ROCHESTER — Lux Global Goods is a new fairtrade business dedicated to helping small businesses in other countries around the world. Rochester native Luke Bothun is going into his senior year at Wheaton College in Illinois. He is currently a business and economics major with a biology minor and most recently he started his own business.

Lux Global Goods started off as an idea inspired by his many travels with his family, but now it is a reality. “The initial idea came probably from the start of when I went to India last summer,” he said. “I saw some wonderful things, but also some hurting people that I have a passion to help.

" Bothun is also passionate about travel after traveling with his family due to his dad’s career. His dad is a doctor for Mayo Clinic and travels to other countries to tour hospitals and give presentations. Bothun has been to Africa, India, Norway and more.

During his travels, Bothun has made connections with people. He has seen how some people in these countries live in poverty and wanted to help out by creating a business selling fairtrade items from India, Zimbabwe and Nepal. He was also able to tie this business into his academic career.

ADVERTISEMENT “This last semester, I was taking an entrepreneurial class and the whole class was kind of geared toward developing a business plan and at the end of the year was pitching it at a competition," said Bothun. “..

. I came with the business plan and actually was one of the winners of the competi.