Press Releases - Fair World Project

Corporate Accountability Lab Brings Leading Fair Trade Watchdog Fair World Project In-House

Posted on January 24, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24^th, 2023 – The nonprofit organization, Corporate Accountability Lab has announced that beginning this year it will bring leading fair trade watchdog and advocacy organization in-house to further strengthen the work of both organizations to end corporate exploitation in supply chains, and false claims by certifications and brands.

Posted on June 15, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 15^th, 2022 – Fair World Project, along with a growing number of Certified B Corp brands, have signed on to an open letter to B Lab Global calling on the organization to strengthen standards to maintain integrity and relevance of the certification. This comes in response to B Lab Global recognizing Nespresso, a subsidiary of Nestlé producing single serve coffee capsules, as B Corp certified in May 2022, despite a recent history of human rights violations on farms that grow their coffee including child labor, wage theft, and abuse of factory workers.

Posted on October 19, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 19^th, 2021 – Fair World Project (FWP) has launched the second season of For a Better World podcast. For a Better World Season 2: “Unfair Dairy” explores why and what it even means to have “fair trade dairy.” Through eight episodes of powerful interviews, the ongoing issue of Fair Trade USA and yogurt maker Chobani’s “fair-washing” efforts will be covered along with successful examples of worker-led alternatives, such as the Milk With Dignity program that guides practices in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream supply chain.

Posted on July 12, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 6^th, 2021 – Marking World Chocolate Day this July 7, 2021, fair trade watchdog organization, Fair World Project, announces the completion of the premiere season of their new For a Better World podcast, “Nestlé’s KitKat Unwrapped” which takes a close look at the complicated and controversial supply chain issues behind the ingredients in Nestlé’s KitKat Bar, and what it takes to produce the chocolate. A recent U.S Supreme Court decision let chocolate producers Nestlé and Cargill off the hook for their complicity in human trafficking and child labor in their cocoa supply chains, making this World Chocolate Day a particularly important time to reflect on the issues of corporate accountability and human rights abuses in the production of such a commodity.

Posted on June 21, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 21^st, 2021 – Leading fair trade watchdog Fair World Project is joining calls for mandatory human rights due diligence legislation in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to not hold Nestlé and Cargill accountable for human rights abuses in their international supply chains. Transformative change requires real accountability & raising the cost of corporate abuses.

Posted on May 24, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 24^th, 2021 – Fair World Project along with labor rights and farmworker groups, including Migrant Justice, Workers Center of Central New York, and Worker-driven Social Responsibility Network are denouncing the launch of Fair Trade USA and Chobani’s new “fair trade” standard for the dairy industry. Yogurt is stocked on shelves with a “fair trade dairy” label although no published results from the standard pilot or finalized dairy standard are publicly available.

Posted on May 3, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 3^rd, 2021 – Fair World Project is celebrating the launch of the premiere season of their new podcast, For a Better World, by hosting a webinar panel discussion “Building a Fair, Ethical Chocolate Trade” in advance of World Fair Trade Day, with panelists from Dr. Bronner’s, AlterEco, Norandino Cooperative, Serendipalm, and Equal Exchange.

Posted on April 23, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 23^rd, 2021
– U.S. Senators and Representatives Join Civil Society Leaders Delivering Two Million Petitions to Urge Biden: Support COVID-19 WTO Waiver to Hasten the Pandemic’s End, Secure Administration’s Domestic Vaccination Progress

Posted on February 2, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 2^nd, 2021
– Fair World Project (FWP) has launched For a Better World, a new podcast featuring deep investigational analysis of the environmental and social costs of commonly used consumer items and their corresponding supply chains. Each season will focus on a particular product and the supply chains issues surrounding it.

Posted on October 13, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 13^th, 2020
– Leaked World Cocoa Foundation strategy documents show industry more concerned about messaging than ending farmer poverty. Meanwhile, NGOs call on chocolate companies to act as initial draft of NORC report finds child labor continues in West African cocoa fields, often under hazardous conditions.

Posted on September 17, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 17^th, 2020
– A coalition of 35+ labor rights, farmer and farmworker groups, including Migrant Justice, Worker-driven Social Responsibility Network, and the fair trade advocacy organization, Fair World Project, are calling on Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) to stop the development of a “fair trade” certification standard for the dairy industry.

