Transfair USA
Encyclopedia
Fair Trade USA, formerly "TransFair USA" 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. And in 2010, data confirmed that mainstream consumers were increasing commitment to Fair Trade Certified products, with a 24% sales increase in grocery stores.
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.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
.
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
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This has provided coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
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
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
remains the most popular Fair Trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
product in the United States, Fair Trade USA has also certified tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
and herbs, cocoa, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, flowers, fresh fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
(bananas, mango, pineapple and grapes), wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and apparel.
In 2006, Fair Trade Certified sales amounted to approximately US$499 million in the United States, a 45 % year-to-year increase. And in 2010, data confirmed that mainstream consumers were increasing commitment to Fair Trade Certified products, with a 24% sales increase in grocery stores.
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.