The Capital Times of Madison (WI) reports that local start-up businesses focusing on Fair Trade are experiencing a downturn with the current recession–just like other businesses.

That story rings true in Syracuse, too. Fair World Marketplace has felt the effect–last year from eight months of road construction in front of our store, followed by a retail downturn in December continuing so far this year. Like folks in Madison, an e-mail campaign by our supporters in February rallied sales briefly.

We’ve cut advertising to save costs and slowed reorders to keep our payroll intact. We hope our customers will understand if new products appear more slowly while the recession lasts. We know that many of you are feeling the pinch too!