As spectators pull out country flags and perfect their nation's chants in anticipation of the World Cup in South Africa, a Vancouver businessman is leveraging the hype in hopes of changing how soccer is played in the city.

James Milligan, who imports fair trade sports equipment, says Vancouver athletes are connected to child labour through the soccer balls they use for practice and competition. According to Amnesty International and other international sources, almost three of every four soccer balls are made in Pakistan where Milligan says manufacturers are criticized for paying salaries below the county's minimum wage and for employing children.

Breaking the cycle of poverty begins with education, said Milligan, who founded Social Conscience five years ago while working with Rogers Communications. Now a full-time self-employed entrepreneur, Milligan wants to expand online sales and also develop his partnership with Talon Sports, a northeast Pakistan manufacturer that employs 2,500 people and is increasing the amount of fair trade gear it makes.

Milligan, who has yet to visit the factory, supports the audited fair trade system because it allows workers to earn a livable wage so their children can attend school instead of toiling alongside them on assembly lines. He hopes fair trade sports equipment will appeal to the purchasing might of an influential Canadian demographic. "Soccer moms are pretty powerful," he said.

"We wouldn't allow our kids to work for $2 an hour so you could get your coffee for 50 cents, so why is it OK for someone else's kids to do that," asked Milligan, who came to the Lower Mainland from Ontario 18 years ago.

In February the Vancouver School Board purchased four soccer balls from Social Conscience to test with students. VSB sustainability coordinator Kevin Millsip said Vancouver could be the first school district in Canada to commit to purchasing fair trade sports equipment, which doesn't differ from standard gear, for its 109 elementary and secondary schools.

Millsip considered the City of Vancouver's commitment to buying ethically produced products such as fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate and sugar, and said purchasing soccer balls and other equipment is a natural progression.

"When we talk about sustainability, we're also talking about social justice. I like the idea that we know stuff our kids are using isn't being made by other kids who are being exploited," he said.

Millsip noted prices for fair trade equipment are competitive, but budget restrictions will factor in any large-scale fair trade purchase.

TransFair Canada, a national non-profit agency that certifies and licenses companies as a branch of the international FairTrade Labelling Organizations, now regulates 12 kinds of commodities such as coffee and chocolate but also fruit, herbs, spices, flowers, wine, cotton and cosmetics. Milligan said TransFair Canada audits his company each quarter.

To participate in the Fair Trade market, Milligan, who imports soccer and rugby balls, volleyballs and basketballs, cites an ethical imperative but also points to a strong business model that is part of an expanding industry.

"This is a model that supports a profitable business," he said, noting there is enough money along the supply chain for a retailer to turn a profit and also ensure manufacturers and their employees enjoy a reasonable standard of living.

"It's one ball, one sport, one city and suddenly that's thousands of balls," he said. "That gives you a sense of the scope and the scale of what this can really be."

mstewart@vancourier.com