Fair Trade USA

🎒 ✨ Back to School season is officially upon us! And with that comes a perfect opportunity to #PurchaseWithPurpose. When you choose Fair Trade Certified items, like these NatureSweet tomatoes, you're supporting students across the globe. 🌍 How? Every #FairTrade purchase sends funds back to worker communities so they can invest in essential needs like education. This support is crucial to breaking the cycle of poverty and fostering long-term sustainable development. This season, let’s harness our buying power for good. Look for the Fair Trade Certified label when you shop and help create brighter futures for students worldwide.

🌱 Update from the field: Fair Traders recently visited the Ingenio San Antonio mill in Nicaragua! In addition to meeting with the team that implements the Fair Trade Certified program, our colleagues hosted trainings for members of the Fair Trade Committee and the Social Engagement Team. It was a productive visit that gave us an invaluable opportunity to strengthen our commitment to supporting Certificate Holders. One of the highlights? 🏠 Meeting a beneficiary of a housing improvement project established with Fair Trade Community Development Funds. Witnessing the real-world impact of our collective efforts is inspiring and motivating!

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSI) has set and met ambitious goals for sustainable practices. Since becoming the first global home retailer to bring the Fair Trade Certified Factory program into the home sector in 2014, the company has demonstrated a deep commitment to championing Fair Trade practices. WSI sells thousands of Fair Trade Certified products across its brands—from furniture and rugs at Pottery Barn, Rejuvenation, and West Elm to coffee and food at Williams Sonoma. Our collaboration, alongside factory workers and with the support of consumers who choose Fair Trade, has a BIG global impact. 💥 As detailed in the report, WSI milestones include: 🌏 Sourcing from 30 Fair Trade Certified factories across 5 countries (5 newly certified in 2023) 💚 Paying $9.1M in Fair Trade Premiums to date, with the goal of reaching $10M by 2025 🛠 With these funds, workers have created access to health insurance, education for workers’ children, emergency disaster relief, daily necessities and home appliances, and more.   It's a privilege to work side by side with WSI on this journey to support fair and safe factory conditions for workers around the world, while enabling workers to invest back in their communities. #FairTrade #FairTradeFactory #EthicalSourcing

We were delighted to connect with our outstanding partners at the Organic Produce Summit this month. Thank you to Kellee Harris and everyone at The Giumarra Companies for your dedication to ethical sourcing and #FairTrade. 🤝 We're proud of our 12+ year partnership and look forward to continuing to drive positive impact for growers and communities. 🌱

It was a pleasure working with UC Davis Environmental Policy and Management Graduate Program students on their capstone project investigating how climate change policy affects supply chains. After months of research and collaboration, students shared findings related to #EUDR compliance and accessing carbon markets. We appreciated their perspectives and the opportunity to engage the next generation of environmental leaders. Thank you, Saurabh Harohalli, Akshita Singh, Kriti Shah, Natalie Kataoka, and Liam Hube. Learn more about their work! 👇

Our partners at J.Crew Group released their annual ESG report, providing a transparent update on sustainability and social impact initiatives across J.Crew, J.Crew Factory, and Madewell. We're impressed by the company's ESG progress, continued accountability, and increased commitment to Fair Trade. Here are a few standout achievements from the report: 🏭 17 Fair Trade Certified factories across 9 countries 👕 By the end of year, 100% of J.Crew cashmere sweaters were produced in Fair Trade Certified factories, hitting this goal two years early. 👖 71% of Madewell denim and 58% of J.Crew chinos were produced in Fair Trade Certified factories. ☑ $7M in Fair Trade Community Development Funds to date. Last year, workers used these funds to invest in projects like paying for extended health insurance packages and cash distributions to support school tuition fees, household items, and travel expenses. "We have witnessed the immense impact of the Fair Trade program on the lives of the people who work at our factories, and we are proud to continue to expand the reach of the program each year." - page 38 in the report 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eyshUa9A Let's continue to celebrate companies that make a positive impact and cultivate a culture of integrity! #FairTrade #FairTradeFactory #EthicalSourcing #ESG

Exciting changes coming to Fair Trade Certified!🌟 👩🏽🌾 🌍 We believe farmers deserve a fair price for their harvest and workers deserve safe conditions and living wages. We envision a world where businesses value purpose alongside profit and consumers can easily access products that live up to their values. 🌱 🚀 To scale our impact and realize this vision, we’re embarking on a journey of strategic innovation to continuing working toward a world that is #FairForAll. We are focusing on five critical areas of innovation to build a Fair Trade program for the decades to come and make Fair Trade more accessible to producers, businesses, and consumers. ➡️ Read our latest blog to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gwPDmWuD #FairTradeForAll #FairTradeCertified #SustainableDevelopment

🐟 Making sure the seafood on our plates is sustainable can–and should–be an easy option for businesses, culinary professionals, and consumers. To showcase that, Maris Seafoods Ltd and The Chefs' Forum hosted a Sustainability Luncheon in London. Chefs and leaders across retail, e-commerce, and the foodservice industry gathered to discuss the latest in #FishSustainability while enjoying a menu that included Australis Aquaculture’s The Better Fish Barramundi. Jacqueline Pfyl represented Fair Trade USA at the event and spoke to how #FairTradeCertified seafood products, like the Barramundi served, help companies meet #ESG goals and consumer demand. She discussed challenges in the aquaculture industry and how the Fair Trade program can be part of the solution to create more transparent supply chains, prevent labor exploitation, foster safe working conditions, and protect ecosystems.    “Conscious consumers recognise that when they see the #FairTradeCertified label on a product it has met a set of rigorous standards supporting sustainable and responsible consumption and production, making it easier for them to choose items that align with their values. Consumers are looking for brands and certifications that they can trust, and over 60% of the population trusts the Fair Trade Certified label.” We're so excited to see companies, like Maris Seafoods, focused on providing more sustainable, #FairTradeSeafood options. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e7vwDTwB

We are so excited about the future state of Fair Trade Certified at Fair Trade USA. Thanks to Amazon Web Services (AWS), our innovations to take us there are getting closer.

ICYMI: Fair Trade USA's Agricultural Production Standard (APS) is now recognized by the Global Coffee Platform as equivalent to the Coffee Sustainability Reference Code 3rd party assurance. ☕ “This validation affirms our commitment to sustainable and ethical agriculture. A commitment that further empowers global farming communities to uplift themselves and reinforces our drive for equity and growth, as we nurture a brighter sustainable future for coffee producers worldwide,” said Sugumar Raman, our Chief Program Officer. Learn more about the Coffee SR Code, the significance of 3rd party equivalence, and what this means for #FairTradeCoffee. 👇 https://lnkd.in/gsHMn4_8 #CoffeeSustainability #SustainableCoffee #FairTrade #EthicalSourcing