Fair Trade for All is our vision for doubling the impact of Fair Trade for farmers by 2015, and improving lives throughout the global coffee supply chain.
The key to adding value and growing impact is innovation. Fair Trade USA is innovating our model in three ways:
Strengthening Farming Communities by investing in cooperatives and partnering with others to provide support services, with a focus on quality and business capacity
Including More Farmers, Farm Workers and Communities in the benefits of Fair Trade
Engaging Consumers to increase market demand for Fair Trade Certified products and grow sales and impact
Fair Trade USA is dedicated to empowering farmers and farm workers to fight poverty, improve lives and protect the environment. We are proud of our proven track record within the Fair Trade movement-- helping rural families across the globe earn more than $225 million in additional income since 1998.We’re excited to build on this strong foundation as we work to deliver far more impact to far more people.
According to U.N. poverty statistics, over two billion people still live on less than two dollars a day. We at Fair Trade USA believe that all small farmers and farm workers deserve to have access to the opportunities and benefits of Fair Trade if we ever hope to make a significant dent in global poverty. This conviction that Fair Trade can and must be do more lies at the heart of our Fair Trade for All initiative, which aims to double the impact of Fair Trade for farmers by 2015.
The key to adding value and growing impact is innovation. Fair Trade USA is innovating our model in three ways:
Strengthening Farming Communities by investing in cooperatives and partnering with others to provide support services, with a focus on quality and business capacity
Including More Farmers, Farm Workers and Communities in the benefits of Fair Trade
Engaging Consumers to increase market demand for Fair Trade Certified products and grow sales and impact
As we innovate, we stand unwavering in our commitment and dedication to small-scale farming cooperatives. That’s why Fair Trade for All seeks to deepen the impact of Fair Trade for co-ops around the world, which have been the pioneers of the model.
To further strengthen these farming communities, Fair Trade USA is developing innovative new partnerships to connect, create and transform the lives of small-scale farmers worldwide. We call this approach Co-op Link, to recognize the unique role Fair Trade USA can play in linking organizations from all areas of the supply chain to maximize impact for producers and their families.
Our specific Co-op Link programs aim at helping cooperatives improve quality, increase productivity, access capital cost-effectively, and become stronger business partners. For these efforts Fair Trade USA and our partners have invested $10 million since 2006.
Here are but a few examples of recent results:
The newest development within the Co-op Link initiative is our Cooperative Small Grants Program. Producer groups who have identified challenges around market access, financing, quality or productivity – and who have ideas for how to address these challenges – can apply for these grants. Project ideas that have already been suggested by producer groups include financial management courses to increase access to capital, cupping training to improve coffee quality, environmental mapping to understand the potential supply from members, or resources to start an organic production pilot. These grants give cooperatives the opportunity to experiment with new ways to solve key problems; and as we identify which solutions work best, Fair Trade USA can help expand these programs to other cooperatives.
See list of past and present Co-op Link projects
Learn more about Cooperative Capacity Building
Only through innovation can we expand the reach and deepen the impact of Fair Trade for rural families. Toward that end, we are slowly and carefully implementing a series of pilot programs to determine best practices for delivering more impact to more people.
For over a decade, FLO has had rigorous Fair Trade standards for farm workers on banana, tea, and flowers estates. We have personally visited many of these farms, spoken with the workers, and witnessed a strong experience of empowerment and impact within their communities. We are now simply extending this positive experience to farm workers and their families in coffee and, eventually, in other crops. We believe the Fair Trade movement has a calling to be more inclusive and to embrace the needs of the entire rural community, including farm laborers on larger farms, many of whom have family members that are part of a cooperative.
Similarly, FLO standards have served independent small farmers (who are not in cooperatives) in the rice and cotton sectors for many years. This model creates a journey whereby independent small farmers can choose their own organizational form, enjoy the benefits of Fair Trade and, over time, organize themselves into more advanced structures such as cooperatives. FLO evaluations indicate that this has been a successful experience that generates significant impact for participating rural families. We now seek to extend this model to independent small farmers in the coffee sector, who constitute the majority of the world’s coffee farmers. For those in the Fair Trade movement who prefer to champion the cause of small farmers, this innovation should be particularly welcomed.
To date we have launched six coffee innovation pilots, three with farm workers and three with groups of independent smallholders:
Although we are only just beginning, we are already learning a lot from these pilots and are proud of the initial results. Strong, respected NGO partners like Catholic Relief Services and United Farm Workers are supporting our efforts in the field. Leading companies like Whole Foods and Green Mountain Coffee are excited to buy the coffee and be a part of expanding impact; and, most importantly, hundreds of farm workers and independent small farmers are eagerly participating in the pilots, looking to us all to expand opportunities for them and their families in the Fair Trade market.
In 2011, Fair Trade USA and our industry partners delivered record impact to farmers. Imports of Fair Trade Certified products grew to an all time high, satisfying the continued growth in consumer demand for the more than 11,000 products carrying our label in supermarkets, cafés, universities and workplaces. This growth was driven by longstanding business partners that expanded their Fair Trade offerings as well as by new businesses joining us for the first time.
Fair Trade USA will continue to develop consumer education campaigns that bring together brands, retailers, non-profits and community organizations. For example, during our annual Fair Trade Month promotion last October, Fair Trade USA and our partners reached nearly 30 million consumers through various campaign activities, reinforcing the message that everyday purchases have the power to improve lives and protect the environment. These activities are a critical element of Fair Trade for All, and are the key to driving impact for farmers and workers everywhere.
Interested in learning how you can get involved in Fair Trade Month 2012? Stay tuned for more information.
