect the dignity of farmers and artisans while bringing beautiful, ethical products into your everyday life. Every swap—big or small—adds up to meaningful change for communities around the world.
Here are five simple fair trade swaps you can start making today:
1. Swap Your Morning Coffee
Your daily brew has more impact than you think. Conventional coffee often comes from farmers struggling with unstable prices and unfair wages. Choosing fair trade coffee ensures that farmers receive a guaranteed minimum price, plus a premium they can invest in their communities.
Shuswap Coffee Company is the perfect example of the big impact shopping fair trade coffee can make. Based in Salmon Arm, BC, they source Fair Trade beans from women-led cooperatives in Central and South America. By supporting the Café Femenino program, they help ensure women farmers receive fair pay and resources to strengthen their communities. Roasted in the Canadian Rockies, their arabica blends deliver exceptional quality while also supporting local non-profits.
Try this: Pick up a bag of fair trade beans from Villages—bold espresso, smooth medium roasts, or comforting decaf—and make your morning ritual one that supports dignity.
Shop Fair Trade Coffee
2. Switch Your Chocolate
Did you know most cacao farmers have never tasted chocolate? By choosing fair trade chocolate, you’re standing up against exploitative labour practices and ensuring farmers can earn a living wage.
That's where Divine Chocolate stands out. It's the only fair trade chocolate company co-owned by cocoa farmers. Through co-ownership, fair trade, and community projects, they empower women farmers with skills, confidence, and opportunities to strengthen their families and communities.
Try this: Fair trade chocolate bars, hot cocoa, or baking cocoa are not only fair trade and organic, they’re also Canadian co-op owned—meaning you’re supporting democracy from farm to shelf.
Shop Fair Trade Chocolate
3. Choose Fair Trade Tea
From soothing herbal blends to bold black teas, every cup tells a story. Fair trade tea co-ops ensure safe working conditions, gender equity, and environmental sustainability.
Take JusTea for example. JusTea was founded through a partnership between the Bain family of Canada and the Katah family of Kenya. Their mission is to create fair jobs, pay better wages, and reinvest in tea-farming communities—a vision that guides all of JusTea’s work.
Try this: Explore Villages’ collection of black, green, and herbal teas. Pair it with your evening wind-down or morning calm, knowing every sip supports farmers around the globe.
Shop Fair Trade Tea
4. Bring Fair Trade into Your Home
Beyond food, fair trade touches every corner of your home. Handwoven baskets, textiles, and ceramics carry the traditions of artisans while providing stable incomes for their families.
Azizi Life is a great example of this. Azizi Life partners with over 700 skilled Rwandan artisans to create high-quality, ethically sourced goods. Since 2008, they’ve worked to help families rise from poverty by connecting artisans with designers and customers worldwide.
Try this: Swap a mass-produced decorative item for a handcrafted fair trade piece. Each item comes with a story, connecting your home to a world of creativity and resilience.
5. Give Fair Trade Gifts
When you give a fair trade gift, you’re sharing more than a present—you’re sharing a story of empowerment. Every purchase supports artisans and farmers while offering your loved ones something unique and meaningful.
Speaking of meaningful, have you heard of Starfish Project? Starfish Project sells beautiful hand-crafted jewellery, and sales proceeds go to caring for women escaping human trafficking and exploitation in Asia. Women and girls experience freedom, establish independence and develop careers through specialized vocational training in fields such as design, photography and accounting.
Try this: Keep a few fair trade cards, candles, ornaments, or accessories on hand for birthdays, thank-yous, or just-because moments.
Bonus Tip: Look for the Fair Trade Logos
Even when you’re not shopping at Villages, you can still make fair trade choices. Look for the official Fairtrade Mark (a green and blue figure holding up an arm) on products in grocery stores, cafés, and supermarkets. This logo guarantees that farmers and workers meet strict fair trade standards—fair wages, safe working conditions, and sustainable practices. By choosing items with this logo, you’re making everyday purchases count toward a fairer world.
Every Small Swap Matters
Fair trade living isn’t about perfection—it’s about intention. With each conscious choice, you’re joining a movement that values people and the planet over profit. Start with one swap, then another. Together, these small steps create ripples of change that reach across the globe.
Ready to start your fair trade journey? Visit us in-store or online to discover products that make it easy—and beautiful—to live fair trade.