On April 25th, our university was certified as the fifth "Fair Trade University" in Japan by the Japan Fair Trade Forum, a general incorporated association. This is because our university supports the idea of fair trade, works with students to promote fair trade products, and meets Japan's "Fair Trade University Criteria."
To obtain the certification, a site inspection was carried out by the certification committee of the Japan Fair Trade Forum, a general incorporated association, on March 10. Students from the CUC Ethical Student Club (established in July 2020), which has been conducting fair trade awareness activities both on and off campus, as well as faculty and staff, and cafeteria staff were surveyed about the status of their efforts.
Our university has established the Chiba University of Commerce Fair Trade Charter and has been working to promote understanding of fair trade through the provision and sale of fair trade products in the cafeteria and student co-op, the purchase and use of fair trade certified balls in lectures, and events and exhibitions by the CUC Ethical Student Club.
The Certification Committee commented, "Because in addition to fair trade, the university is also implementing many other SDGs and ethical initiatives, we expect that being certified as a Fair Trade University will provide an additional boost and help spread the initiative throughout the campus. We also expect this to have a ripple effect on neighboring municipalities and universities that are promoting fair trade, so we are looking forward to seeing what the future holds."
Having been certified as a Fair Trade University, our students, faculty and staff will further their understanding of fair trade and take proactive action to promote it, aiming to create a sustainable society in which all people around the world can live with smiles on their faces.
Main fair trade initiatives at our university
- Formulation of the Fair Trade Charter
- Providing fair trade products (coffee, drinking chocolate) at the student cafeteria "The University Dining"
- Purchase and use of fair trade certified balls in physical education classes
- Selling fair trade products (chocolate, cookies, reusable bags, etc.) at the university co-op
- Film screenings and product exhibitions on fair trade organized by the CUC Ethical Student Club
- Sales of fair trade products at seminars and student-organized cafes in classes
- Lectures given at CUC public lectures, etc.
- Providing information about fair trade through our university's owned media, "MIRAI Times"
We are very pleased to have been certified as a Fair Trade University. We believe that the university's certification will lead to the spread of fair trade and increase opportunities for students to think deeply about "what they can do to create a better society." In the future, we plan to hold events that combine food and education using fair trade foods, and develop original fair trade goods. We also plan to participate in study groups and overseas training to learn more and to work on spreading fair trade among not only students but also the general public.
CUC Ethical Student Club, Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Department of Commerce 3rd year, Natsumi Nagao (graduated from Hobara High School)
Through our activities, we learned that it is important to make small actions one after another. In our efforts to establish a fair trade university, we sometimes struggled to gain the understanding of those around us, and sometimes we became selfish. We faced many difficulties, but I think we were able to achieve this thanks to the enthusiastic awareness-raising activities of our seniors, our negotiations with the university, and the fact that we had junior members who carried on that will. It was great joy to see the ideas and passion of our members being conveyed to people who were unfamiliar with fair trade, and to see the number of people who understand and the number of new members increasing.
CUC Ethical Student Club Faculty of Service Innovation 4th year student Miho Dosan (graduated from Shofu Juku High School)