| Type | Non-profit organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Product certification |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Oakland, California, USA |
| Key people | Paul Rice, President and CEO Ron D. Cordes, Chairman of the Board |
| Employees | ~50 (2011) |
| Website | www.fairtradeusa.org |
Fair Trade USA, formerly "TransFair USA"[1] is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Founded in 1998, Fair Trade USA’s mission is to "enable sustainable development and community empowerment by cultivating a more equitable global trade model that benefits farmers, workers, consumers, industry and the earth". Fair Trade USA audits transactions between US companies offering Fair Trade Certified products and the international suppliers from whom they source, in order to guarantee that the farmers and farm workers behind Fair Trade Certified goods were paid a fair, honest price. The Fair Trade model requires rigorous protection of local ecosystems and ensures farmers receive a harvest price, which will allow them to practice sustainable agriculture. In addition, annual inspections conducted by FLO-CERT ensure that strict socioeconomic development criteria are being met using increased Fair Trade revenues, in addition to sustainable farm management, environmental stewardship and democratic decision-making. The Fair Trade model seeks to empower farmers and workers around the world, keeping families, local economies, the natural environment, and the larger community strong today and for generations to come.
During the 2005–2010 period, over 450 million pounds of Fair Trade Certified coffee was imported to the United States. This has provided coffee farmers in developing countries with approximately $40.9 million in Fair Trade premiums to reinvest towards family and community development, education, and environmental and productivity projects.
Although coffee remains the most popular Fair Trade product in the United States, Fair Trade USA has also certified tea and herbs, cocoa, rice, vanilla, sugar, flowers, fresh fruit (bananas, mango, pineapple and grapes), wine and apparel.
In 2006, Fair Trade Certified sales amounted to approximately US$499 million in the United States, a 45 % year-to-year increase.[2] And in 2010, data confirmed that mainstream consumers were increasing commitment to Fair Trade Certified products, with a 24% sales increase in grocery stores.[3]
On September 15, 2011, Fair Trade USA announced that it would split off from its international peeers and Fairtrade International in Bonn. Chief Executive Paul Rice says it will be easier to make business-friendly decisions and double fair-trade sales by 2015.[4]On the heels of this announcement, Fair Trade USA launched a new innovation strategy called Fair Trade For All with the goal of doubling U.S. sales for Fair Trade farmers and returning more resources to farmers and workers by 2015. As part of this strategy, Fair Trade USA launched pilot projects extend the benefits of Fair Trade to groups in the coffee industry that are currently excluded by FLO standards: farm workers and unassociated smallholder farmers. At the same time, Fair Trade USA launched Co-Op Link, and initiative to strengthen producer organizations by providing cooperatives with increased market opportunity in the U.S., improved access to capital and an expanded range of capacity building and quality improvement initiatives. [5]
Paul Rice told Triple Pundit: “The challenge for us all now is how we can evolve the Fair Trade model in order to make it bigger, more scalable and to have greater impact on hard working farmers and farm workers around the world. And so toward that end we’ve recently launched Fair Trade for All, which is our effort to evolve and innovate the Fair Trade model in order to make it more scalable. ‘Innovation for impact’ is really the way we’re thinking about it.[6]
Fair Trade USA announced a partnership with Scientific Certification Systems on September 27, 2011 to conduct audits and certify new producer groups that now will be able to join the Fair Trade movement.[7]
Fair Trade Month
October is Fair Trade Month in the United States. This yearly celebration focuses on increasing awareness and building support for Fair Trade in the United States. Throughout the month, manufacturers, retailers, students, NGO organizations and Fair Trade Towns hold events and promotions in support of Fair Trade.
In 2011, Fair Trade USA and partner brands garnered support for Fair Trade with the help of several celebrity ambassadors.
Comedian Jimmy Fallon kicked off Fair Trade Month by hosting ice cream makers Ben & Jerry on the Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon. The October 4, 2011 episode mentioned the March episode in which Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield introduced their new flavor featuring Fair Trade Certified ingredients, Late Night Snack. Introducing the ice cream flavor, which is made with Fair Trade Certified vanilla and cocoa, gave Ben and Jerry the opportunity to discuss Fair Trade and the company’s goal to use entirely Fair Trade Certified ingredients by 2013.[8]
Green Mountain Coffee partnered with Musical groups Michael Franti & Spearhead and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals [9] to broadcast live concerts in support of Fair Trade promoting Fair Trade.. Both concerts were streamed on the Green Mountain Coffee Facebook page. Green Mountain Coffee was recognized in September 2011 as the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the world (having bought 26 million pounds of Fair Trade coffee during 2010[10].
Also in 2011, pastry chef Malika Ameen of Top Chef Just Desserts Season 1 joined celebrity dietician Ashley Koff to create three dishes full of Fair Trade Certified ingredients for a live USTREAM broadcast during Fair Trade Month. The episode was called “Every Meal Matters” and consisted of a live cooking demonstration using Fair Trade Certified honey, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, bananas, mangos, pineapples, quinoa, natural cane sugar, coffee, chocolate, and brown sugar.[11]
Mobile and Social Innovation
Fair Trade USA launched the Fair Trade Finder in October 2011. The first mobile and social app to help consumers find Fair Trade Certified products based on location, the Fair Trade Finder is available for Facebook, iPhone and Android The crowd-sourced app displays Fair Trade Certified products by pinpointing the user's preferred location on a map. Users who find products can help others find them by uploading a photo or location of the Fair Trade products to the app.[12]
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