Fair Trade for All has received support from a diverse coalition of cooperative leaders, independent farmers, farm workers, conscious consumers, activists, businesses, NGOs and academics, who stand with us as we seek to broaden and strengthen our impact to ensure that all farmers can access the opportunities of Fair Trade.
Historically, we have engaged key stakeholders around our core programs and innovation initiatives. For example, in 2010 we created the Multi-Stakeholder Apparel Group to advise us as we introduced Fair Trade Certified apparel in the U.S. market. Notably, the Group’s feedback led to numerous modifications of our standards. We took similar approaches when we created the Coffee Producer Advisory Council (2006), the Coffee Roaster Advisory Council (2008), and most recently, the multi-stakeholder Coffee Innovation Council (2011), charged with helping innovate and improve the current model for Fair Trade coffee in order to increase positive impact for all participants.
Multi-stakeholder consultation is a key part of Fair Trade USA’s Standards Development process, consistent with best practice in the certification field. Our draft Farm Worker and Independent Smallholder standards are both online and available for public comment. In August, we will publicly share the feedback we have received and the significant modifications to the standards that we have implemented as a result of this consultation process.
Notably, Fair Trade for All has received support from a diverse coalition of cooperative leaders, independent farmers, farm workers, conscious consumers, activists, businesses, NGOs and academics, who stand with us as we seek to broaden and strengthen our impact to ensure that all farmers can access the opportunities of Fair Trade. In addition to those who have signed our open letter of support, we have received many individual letters from a variety of stakeholders. This includes a public letter from Coocafe, a Brazilian cooperative representing 5,000 of the 6,000 Fair Trade Certified coffee farmers in the country.
In order to evaluate the impact of Fair Trade for All, we’ve developed a comprehensive Impact Assessment Process, which aims to bring clarity, transparency, and multi-stakeholder input to the forefront of our innovation work.
Multi-Stakeholder Consultation
To develop the framework for the Impact Assessment Process, we partnered with the Sustainable Food Lab to gather input from stakeholders from across the Fair Trade ecosystem. Participants included roasters, importers, NGO’s and Fair Trade farmers. Their feedback has been included in the final Impact Assessment Process.
Gathering Data
Our system will gather information across each pillar of the Fair Trade standards--empowerment, economic development, social responsibility and environmental stewardship. Through personal interviews, group discussions, formal on-site audits, and a new labor evaluation technology called Labor Link, we will gather qualitative and quantitative information from participating farmers and workers. We will also conduct thorough market research to determine whether or not farms already in the Fair Trade system remain competitive. This process will be led by Fair Trade USA and implemented by independent consultants.
In addition, we are supporting the development of an independent impact assessment process that will be led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), one of the leading research organizations in Latin America. This second process will be complementary to our comprehensive Impact Assessment Process and would allow the Fair Trade community to understand the effects and outcomes of four specific pilots.
Evaluation and Reporting
To measure results, we will continue working with key external, independent stakeholders to help us analyze and report the findings from our pilot program and its influence on the overall market. We will work with our Coffee Innovation Council, formed by Fair Trade producers, NGO’s and business partners, for an independent analysis of the results. We will also work with our Impact Assessment Committee to analyze all information coming from our Impact Assessment Processes. We plan to share this work publically at the end of the pilot period.
We recognize that two years is a short time to measure the full impact of this work. However, based on the feedback we have received from people working in Monitor and Evaluation systems, we believe our methodology will allow us to capture enough information to understand, after the 2 year period, if we are headed in the right direction to bring the benefits of Fair Trade far more farmers and workers across the globe.
If you want to learn more about our Impact Assessment Process, please click here.
Fair Trade USA’s objective in developing standards for Fair Trade certification is to maintain the rigor for which the Fair Trade certification mark is known, while creating additional opportunities to enable more farmers and workers access the opportunities of Fair Trade.
While Fair Trade USA will continue to recognize FLO-CERT certification, we are also developing our own standards which aim to bring our mission of empowerment, economic development, social development and environmental stewardship to farmers and farm workers around the world.
For all pilot projects, Fair Trade USA is taking existing FLO standards for farm workers and independent smallholders in tea, bananas, flowers, rice and cotton, and applying them to farm workers and independent smallholders in coffee. The additional income from Fair Trade will enable these farm workers to invest in projects that improve their communities.
Multi-stakeholder consultation is a key part of Fair Trade USA’s Standards Development process, consistent with best practice in the certification field. Our draft Farm Worker and Independent Smallholder standards are both online and available for public comment. In August, we will publicly share the feedback we have received and the significant modifications to the standards that we have implemented as a result of this consultation process.
We are partnering with SCS Global Services to conduct compliance assessments.
The insights and integrity of our distinguished Board of Directors are invaluable for effective strategic vision and accountability to the mission. Consistent with best practice in non-profit governance, Fair Trade USA recruits its board members from a range of diverse constituencies, including producers, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, academics and activists. Earlier this year, we conducted an evaluation of our Board of Directors, and at our March board meeting, we voted to increase the number of seats as well as the diversity of perspectives represented.
There are many voices within the Fair Trade movement, united by a common mission to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development. While Fair Trade USA and FLO share the same mission, we have differing perspectives and strategies on how to reach our goals. Ultimately, our membership in FLO became a significant constraint on our efforts to add value to industry and expand impact for more farmers around the world. By leaving FLO, we now have the freedom to innovate and evolve the Fair Trade model with better results for all.
Standards: Nina Kuljjian, Manager of Standards
Pilot Projects: Miguel Zamora, Director of Coffee Innovation
Press Inquiries: Jenna Larson, Public Relations Specialist
