Fair Trade Certified™ Factories
Fair Trade Certified Factories adhere to rigorous social, economic, and environmental standards. Join us in transforming responsible business and building more resilient supply chains by participating in the Fair Trade Factory Program.
What is a Fair Trade Certified Factory?
A Fair Trade Certified factory is a manufacturing facility that complies with Fair Trade USA’s Factory Production Standard (FPS). This means the facility meets rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards and adheres to 100+ compliance criteria related to social responsibility, environmental responsibility, employee empowerment, and economic development.
Factory workers are some of the most vulnerable workers in our global economy, often enduring human and labor rights violations, low wages, and unsafe working conditions. Businesses can ensure they are not inadvertently furthering these injustices by committing to ethical sourcing practices and providing transparency across the entire supply chain.
By choosing to source from Fair Trade Certified factories, you are working with factories that are producing goods in a fair way. That means workers are paid a fair wage, work in safe conditions, have their rights respected, and their communities have the opportunity to prosper.
In addition to rigorous standards, a key component of the Fair Trade Factory Program includes delivering impact to workers through the Fair Trade Premium. For every Fair Trade Certified product sold, partners pay a Premium that goes back to workers in the form of Community Development Funds. The funds are invested into projects that workers have identified as the most pressing needs of their community. The process of democratically electing a Fair Trade Committee that manages these projects empowers worker voice and participation, linking your product to sustainable and resilient communities.
We’re here to help you ethically source apparel, textiles, home goods, outdoor goods, footwear, beauty products, or anything else made in a factory!
Why Source From Fair Trade Certified Factories?
The Fair Trade Certified factory program builds resilient, transparent supply chains and enables sustainable livelihoods for factory workers, their families, and entire communities. Companies that source from certified factories and meet our factory program requirements get licensed to sell products featuring the Fair Trade Certified label.
We invite you to join us in certifying your existing factories or sourcing from more than 100+ Fair Trade Certified factories around the world! Read on to learn about the benefits or go straight to the list of Fair Trade Certified factories here.
Solidify your supply chain resiliency
- Actively manage potential risk with rigorous fair trade standards ensuring safe working environments and improved conditions, wages, working hours, benefits, and the elimination of forced labor and poverty.
- Improve operational efficiency and performance.
- Get support and training in field to help ensure compliance to Fair Trade Certified Standards.
- More sustainable income and better working conditions increase worker retention (less turnover and absenteeism) with more satisfied and engaged employees.
- Improve factory workers’ lives and communities with Community Development Funds that help factory workers address real challenges in their lives.
Advance your Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals
- Join other leading brands and retailers in making ethical sourcing commitments and driving sustainability in the industry.
- Accelerate and be able to communicate your progress toward ESG goals.
- With over 120 KPIs tracking to the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), your partnership with Fair Trade USA unlocks metrics that help deliver on your sustainability commitments.
- Fair Trade USA has a 3-step approach to supporting employers and workers towards achieving a living income.
- Help accelerate B-Corp Certification and contribute to 1% for the Planet
Strengthen your brand
- Mitigate potential reputational risk such as undetected labor violations in your supply chain.
- Have confidence in the credibility of your commitments and demonstrate authenticity to consumers. Fair Trade USA is ISEAL Code Compliant. Our system has been independently evaluated against ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice.
- Ensure traceability and transparency with data.
- Connect with factories in your supply chain and see first-hand the local impact for workers and their communities.
Build loyalty and meet consumer demand
- 65% of consumers recognize the Fair Trade Certified label.
- 78% of consumers trust the Fair Trade Certified label.
- 1 in 3 consumers are more likely to purchase with the Fair Trade Certified label.
- 75% of consumers indicate a third-party certification provides trust that a product/company is taking sustainable action.
- Find more U.S. consumer insights here.
Raising the Standard With Fair Certified Factories
Factory Production Standard (FPS) Overview
This resource provides a high-level overview of the structure and requirements of the FPS.
Factory Production Standard (FPS)
Access our full Factory Production Standard
Community Development Funds
Learn how factory workers play an active role in determining and planning the use of the Community Development Funds
Fair Trade Certified Factories Map
Choosing Fair Trade Makes a Difference
100+
Certified Organizations
Accelerate sourcing on Fair Trade Certified terms — Tap into over 100 Fair Trade Certified factories.
$13M
Development Funds
In 2021, fair trade factory partners generated $13M in Community Development Funds used to foster prosperous communities and resilient supply chains.
60+
Brand Partners
From babies’, kids’, women’s, and men’s clothing to shoes and furniture and blankets, we have certified a variety of factory-based businesses.
Fair Trade Commitments
80% of products Fair Trade Certified by 2025
90% cashmere and chino collections Fair Trade Certified by 2025; 100% denim Fair Trade Certified by 2025
Pay an additional $10M in Fair Trade Premiums by 2025
Ready to learn how Fair Trade Certified can work for you?
Featured Papers and Reports
Above & Beyond: Fair Trade Certified Factories Protecting Planet and People
When it comes to managing environmental impacts, Fair Trade Certified factories regularly go above and beyond standard requirements, demonstrating a genuine passion for protecting the planet. In this paper, you can read about four of our favorite environmental initiatives that managers at Fair Trade Certified factories shared with us!
Other Resources
U.S. Consumer Insights Report
See why more than 1,500 companies have chosen fair trade certification to meet sustainability goals, increase brand trust, and reach more shoppers.