Fair trade soccer balls coming to Saskatoon
Saskatoon residents don’t have to look far to buy ethically-produced coffee, clothing and jewelry. Now, with the arrival of soccer season, locals will have a new fair-trade product to kick around.
A Fair Trade soccer ball should be on the shelves of 10,000 Villages, the non-profit stores run by the Mennonite Central Committee by the end of the month.
Karen Sorochan, manager of the group’s 2nd Avenue location, said there were some efforts 15 years ago to market an ethical soccer ball, but consumers didn’t respond.
Since then, more people are becoming aware of fair trade principles, she said. There’s more curiosity about the way a product is produced, how much the workers are paid, and whether the environment is respected.
Some unscrupulous companies label their products fairly traded or ethical to curry goodwill.
Sorochan said 10,000 Villages buyers have exacting standards that ensure each product is certified and is making the world better, not worse.
“It can’t be only ‘kinda fair trade,’” she said.
The balls are directly sourced from workers in Pakistan, one of the few major soccer ball manufacturing countries to sign an international agreement banning child labour.
The balls still contain polyurethane but are free of more controversial plastics such as PVC, said James Milligan, owner of Vancouverbased Social Conscience, which is bringing the balls to Canada.
“Like any product, people want to know how it’s made,” Milligan said.
Milligan distributes balls to stores such as 10,000 Villages, but is also supplying balls directly to teams and clubs across the country. The balls cost roughly $30, but are hand-stitched and comparable to other high-end balls produced by the major sports companies. That’s more expensive that a $10 department store ball, but Miligan and Sorocan hope people realize the need to use products they can feel good about.
Milligan said he hopes his balls will sell, but also hopes to push the big industry players toward more ethical practices. It’s already happening in the coffee business and other sectors with more of a fair-trade history.
“It’s a challenge because some people simply want something for next to nothing. But it’s slowly changing,” Milligan said.