Bentley Fair Trade Fair brings ethical goods to university campus

Hundreds of Bentley University students crowded the LaCava tent on Oct. 8 to buy, sample and learn about a variety of fair trade and ethically sourced products at Bentley’s annual Fair Trade Fair. The event is part of Bentley’s “Business as a Force For Good” initiative.

“Fair trade businesses represent the best of the best of what businesses can be, valuing people and planet first in finding avenues toward profit,” said executive director of the Bentley Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center Jonathan White in an email to The Waltham Times. “Events such as the 11th Annual BSLCE Fair Trade Fair bring many leading ethical businesses to campus for our community to learn from and support.”

Over 20 different vendors had stations at the event. Curio Spice, a women-owned business from Massachusetts, handed out samples of their mulling spice blend to students. Curio Spice sources their spices from small, sustainable farmers. The directly sourced spices mean more money for farmers as well as an added quality assurance bonus. The business has stores in Cambridge as well as in the Boston Public Market.

Mother-daughter team Joyce Keine and Maya Jacobson helped promote The Makula Fund. The fund sells items such as woven baskets and beaded bracelets made by students in Uganda whose parents have died from HIV/AIDS or extreme poverty. The proceeds from the items go to putting those students through school, providing them nutrition, healthcare and support along the way.

Birds & Beans Coffee had bags of their triple-certified beans for sale. Birds & Beans Coffee is fair trade, organic and certified “Bird Friendly” by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. This means that the coffee is grown in the shade with no chemical treatment that could affect bird health. The company holds lectures to spread awareness about the impacts of sun-grown and chemically treated coffee.

Students could enjoy woven and beaded goods at the event from A Thread Of Hope, a fair trade company that sources handmade products from Mayan communities. “It’s a great way to bring Central American culture to Bentley,” said student Samantha Mejia who was staffing the table alongside fellow student Abby Wyss. “I like that Bentley does things like this that focus on business as a way to better the community,” added Wyss.

The Bentley University Library also made an appearance, with a variety of books on fair trade and ethical consumption that students could check out from the table. 

The Waltham Times took part in Bentley University’s 2025 Social Innovation Incubator program.