Official Mission Statement

Fair Trade USA enables sustainable development and community empowerment by cultivating a more equitable global trade model that benefits farmers, workers, consumers, industry and the earth. We achieve our mission by certifying and promoting Fair Trade products.

Year of Establishment 1998

Key Features

Fair Trade USA, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, is the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. Fair Trade USA audits and certifies transactions between U.S. companies and their international suppliers to guarantee that the farmers and workers producing Fair Trade Certified goods are paid fair prices and wages, work in safe conditions, protect the environment and receive community development funds to empower and uplift their communities. Fair Trade USA educates consumers, brings new manufacturers and retailers into the Fair Trade system, and provides farmers with tools, training and resources to thrive as international businesspeople.

Facts and Figures

- Coffee continues to be the leading Fair Trade product category, with coffee producers earning over $32.8m in Community Development Premiums in 2016 alone. Meanwhile, the Fair Trade minimum price ($1.40/lb for conventional, $1.70/lb for organic) supports farmers when the international price of coffee drops to levels threatening the economic viability of farming. This price assurance has proven vital as prices have repeatedly fallen below this threshold over the course of 2015, 2016, and early 2017.

- Fair Trade Certified produce products increased by an annual rate of 22% in Premium between 2014 and 2016. The variety and market availability of Certified produce is now stronger than ever with the first certified strawberry and tomato farms in the United States.

- Imports of Fair Trade Certified coconut and sugar also increased 238% and 372% respectively in 2015 as brands large and small deepened their commitments to Fair Trade.

可持续网站对该标准进行了环境、社会、管理、质量和伦理五个维度的分析，该标准在社会维度占比30%，环境维度占比47%，管理维度占比19%，质量维度占比3%，伦理维度占比1%。具体数据及分析请点击以下链接进行查看： Click to see the standards analysis on ITC Sustainability website.

https://sustainabilitymap.org/review-standards?short_list=526,527