an Eldis Resource

This report provides an overview of the fair trade movement in North America (the U.S. and Canada), and the Pacific Rim (Australia, New Zealand and Japan). It details the industry structure, sales, product sourcing, employment, fair trade monitoring, certification and labelling, services to producers, and advocacy.

Findings include:

• total sales for the fair trade industry in North America in 2002 were $180m, an increase of 44 % from 2001
• sales in the Pacific Rim for the period were $70.6m, a growth rate of 23%
• the fair trade product with the most significant increase in sales in 2002 was coffee
• the highest proportion of Free Trade Federation (FTF) members’ sales in 2002 came from certified fair trade coffee, 29% of total sales or $16.3m
• there are approximately 12,000 outlets in the USA where fair trade labelled products can be purchased
• the volume of coffee certified by TransFair USA, TransFair Canada and TransFair Japan in 2002 was 10.66m lbs, an increase of 54% from 2001
• the producer regions most important to the North American fair trade industry in 2002 were Asia, and Central America/Caribbean (including Mexico)
• the number of people employed by the Fair Trade companies and agencies surveyed in this report in North America and the Pacific Rim was approximately 3,260 in 2002, with 2,580 in North America and 682 in the Pacific Rim
• approximately 68% of these were volunteers and 32% were full or part-time employees
• FTF members expect a growth in sales of approximately 26% in 2003 to $70.8m, particularly in sales of coffee, cocoa, toys, tea, chocolate and jewellery
• fair trade companies generally agree that increased efforts to educate consumers about fair trade have led to greater awareness and increased sales
• there is general agreement that fair trade certification, especially of coffee, is profoundly affecting the industry as a whole. However, opinions vary as to whether all of the changes are good for the movement as a whole
• some fair trade companies are expressing concern about competition from companies that do not practice fair trade but sell similar products, and may be confusing the customers

[adapted from author]

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