Printer friendly version Send this to a friend Sign up for email list Become a member

FREE Fair Trade Guide Get our our Fair Trade guide to learn the latest on the expanding universe of Fair Trade products. Get the FREE Guide »

Fair Trade is a people-powered solution to global economic injustice. It is a system of trade based on direct relationships and partnerships between buyers in the global north and producing communities in developing countries.

Fair Trade helps ensure that farmers and artisans throughout the developing world receive a fair price for their products, have direct involvement in the marketplace, and uphold environmental and labor rights standards. The system builds real and lasting relationships between producers in developing countries and businesses and consumers around the world.

Co-op America serves the Fair Trade community as public educators, encouraging people to support Fair Trade while providing them the means to do so. We encourage using your spending power to influence the market and help reshape the global economy to one that works for all people and the planet. Use this site to learn about Fair Trade, its products and producers, and what you can do to make a difference.

What's New...

Be Part of the World’s Largest Coffee Break!
Join together on May 10th, World Fair Trade Day (WFTD), to break the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Coffee Break – Fair Trade-Style. On May 10 at 3 pm EST and 12 noon PST, thousands of people throughout North America will convene across time zones to enjoy a cup of Fair Trade coffee together. It is our way of communicating to the world our shared belief in trade justice.

Find out more and order free resources geared towards helping you organize your World Fair Trade Day events.

Fair Trade and the Environment
As a sponsor of WFTD, Co-op America has designed materials that explain the connection between environmental conservation efforts and Fair Trade products. We are happy to provide this resource in support of this year's WFTD theme, For the People. For the Planet.

Learn about Fair Trade's specific environmental standards and find out about Fair Trade's impact on profiled cooperatives.

Learn about the newest Fair Trade product: Flowers!
Recently TransFair USA increased their Fair Trade certification to include flowers. The flower industry has long been known for unfair labor practices and the use of pesticides and chemicals which harm the people and planet.

Learn about a fair alternative with Fair Trade flowers!

Spotlight on Fair Trade Leader
Read our February Green Business Interview with Tamara Stenn, owner of Kusikuy, a Fair Trade knitwear business that not only supports communities in South America but also helped its own home community of Brattleboro, VT become a Fair Trade Town!