We stopped the TPP!
The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) would have been a disaster for farmers, workers, public health, and the environment. That’s why we joined with allies to fight against it. FWP’s network sent tens of thousands of letters to Congress opposing this unfair trade agreement. Thanks to grassroots momentum like this, the U.S. withdrew from the TPP. But we still have lots of work to do to fill the void and ensure fair trade agreements take hold. Read a description of civil society priorities for NAFTA, the principles of which can be applied more generally
Don’t Let Fair Trade Lose It’s Meaning
Fair For Life is one of the only fair trade certifiers to insist that at least half of the ingredients in a multi-ingredient product like a chocolate bar are actually certified fair trade. Major certifiers Fair Trade USA and the Fairtrade System only require 20% of ingredients to be certified. In 2016 Fair for Life threatened to change that but FWP, committed brands, and thousands of consumers spoke up. In response, Fair for Life committed to keep the requirement that the majority of ingredients in composite products be certified. Our reference guide gives a snapshot of the strength of various eco-social labels.
A New Farmworker Union Wins Recognition
Famalias Unidas por la Justicia was locked in a four-year labor dispute with Sakuma Brothers Farm, a large berry farm in Washington that supplies berries to Driscoll’s among others. They were fighting for the right to be recognized as a union and to collectively bargain. When they asked for Fair World Project’s help, over 10,000 consumers in our network signed a petition to Driscoll’s asking them to intervene. Fair World Project helped facilitate dialogue among Driscoll’s, Sakuma, and FUJ, and after two years FUJ was finally recognized as a union and started the 2017 season with a union contract.
Hershey: Be Fair
Building on and in conjunction with the Raise the Bar campaign, FWP engaged in the campaign to tell Hershey that buying cocoa from sources that exploit child workers is not acceptable. As part of this campaign, in addition to letters sent directly to Hershey’s, nearly 5,000 people wrote letters to Whole Foods Market asking them to stop carrying all Hershey’s brand products. Shortly after, Whole Foods Market announced that they would do just that, leading in turn to Hershey announcing they would certify all cocoa in coming years. FWP considers Hershey’s commitment only a partial victory and continues to monitor progress toward a truly fair supply chain.