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Fair Trade USA also brought on 60 new importers and roasters in 2012, and 50 new Fair Trade Certified coffee products were launched. Existing partners also ramped up their support of Fair Trade in 2012:

• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) recently converted one of its best-selling coffees, Green Mountain Coffee® Nantucket Blend®, to Fair Trade Certified™.
• Allegro Coffee announced plans to convert its Ethiopian Blend to Fair Trade Certified in 2013. 

Due to this record growth in volume and imports, Fair Trade USA is on track to double the impact of Fair Trade for farmers and workers by 2015—a goal outlined in the organization’s 2011 Fair Trade for All innovation initiative. To support this continued momentum, in 2012 Fair Trade USA focused on three key areas necessary to increase the scope, impact and relevancy of Fair Trade for everyone in the supply chain:

Strengthening Farming Communities

To help cooperatives increase competitiveness and build resilience in the face of critical market challenges, Fair Trade USA:

• Launched a Cooperative Small Grants Program, from which $60,000 was awarded to small-scale coffee producers to invest in quality and productivity; one grant specifically focused on rust management and prevention.
• Organized eight “Intercambio” events in Latin America and Indonesia, connecting hundreds of cooperatives with U.S. buyers, lenders, and NGOs.
• Sent bi-weekly coffee market updates to all Fair Trade producer organizations, helping them stay abreast of market trends for optimal negotiating power.

Including more People

Fair Trade USA is keenly focused on expanding the scope and impact of Fair Trade certification. Progress from 2012 includes:

• The number of coffee producer organizations from which Fair Trade USA’s North American partners sourced grew 23 percent, to 221. Of this group, 99 percent were cooperatives.
• Fair Trade USA began exploring certification for coffee farm workers and independent smallholders, groups previously excluded from participating in Fair Trade. Twelve pilot farms were included in this exploration (four of which were certified), representing 4,300 farmers and farm workers in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
• A comprehensive, independent Impact Assessment Process was developed to track and analyze the impact of new groups entering Fair Trade.

Engaging Consumers

Building awareness and demand for Fair Trade Certified products in the marketplace is critical for increasing impact for farmers. In 2012, Fair Trade USA:

• Educated more consumers about Fair Trade than ever before through its Fair Trade Month campaign in October, which resulted in over 100 million impressions through a variety of digital and social media tactics.
• Fair Trade Campaigns, a grassroots organization housed by Fair Trade USA, saw a 21 percent increase in participation in 2012, with a total of 76 Towns and 62 Colleges & Universities now promoting Fair Trade products at the local level.

“Fair Trade USA is proud of all that we’ve achieved with our partners in 2012.  Still, there is opportunity to provide so much more impact to many more farmers and workers,” said Jennifer Gallegos, Fair Trade USA’s Director of Coffee. “While coffee imports grew almost 20 percent last year, Fair Trade makes up just 5 percent of the U.S. coffee market. That’s why we’re focused on increasing the value and relevancy of Fair Trade, and ensuring that people-- farmers and workers-- are at the heart of every company’s sustainability strategy.”

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Fair Trade USA, a nonprofit organization, is the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in North America. Fair Trade USA audits and certifies transactions between companies and their international suppliers to help ensure that farmers and workers are paid fair prices and wages, work in safe conditions, protect the environment, and receive community development funds to empower and improve their communities. Fair Trade USA also educates consumers, brings new manufacturers and retailers into the Fair Trade system, and provides farming communities with the tools, training and resources to thrive as international businesspeople. Visit www.fairtradeusa.org for more information.

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January 30, 2013 /3BL Media/ – The Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative (CGSGI), the Skoll Foundation, Fundación Avina, and Fair Trade USA recently hosted a daylong event aimed at making global supply chains more sustainable. President Bill Clinton joined thirty-seven leaders from the business, farming, academic, NGO and philanthropic communities to address key challenges around global poverty and environmental degradation, market failures and growing economic disparity. Together they generated ideas for strengthening supply chains in ways that benefit businesses, workers, and the environment, while improving the lives of impoverished farming communities around the world. 

President Clinton challenged participants to find creative solutions to these pressing problems, highlighting the role that Fair Trade can play.  

In response, leaders from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR), Whole Foods Market, Reunion Island Coffee, Alter Eco and Honest Tea committed to increasing their support of Fair Trade coffee, tea, cocoa and produce. Global non-governmental organizations committed to investing in Fair Trade farmers with capital and training, while participating foundations pledged increased funding for impact evaluation, consumer education and farmer capacity building. 

