Cool people consumers

Saturday on a whim I visited the Ten Thousand Villages fair trade store in Pasadena. Boy, did I walk in on the right day! They were having a buy one get one half off sale on jewelry and free chocolate samples of Divine Chocolate. (My favorite is the dark chocolate with raspberries. Sigh.) Having just driven over from a justice conference at Fuller Seminary, I was curious as to what motivated the volunteers who greeted the customers and rang up the purchases. 

One young man told me that the store was a good place to meet cool people and warned that if I wasn't a cool person, he would go away and talk to another customer. Although I did not claim to fulfill his qualifications for conversation, I did proceed to inquire further about his motivations for being there. (Have you noticed that the average person greatly enjoys chatting when the topic of conversation is, frankly, him or her?) He proceeded to explain that the store is a great hang out place, and he likes being in an environment that celebrates other cultures and brings in people with interests that are not mainstream. (Yes, yes, I am translating his words into my vernacular. His language was much more "cool" than mine, although my friend Joe once described me as "cool beans.") He asked what interested me about fair trade, and I gave an admirably brief explanation to which he quipped, "Yeah, it's not so much the cause for me, although I'm getting more into that. I mean, injustice was my thing, so I figured, why not try justice?" 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we going to let the world stumble across fair trade and "social justice" because it is cool and alternative before we realize that supporting fair trade should be the Christian's way of life? I am not trying to impose a shopping mandate, but rather stating that our love for our overseas neighbors should compel us to consider our purchases and make a shift when possible. At the moment it is certainly not easy to buy ethical products, but is that not all the more reason to support those who are making the effort to bring them to our country?

More on fair trade tomorrow for those of you who want to move in that direction!