To raise awareness of fair trade.

We held a seminar for students of the fair trade club "Ones'1 Fair Trade" at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University to introduce Zensho 's unique fair trade initiatives for coffee, tea, and cocoa.

This seminar began with an explanation of the Zensho Fair Trade concept, which embodies Zensho 's corporate philosophy of "eradicating hunger and poverty from the world," a principle it has upheld since its founding in 1982. Zensho Fair Trade aims to ensure that "children who will lead the next generation receive an education and grow up healthy, regardless of economic or social conditions, and that all people living in those countries and regions can live with pride and independence." Based on this fundamental stance, they regularly visit local areas and carry out their activities.

Furthermore, in the presentation of examples of how social development costs ^* are being used, it was mentioned that Zensho is working with producer cooperatives and local people in three African countries: Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya.

① Construction of home-based learning centers (Rwanda)
② Promotion of maternal and child health programs (Tanzania)
③ Library construction (Kenya)

We presented these topics using videos and photos taken on location.

The students who participated in the seminar gave very positive feedback, such as, "I would like to actually go to the site as part of a study tour," "I want to proactively think about what activities I can do in the future," and "I would like to cooperate in selling the products."

Going forward, we will continue to communicate Zensho Fairtrade's activities, which connect producers, regions, and all the people who live there, in order to encourage more people to take an interest in fair trade and contribute to the revitalization and expansion of the fair trade market in Japan.

Click here to learn more about Zensho Fair Trade's initiatives.