US accreditation body Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) has changed its labelling policy for Fair Trade products.
Initially FTUSA was set to stipulate that products must contain 10% certified fair trade ingredients to carry the FTUSA “Fair Trade Certified (Ingredients)” mark and 25% to carry the “Fair Trade Certified” mark.
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But, in November, the Fair World Project (FWP), a campaign of the Organic Consumers Association, claimed the standards “hoodwink consumers into believing they are supporting social change”.
Now the guidelines, which apply to all food and personal care products, have been amended so that only products that contain 100% Fair Trade certified ingredients may bear the full Fair Trade Certified label. The Fair Trade Certified Ingredients label will only apply to products containing at least 20% certified ingredients.
Paul Rice, president and CEO of Fair Trade USA, said: “The revised ingredients policy reflects our organisation’s commitment to include more farmers and workers in the Fair Trade model, and our desire to raise the bar for certification transparency.”
The FWP was not available for comment at time of writing.
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