Xavier University Becomes a CEPA Partner
Xavier University becomes the ninth CEPA partner, carrying sustainable spirit wear that prioritizes both planet and people.
Supporting Catholic institutions in making ethical and sustainable purchasing choices
Catholic communities are called to use their talents to build a more just society by actively integrating the principles of Catholic Social Teaching into the purchasing decisions of their church, school, college or university.
The Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance (CEPA) is a project of the Ignatian Solidarity Network, EthixMerch, Equal Exchange, and COLLECTION. The Alliance provides support to institutions seeking to integrate these values into their purchasing through educational resources, immersive formational opportunities, networking, and mentorship.
RESOURCES
CEPA Catalog
Explore the Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance catalog to learn more about current product options, and get started on your ethical purchasing journey!
CURRENT PARTNERS
FIND THE COLLECTION BRAND IN BOOKSTORES
Support the rights of workers and the planet by purchasing COLLECTION brand clothing from our university partners. Looking for the full catalog for bulk purchasing?
View Catalog.
When social pressure affects their earnings, businesses clearly have to find ways to produce differently. This shows us the great need for a sense of social responsibility on the part of consumers. ‘Purchasing is always a moral – and not simply economic – act’. Today, in a word, ‘the issue of environmental degradation challenges us to examine our lifestyle.’
Pope Francis, Laudato Si’
ETHICAL PURCHASING NEWS
MISSION
The Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance (CEPA) provides support to institutions seeking to integrate Catholic Social Teaching values into their purchasing through:
- Educational resources and immersive formational opportunities to deepen institutional knowledge of and commitment to ethical purchasing.
- Organizing and advocacy training to enable individuals and groups to implement ethical purchasing policies in their Catholic community.
- Networking and mentorship to support the ongoing work happening in Catholic communities across the country.
- Establishing ethical purchasing values and expectations in partnership with Catholic communities as well as recognizing institutions that integrate these practices into their communities.
- Increasing ethical purchasing in Catholic communities by creating effective purchasing platforms for ethical wholesale and retail purchasing.
CORE VALUES
- Catholic Social Teaching – Providing a platform for the integration of Catholic Social Teaching, particularly the “dignity of work” and “care for creation” with Catholic institutional and individual consumer actions.
- Worker-Led – Rooting the values of ethical purchasing in the needs identified by workers throughout the supply chain including producers, transit workers, and retail workers.
- Every Purchase Matters – From individual purchases to institutional contracts, every ethical purchasing choice contributes to a sustainable and just economy.
- Sustainable Consumption – Cultivating a culture of consumer practices that decrease carbon emissions and care for the health of air, water, and land.
- Systemic Change – Catholic institutions are called to drastically change their practices to be a positive force in building more just economic and ecological systems.
The Catholic Ethical Purchasing Alliance is a Project of:
View our full collection of ethically-sourced resources
for justice work year-round.