Posted on April 21, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21^st, 2020
– A joint report by the International Labor Rights Forum, Fair World Project, and the International Union of Food Workers (IUF) Latin America Regional Secretariat, with support from 3F International, today reveals long-term, ongoing human and labor rights violations on Fyffes’ melon plantations in Honduras. The report, Fyffes Farms Exposed: The Fight for Justice in the Honduran Melon Fields, calls on the company to take responsibility to remedy injustices at their farms and commit to a legally-binding, enforceable agreement to uphold workers’ rights.

Posted on December 3, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 3^rd, 2019
– The fifth edition of the International Guide to Fair Trade Labels has been released by a coalition of advocacy groups and academics from around the world. The project was led by Commerce Equitable France and includes the collaborative efforts of Fair World Project (USA), FAIRNESS FR, and Forum Fairer Handel (Germany) as contributors. The International Guide to Fair Trade Labels is the only publication analyzing the criteria and monitoring systems of the main fair trade labels at an international level.

Posted on September 24, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 23^rd, 2019
– Leading fair trade advocacy group, Fair World Project, has published the 19th issue of For A Better World magazine. The latest issue focuses on “Fair Trade” with articles that demonstrate the power of farmer and worker-led movements and new educational resources that provide readers with more ways to get involved.

Posted on June 10, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 11^th, 2019
– Following letters from Fair World Project and the International Labor Rights Forum urging the retailer to make future purchase orders with fruit company Fyffes contingent on the cessation of labor rights violations, Costco has confirmed that it has not placed future orders for melons from the Fyffes operations where ongoing violations occur.

Posted on June 6, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 4^th, 2019

– Leading fair trade advocacy group, Fair World Project, has published the 18th issue of For A Better World magazine. The latest issue focuses on the Real Meals Campaign and the goal to redirect institutional food purchases to socially and environmentally responsible resources.

Posted on December 17, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 14^th, 2018
– Following the publication of an open letter recounting a pattern of labor rights violations on melon farms in Honduras, Fair Trade USA has decertified the grower Suragroh, a subsidiary of Fyffes.

Posted on November 29, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 29^th, 2018
– The International Fair Trade Movement calls on the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to introduce transparent, fair and binding mechanisms for trade justice in order to achieve climate justice in their negotiations at COP24.

Posted on November 27, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 27^th, 2018
– A diverse is confronting Fair Trade USA, a US-based fair trade certification agency, for ignoring human rights abuses and its own standards in certifying a Honduran melon grower with a long history of violations. The well-documented violations have been reported for more than a decade and include failure to pay minimum wages, exposure of workers to hazardous agrochemicals, illegal firings of pregnant workers, blacklisting, harassment, and illegal dismissal of union members.

Posted on September 26, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 26^th, 2018
– Fair Trade Charter Outlines Vision for Transformation of Global Trade to Achieve Justice, Equity, and Sustainability for People and Planet.

Posted on September 25, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 26^th, 2018
– Fair trade can play a key role in slowing climate change. In recognition of October as Fair Trade Month, National Co+op Grocers and Fair World Project are promoting this message as they celebrate the results of their seventh annual World Fair Trade Day promotion, which took place last May.

Posted on September 6, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 6^th, 2018
– Group Calls on Costco to Leverage Buying Power to Better Support Farming Communities Who Produce Cocoa –
Fair World Project (FWP) releases a new report providing an in-depth analysis of existing fair trade standards, the group is calling on major retailer, Costco, to evaluate its buying practices for its private label cocoa products.

Posted on September 4, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 4th, 2018
– Diverse coalition launches campaign to transform business practices in the foodservice industry –
The Community Coalition for Real Meals launched a nationwide campaign today urging the country’s three largest food service management companies – Aramark, Compass Group, and Sodexo – to reorient their business models away from a system of exclusive relationships with Big Food corporations toward greater investments in real food that support producers, communities, and the environment.