“For more than a decade, Fair Trade has been a key part of GMCR’s sustainable sourcing strategy because it helps us provide high quality coffee to our consumers and a higher quality of life for coffee farmers,” said Brian P. Kelley, President and CEO of GMCR.  “We continue to strengthen our commitment to Fair Trade through our breadth of products, projects in coffee-growing communities, and consumer awareness campaigns.”

While celebrating the successful history of Fair Trade in alleviating poverty and contributing to sustainable supply chains, the group recognized that there’s far more work to be done.  Over two billion people still live on less than two dollars per day. Current marketplace trends, especially the unprecedented demand for agricultural commodities, present a unique opportunity to link more farmers with more companies, unleashing benefits to farming communities at a scale not seen before. 

“We believe the best solutions will come from partnering with organizations across the supply chain,” said Frank Giustra, Chairman, Director and Founder of the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, “and this fits squarely with our focus on job creation and income generation for low-income communities.”

This powerful slice of the global multi-stakeholder community revealed a remarkable unanimity in their desire to work together to take Fair Trade and its impact to scale.

“This powerful new vision, which we call Fair Trade for All, innovates and goes beyond the historic Fair Trade model,” said Paul Rice, President and CEO of Fair Trade USA. “We seek to expand the opportunities and benefits of Fair Trade to millions of farming families around the world by supporting responsible companies as they develop more sustainable supply chains. Our leadership convening represents an important step forward in this journey.” 

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Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative: Established in June 2007 by President Bill Clinton and philanthropist Frank Giustra, the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative (CGSGI) is an innovative partnership among the William J. Clinton Foundation, the private sector, governments, local communities, and other NGOs that seeks to narrow the wealth gap in the developing world by empowering the poor through effective, results-oriented economic and social development projects. CGSGI focuses on alleviating poverty through market-driven development that creates jobs and increases incomes, and by strengthening factors that enable economic growth such as health and education. CGSGI creates value by forging cross-sectoral partnerships, designing innovative programs and bringing them to scale, aligning stakeholders, and mainstreaming best practices. The Initiative is committed to assuring transparent and efficient use of resources, and integrating rigorous monitoring and evaluation into its projects.

Fundación Avina:

Fundación Avina is a Latin American organization working towards the sustainable development of this continent, encouraging the forging of alliances between leaders from different sectors. In each of country where Avina works, it acts as a hotspot for solutions to tomorrow’s challenges. Avina also works on a global level, brokering alliances between its Latin American allies and other institutional partners all over the world to promote further action and expand their range of impact. When Avina identifies an opportunity with its partners, we broker alliances around shared agendas for action that can contribute to a regionally relevant scale of impact. AVINA invests directly in these shared agendas on the ground, and looks for synergies and collaboration potential with the work of other international organizations. Avina seeks a prosperous, integrated, and democratic Latin America, inspired in its diversity, built in solidarity by its citizens, and known globally for its own model of sustainable and inclusive development.

Skoll Foundation:

Jeff Skoll created The Skoll Foundation in 1999 to pursue his vision of a sustainable world of peace and prosperity. Led by CEO Sally Osberg since 2001, its mission is to drive large-scale change by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs and the innovators who help them solve the world’s most pressing problems. Over the past 14 years, the Foundation has awarded more than $342 million, including investments in 97 social entrepreneurs and 80 organizations on five continents. In addition to grant-making, the Foundation funds a $20 million+ portfolio of program-related and mission-aligned investments. Skoll also operates the annual Skoll World Forum, the premier conference on social entrepreneurship, and shares the stories of social entrepreneurs through partnerships with leading film and broadcast organizations, including the PBS NewsHour and the Sundance Institute.

Fair Trade USA:

Fair Trade USA, a nonprofit organization, is the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in North America. Fair Trade USA audits and certifies transactions between companies and their international suppliers to ensure that the farmers and workers producing Fair Trade Certified goods were paid fair prices and wages, work in safe conditions, protect the environment, and receive community development funds to empower and improve their communities. Fair Trade USA also educates consumers, brings new manufacturers and retailers into Fair Trade, and provides farming communities with tools, training and resources to thrive as international businesspeople.

Press Contacts:

Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative

press@clintonfoundation.org

Fundación Avina

Marcus Fuchs, Communications Director

marcus.fuchs@avina.net

+ 55-31-3222-8806

Skoll Foundation

Karen Duffin, Communications Director

kduffin@skollfoundation.org

650-331-1021

Fair Trade USA

Jenna Larson, Public Relations Manager

jlarson@fairtradeusa.org

510-844-1668

by Jerry Lynch