Fair Trade's vision is very simple; to develop a sustainable business model that will allow farmers to keep their kids in school while staying on the land and continue to harvest utilizing sustainable and responsible practices.
Fair Trade certification started appearing in coffee in 1988, but fair Trade USA was established in 1998. After being part of an international Fair Trade community for 13 years, Fair Trade USA separated in 2012 and expanded into certifying products in over 30 categories such as dairy, quinoa, fresh produce, apparel, home goods, and seafood.
The Fair Trade model is set to improve farmers' and workforce's communities by giving back to their families and farms in a more balanced profit-shared structured business plan that oversees all steps of the supply chain and ensures worthy wages through the implementation of standards such as the guaranteed minimum price that acts as a safety net when prices drop drastically on the market. These and other practices are part of a rigorous standard designed to protect the livelihood of farmers and workers all around the world as well as a trust-building process with consumers and retailers.
We have mapped Fair Trade Certified to:
- Protecting Ecosystems
- Empowering Human Rights
Fair Trade Certifies:
- Companies
- Products
- Suppliers & Manufacturers
Cost to get certified:
We were unable to find any reliable information on certification costs. The link included in their agricultural standard document noted as Prince and Premium Database was broken at the time of this research. Other information couldn't be found in a straightforward manner (ex. FAQ's section) within their webpage.
Do they perform audits on companies:
Yes, according to this document, there can be quarterly, bi-annually or monthly announced or unannounced audits made by Fair Trade USA approved certifiers.
Standards listed on their website:
Yes, there are different standards for each of the parts of the business' supply chain, you can find them all here.
We'll leave the Agricultural Production Standard as an example here.