Posted on May 2, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 3rd, 2018 CONTACT: Lauren Berlekamp, 202-657-7754 [email protected] Leading Fair Trade Advocacy Group Celebrates World Fair Trade Day Fair World Project Highlights Brands and Organizations Committed to Regenerative Organic Agriculture for Community and Climate Solutions PORTLAND, OR — Leading fair trade advocacy organization Fair World Project (FWP) has announced their annual campaign…

Posted on December 14, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec. 13th, 2017 CONTACT: Ufuoma Otu, (202) 454-5108, Email: [email protected] Carr, (202) 495-3034,Email: [email protected] YOUR ORG CONTACTS Senator Bernie Sanders Headlines #ReplaceNAFTA Day-of-Action Event: Millions Nationwide Call for Successful Renegotiation to Eliminate Job Outsourcing Incentives, Add Strong Labor and Environmental Terms Labor, Environmental, Faith, Consumer, Family Farm and Other Advocacy Groups…

Posted on May 23, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 23rd, 2017 CONTACT: Lauren Berlekamp, 202-657-7754 Email: [email protected] Fair Trade Advocates Respond to Trump: Renegotiation of NAFTA Must Include Farmers and Labor Groups Fair World Project Asserts: Trade Agreements Will Continue to Benefit Corporations Over People Unless Process for Negotiation Changes PORTLAND, OR – Last week President Trump announced plans to…

Posted on March 2, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2nd, 2017 CONTACT: Lauren Berlekamp, 202-657-7754 Email: [email protected] Leading Fair Trade Advocacy Group’s Celebration of World Fair Trade Day Distinguishes Real Fair Trade from Low Standard Imposters Dedicated Fair Trade Brands Partner with Fair World Project for 1,500 Events Across the United States PORTLAND, OR – Leading fair trade advocacy organization…

Posted on October 24, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 24th, 2016 CONTACT: Kerstin Lindgren: 617-680-9862 Email: [email protected] Lauren Stansbury: 402-540-1208 Email: [email protected] New Report from Fair World Project Evaluates Certification Programs that Seek to Ensure Transparency and Integrity of Working Conditions for Farmworkers Leading Advocacy Group Evaluates Impact and Effectiveness of Seven Certification Programs in the Interest of Farmworker Justice…

Posted on September 13, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 13th, 2016 CONTACT: Kerstin Lindgren: 617-680-9862 Email: [email protected] Fair World Project Applauds Resolution to Four-Year Labor Dispute Between Farmworkers and Supplier to Driscoll Berries in Washington State Leading Advocacy Group Facilitates Agreement Between Union and Sakuma Brothers Farm Portland, OR – Fair World Project, a project of the Organic Consumers Association…

Posted on September 8, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 8th, 2016 CONTACT: Ryan Zinn, 907-947-6046 Email: [email protected] Fair World Project Releases Statement on US, China Formal Sign-On to Paris Climate Agreement Leading Consumer Advocacy Group Calls for Support for Small-Scale Farmers and Fair Trade Portland, OR – Fair World Project (FWP), a campaign of the Organic Consumers Association, the nation’s…

Posted on August 1, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 1st, 2016 CONTACT: Monika Firl , 514-562-6162 Email: [email protected] Dana Geffner, 503-803-1432 Email: [email protected] Fair Trade Village and Workshops at World Social Forum will Address Trade Policy, Economic Justice, Climate Change and Small-Scale Farmers Coalition of Fair Trade Advocates to Facilitate Open Discussions, Educational Opportunities and Exhibitions at International Meeting of…

Posted on May 26, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 26th, 2016 CONTACT: Kerstin Lindgren, 617-680-9862 Email: [email protected] Anna Canning, 971-209-2554 Email: [email protected] Renewed Concern Over Labor Dispute at Washington Farm Thousands of Consumers Ask Sakuma Brothers Farm to Negotiate a Fair Contract While Over 30 Organizations Ask Driscoll’s to Uphold Commitment to Freedom of Association PORTLAND, OR – Leading fair…

Posted on February 15, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 15th, 2016 CONTACT: Lauren Stansbury, 402-540-1208 Email: [email protected] Kerstin Lindgren, 617-680-9862 Email: [email protected] Fair World Project to Hold “Let’s Talk Living Wage” Panel Discussion at Expo West Progressive Businesses and Organizations to Hold Industry Discussion on Movement to Raise the Minimum Wage PORTLAND, OR – Leading Fair…

