Sunday, January 22, 2012
FAIR TRADE USA
By the numbers
800: Companies in the United States that sell certified fair-trade products.
1.3 million: Individual farmers and workers they reach (5 million when family members are included) in 70 countries.
$250 million: Since 1998, fair trade has resulted in that amount being paid to fair-trade farmers above what they would have been paid otherwise. About 80 percent of that amount has gone directly to farmers, with the rest used to support community products. Typically, consumer prices for fair-trade products can be 5 percent to 10 percent higher than nonfair-trade products.