Fair Trade USA™ News

OAKLAND, CA. – (April 10, 2025) – The Board of Directors of Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) today named Felipe Arango Chief Executive Officer of the award-winning nonprofit organization. He has served as FTUSA’s Chief Operating Officer and the Interim-CEO since FTUSA’s founder stepped down in September 2024. Arango brings a…

OAKLAND, CA. – (October 14, 2024) – Producers and retailers are looking for ways to improve environmental and human rights conditions in the avocado sector and Fair Trade USA is offering solutions. Western demand for avocados has grown exponentially over the last decade–and people and the planet are paying the…

OAKLAND, CA. – (October 8, 2024) – Fair Trade USA™ announced today it has hired Clay Dockery as Head of Coffee to expand its program and support global producers. “Clay’s extensive experience in Fair Trade’s important coffee sector enhances our ability to achieve sustainable growth and expansion,” said Felipe Arango,…

OAKLAND, CA. – (October 3, 2024) – Fair Trade USA announced a key addition to its core leadership team. Dana Dufresne will serve as the organization’s Chief Growth Officer. Dana comes to Fair Trade USA with over two decades of sales leadership and a distinguished career in the Consumer Packaged…

OAKLAND, CA. – (April 9, 2024) – Fair Trade USA will host a Producers’ Forum on April 11 in the lead up to the Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA) Expo in Chicago. The organization will provide an update to industry leaders on its strategic approach to deepening and broadening the impact…

Truckee, California (January 16th 2024) – Snowboard, winter apparel and backcountry gear brand Jones Snowboards is proud to announce that their 2024/2025 snowboards and splitboards will be Fair Trade Certified™. Jones is the first ski or snowboard hardgoods brands to have their boards certified by the non-profit organization Fair Trade…

OAKLAND, CA. – (Dec. 13, 2023) – Fair Trade USA is proud to announce its selection as a winner of the 2023 Amazon Web Services (AWS) IMAGINE Grant, a public grant opportunity open to registered 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and U.K. who are using technology to solve the…

OAKLAND, CA. – (December. 6, 2023) – Fair Trade USA announced a key addition to its core leadership team. Felipe Arango will serve as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer. A veteran in sustainable sourcing, with two decades in the Fair Trade movement, Felipe is tasked with ensuring efficiencies and alignment…

SAN ANTONIO, Texas–NatureSweet, the number one snacking tomato brand and leading greenhouse-grown produce company, is committed to grow 100% of its branded snacking tomato products in accordance with Fair Trade Certified™ standards. All NatureSweet branded tomatoes –– which include Cherubs®, Glorys®, Constellation®, Comets™, Twilights™, and D’Vines™–– are Fair Trade Certified, meeting…

OAKLAND, CA. – (Sept. 6, 2023) – Fair Trade USA today announced a key addition to its core leadership team. Sugumar Raman, who most recently served as the Director of Operations at FLOCERT, will serve as the organization’s Chief Program Officer. A veteran in the global sustainable sourcing movement, Sugumar…

OAKLAND, CA. – (Aug. 29, 2023) – Fair Trade USA today announced key elements of its Innovation for Impact Initiative — a multi-stakeholder engagement and design lab aimed at developing a more scalable, higher-impact Fair Trade Certified™ coffee program. To drive this initiative, Fair Trade USA is partnering with IDEO.org,…

OAKLAND, CA. – (July 6, 2023) – Fair Trade USA announced today that it will maintain its current minimum pricing and premiums for all coffee sold under its Fair Trade Certified™ label through the end of 2023. Simultaneously, it is launching a multi-stakeholder Innovation for Impact Initiative, aimed at building…

OAKLAND, Calif. (March 28, 2023) — Fair Trade USA™ has been named a recipient of Store Brands’ 2023 Game Changers award for the redesign of its Factory Production Standard program in the Products Innovation category. For the past three years, Store Brands has acknowledged those in private label who remain…

OAKLAND, Calif. (March 16, 2023) — Fair Trade USA™ recently unveiled its new Factory Production Standard, significantly improving its overall certification process. The redesign supports accelerated factory onboarding, expansion into new product categories and countries, affordability, and accessibility. “This new program aims to broaden and scale impact to factory workers…

OAKLAND, Calif. (March 8, 2023) — The Walmart Foundation has made a grant for $1.097 million to Fair Trade USA™ to support the creation of a more scalable and sustainable impact model. The grant will support the organization’s ongoing technical transformation which will enable Fair Trade USA to help brands…

Fair Trade USA™ has released its new 2022 Consumer Insights Report: An Investment in Trust: Conscious Consumerism Goes Mainstream Despite Economic Headwinds. The report examines the continuing drive of today’s consumers in their ethical quest to purchase fair trade products.

OAKLAND, Calif. (October 21, 2022) — Fair Trade USA™ announces two organizational changes. Sean Foote and Natasha Chand have been recently appointed to its Board. Foote previously served on Fair Trade USA’s Advisory Council for over a decade. He is the co-founder and Managing Director of Co=Creation=Capital, where he advises…

OAKLAND, Calif. (October 4, 2022) This Fair Trade Month, Fair Trade USA™ celebrates the momentous milestone of exceeding $1B in financial impact to farmers, workers, fishers, and communities around the globe. Since its inception in 1998, and in partnership with more than 1,500 companies who have chosen Fair Trade Certified™…

OAKLAND, Calif. (September 26, 2022) — In honor of International Coffee Day, October 1, 2022, Fair Trade USA™ highlights its coffee partners’ commitments to the Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC). Managed by Conservation International, the SCC is a collaborative effort of public and private sector organizations and companies working to make…

