transactions and maintain transparency in their purchases, which includes submitting regular reports to TransFair USA.
when they sought to mix Fair Trade
Certified coffee into their ice cream.
Until that time, fair trade products
were all 100 percent fair trade and
whole products. The new opportunity
to mix certified ingredients with non-certifiable ones sparked a significant
expansion that now includes products
ranging from cosmetics with certified
extracts and cocoa butters to ready-to-drink beverages, baking mixes and
more. Today, more than 40 percent of
the fair trade products in the U.S. are
composites. For transparency, prod-
Expanding Fair Trade Categories
In 2009, the number of Fair Trade Certified products in the United
States skyrocketed to more than 6000. New certified product categories include spirits, grains, nuts, oils, spices and herbs, vegetables,
fresh fruits, wine and flowers. These products are available at more
than 50,000 retail locations in the United States. According to
TransFair USA’s 2009 Almanac, four times as many bottles of fair trade wine
were imported in 2009 compared to the previous year, spices and
vanilla imports grew by 240 percent and sugar increased by 20 percent. Furthermore, many of these new products are certified organic
in addition to Fair Trade Certified. For example, 100 percent of the
new Fair Trade Certified spices that entered the U.S. market in 2009 were
organic.
2009 by the Numbers
Consumer retail sales: ...............................................................................................$1.2 billion
Additional income earned by farmers:.............................................................$45 million
Community investment dollars earned:...........................................................$14 million
Farmers in fair trade system worldwide:............................................................1.5 million
U.S. Fair Trade Certified products: ................................................................................ 6,000
U.S. companies with certified products:..........................................................................813
Percent awareness among consumers:......................Mass Consumers = 29 percent
Ethical Consumers = 50 percent
New Ingredients Program
The growth in fair trade products can
also be attributed to TransFair USA’s
new ingredients program. Fair trade innovator Ben & Jerry’s started the creative juices flowing several years ago
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