Last year the Fair Trade Federation’s (FTF) annual conference was merged for the first time with the Fair Trade Futures conference. 2011 now sees the yearly FTF meeting back in traditional garb. Months before discussion of budgets, unions, or protests surfaced to cause overheated controversy on the nightly news, the FTF conference committee settled on Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This year’s conference theme is Building UP Fair Trade and is scheduled for May 6-8th!

October’s issues of Mindful Metropolis showcases products from Chicago area fair traders in their article Balancing the Scales: The true cost of fashion and the case for fair trade.

The article sheds light on some of the human costs of sweatshop labor, disposable clothing and rising conscious consumption.