OAKLAND, Calif. (September 9, 2022) — The Business Intelligence Group recognized Fair Trade USA™ with a Sustainability Leadership Award in the 2022 Sustainability Awards program. The Sustainability Awards honor those people, teams, and organizations who have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice or overall mission. Fair Trade…

Oakland, September 7, 2022 – e.l.f. Beauty is proud to announce that it is the first in the beauty industry to have a manufacturing facility become Fair Trade Certified™. Tarang Amin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of e.l.f. Beauty explains, “Consumers love e.l.f. because of our superpowers. We bring premium…

Larry Ruff continues in an expanded role as President, rejoins Board of Directors and Monika Vasquez-Pelz joins the Fair Trade USA Advisory Council   OAKLAND, Calif. (June 30, 2022) —Fair Trade USA announces two leadership changes to support the ongoing expansion of the organization. Effective immediately, Larry Ruff will serve…

Fair Trade Certified™ products highlighted – program helps consumers identify fair trade items from around the globe OAKLAND, Calif. (April 12, 2022) —Fair Trade USA is proud to join Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly initiative making Fair Trade Certified products more easily discoverable on Amazon’s e-commerce sites. Climate Pledge Friendly highlights products that…

OAKLAND, Calif., March 30, 2022 — The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, and today more consumers than ever are revitalizing the global marketplace with their strong commitments to positive social and environmental impacts through their purchasing power. Fair Trade USA’s™ new consumer insights report: Taking Action: Now is the Time…

OAKLAND, Calif. (October 1, 2021) — Fair Trade USA™ announces new and expanded commitments from partners on International Coffee Day and the celebration of its annual Just One Cup campaign challenging consumers and businesses alike to ask themselves, #DoesYourCoffeeDoMore? With 48% of new coffee launches making a sustainability claim*, it has never been more…

OAKLAND, Calif., (August 3, 2021) – Today, Fair Trade USA™ – the leading certifier of fair trade products in North America – announces new commitments and product launches in the second quarter of 2021. As workers and vulnerable populations continue to struggle with the impacts of the climate crisis and…

OAKLAND, CA (May 6, 2011)–Fair Trade USA™, the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States, today announced that Chicago is the largest Fair Trade Town in the United States and the second largest in the world. Chicago has officially met all of the criteria to be…

OAKLAND, Calif., (April 28, 2021) – Today, Fair Trade USA™ – the leading certifier of fair trade products in North America – released its round-up of new commitments and product launches in the first quarter. As the pressing need for more social and environmental justice continues to surface during COVID-19, brands and…

OAKLAND, Calif., (March 22, 2021) – Fair Trade USA™ – the leading certifier of fair trade products in North America – is honoring National Farmworker Awareness Week (March 25-31) and urging both consumers and businesses to support impacted farming communities by purchasing and sourcing Fair Trade Certified produce. As essential…

OAKLAND, Calif., (March 11, 2021) – Today, Fair Trade USA – the leading certifier of fair trade products in North America – announces that Kvarøy Arctic, the third-generation sustainable Atlantic salmon producer from Norway, is the first salmon farm globally to receive Fair Trade USA certification after a rigorous vetting…

OAKLAND, Calif. (November 25, 2020) — This year’s Back-to-School season has been one like no other — parents, teachers, and students have all resorted to working and learning from home during a global pandemic amidst civil unrest, inspiring a deeper cultural reflection on social justice. To create impact in its local…

OAKLAND, Calif., (April 10, 2020) – Fair Trade USA™, the leading certifier of fair trade products in North America, released a new policy on emergency fund use for COVID-19. It outlines direct action to support farmers, workers, and fishers with health, safety, and financial measures as they cope with the global pandemic. Most critically,…

OAKLAND, Calif. (April 20, 2020) – On April 20th, Fair Trade USA unveils its annual lookbook and campaign, We Wear Fair Trade. This year’s campaign theme and lookbook, “She Wears Fair Trade,” was made in partnership with renowned creative director, activist, and stylist Rachael Wang, and features Fair Trade Certified…

OAKLAND, Calif., (April 7, 2020) – Fair Trade USA™, the leading certifier of fair trade products in North America, has received a $1.4 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to strengthen support for producer-led community development projects along fair trade supply chains. The grant, which runs through 2022, will enable the organization…

This October, Fair Trade USA celebrates 20 years with a new video about its history, growth, and plans for the future. Fair Trade USA also launched the Fair Trade Difference campaign, which highlights the variety of Fair Trade Certified products that exist in the marketplace, plus a 20th Anniversary Giveaway with…

OAKLAND, March 28, 2018 – Fair Trade USA has met the entry-level criteria for ISEAL membership. ISEAL Associate Membership reflects a commitment to credibility and the steps to achieve full ISEAL membership, where compliance is demonstrated by meeting ISEAL’s internationally recognised Codes of Good Practice in standard-setting, assurance and impacts.…

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., January 31, 2017– Athleta is introducing its collection of styles created in a factory certified by Fair Trade USA, an organization dedicated to creating social and economic opportunities for factory workers around the world. Athleta’s spring collection features more than 40 Fair Trade CertifiedTM styles and more…

New York, NY, September 30, 2015 –  Fair Trade USA announced this week at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting its commitment to improve working conditions and enable sustainable livelihoods for factory workers, “Fair Trade Farm To Factory: An Ethical Sourcing Model.” Over the next two years, Fair Trade…

VENTURA and OAKLAND, California. (October 22, 2013) – Patagonia Inc., the outdoor apparel company, is proud to announce its plans to offer Fair Trade Certified™ apparel starting with nine styles in the Fall 2014 season. For every Fair Trade Certified product Patagonia sells, the company will pay a premium directly…