US: Advertising body calls for more information on Fairtrade labels

By Ben Cooper | 19 September 2012

The US advertising watchdog has recommended that local certification body Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) should provide additional information to consumers.

NARB, the organisation which coordinates and certifies Fairtrade labelling in the US, recommended that FTUSA indicate the relative percentage by weight of products bearing the Fairtrade logo.

However, Fair Trade USA has challenged the recommendation. The organisation has agreed to strengthen labelling requirements for products bearing the Fairtrade logo but would not indicate percentages of Fairtrade-sourced ingredients.

"Requiring brands to explicitly label the percentage of each individual ingredient violates their right to protect their unique recipes," said Jenna Larson, a spokesperson for Fair Trade USA. "Therefore, we chose to meet the NARB's recommendation by strengthening the overall requirements necessary to use the Fair Trade label in the first place."

FTUSA plans to have a Fair Trade Certified label, which would indicate that the product is produced from 100% Fairtrade-certified ingredients, and a Fair Trade Certified Ingredients label, which would signify that between 20% and 100% of the contents of the product are Fairtrade-certified.

Sectors: Advertising & labelling