First Annual Fair Trade Fashion Show

A cultural event that was part of the Women and Fair Trade Sale in Austin, Texas,

(Austin, Texas) November 10 and 11, 2007.

Every year for the past four years the Austin, Texas chapter of the American Friends Service Committee has made it possible for several women owned cooperatives to display their products for sale at the beginning of the holiday season.

This has been a successful fundraising and educational event that offers fun, fashion and sweat-free shopping.  The event was a perfect follow up to the recent success of passing the "no sweat" ordinance for Austin, Texas!

This year AFSC collaborated with other groups in town, including Women on the Border, Inc., to produce a fashion show of the products being sold from all over the world and to make it an educational cultural event -- an opportunity for the buyers to see the wares displayed but also to learn a little something about the product, where it came from, the history of the cooperatives that produce the items (e.g., huipiles, sarapes, guayaberas, canvas totes, hats, purses), or about the person serving as a model and as a representative of a cooperative or other activist group. Austin organizations like ALLGO, P.O.D.E.R.and WOMEN ON THE BORDER provided models for the fashion show.

The event was a huge success, as models walked across the Dominican Joe Café to the beat and sound of the late Celia Cruz and other upbeat Latin salsa, cumbia and melodic tunes from India and the Middle East.

The beautiful photos were taken by Mariana Salazar.

Paste link to get to the photo site on Fotki.Com:

http://www.public.fotki.com/photosayala/

You’ll need this term -- fairtrade—to see the photos!