Posted on April 6, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 6th 2015 CONTACT: Ryan Zinn, 907-947-6046 Email: [email protected] Ryan Fletcher, 202-641-0277 Email: [email protected] Leading Fair Trade Advocacy Organization Releases New Documentary About Reversing Climate Change through Regenerative Organic Agriculture Practices “Small-Scale Farmers Cool the Planet” Video is Center-Piece of Grassroots ‘World Fair Trade Day’ Events in the…

Posted on March 25, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 25, 2015 CONTACT: Kerstin Lindgren, 617-680-9862 Email: [email protected] Jazmín Rumbaut, 202-870-3134 Email: [email protected] Driscoll Berry Boycott and Labor Dispute Intensifies Nearly 10,000 Consumers Tell Driscoll’s: Don’t Do Business with Sakuma Brothers Farm until they Negotiate Fairly with Farmworkers PORTLAND, OR – Farmworkers at Sakuma Brothers Berry Farm…

Posted on September 8, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 9, 2014 CONTACT: Jazmín Rumbaut, 202.870.3134 Email: [email protected] Evelyn Araniva, Email: [email protected] Message to United Nations: Small Farmers Are Key to Reversing Climate Change and Feeding the World Fair Trade and Small Farming Advocates Weigh In on Climate Solutions PORTLAND, OR – Fair World Project (FWP), a campaign of the…

Posted on September 4, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 3, 2014 CONTACT: Lauren Stansbury, 402.540.1208 Email: [email protected] Aaron Kinsman, 215.589.2490 Email: [email protected] Fair World Project & Rodale Institute Host Breakout Session on Climate Change, Regenerative Organic Farming and Small Farmers Presentations & Group Dialog re: Intersection of Environmental Issues and Fair Trade to Occur at Natural Products Expo East…

Posted on June 11, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 10, 2014 CONTACT: Kerstin Lindgren, Ph: 617-680-9862 Email: [email protected] Lauren Stansbury, Ph: 402-540-1208 Email: [email protected] Advocacy Group Publishes Statement in Response to “Fair Trade Employment and Poverty Reduction” Report Fair World Project’s Formal Position Clarifies Misunderstandings of Fair Trade and Demonstrates Positive Impact of Fair Trade Models PORTLAND, OR…

Posted on April 24, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 24, 2013 CONTACT: Kerstin Lindgren, Ph: 617-680-9862 Email: [email protected] Ryan Fletcher, Ph: 202-641-0277 Email: [email protected] Fair World Project Believes that Diluted Labeling Policy Hurts Farmers, Misleads Consumers, and Creates Market Disadvantage for Truly Committed Fair Trade Brands PORTLAND, OR – Fair World Project (FWP), a project of the Organic Consumers…

Posted on September 18, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ryan Zinn, Ph: 907-947-6046 September 18, 2012 Email: [email protected] National Advertising Review Board Determines that Fair Trade USA’s “Fair Trade Certified” Labels Should Reveal Percentage of Fair Trade Content in Body Care Products Dispute Over Integrity of Fair Trade Seals will Result in Increased Transparency for Consumers on Labels, Per NARB Ruling PORTLAND, OR – Fair World Project (FWP), a campaign…

Posted on August 8, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ryan Zinn, Ph: 907-947-6046 October 19, 2011 Email: [email protected] Fair Trade USA Goes Rogue: New “Standards” Undermine Fair Trade Commitment to Farmers and Consumers Fair Trade Advocates Reject Certifier Scheme to Allow “Fair Trade” Chocolate Bars to Contain No Actual Fair Trade Cocoa, Among Other Examples […]

Posted on August 8, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ariel Vegosen 516- 732- 0579 [email protected] February 24, 2012 Adam Eidinger 202- 744- 2671 [email protected] Dedicated Fair Trade Brands Announce Major Consumer Campaign for World Fair Trade Day - May 12, 2012 More than 500 Retailer Events Planned National Contest Offers a Fair Trade Adventure to Sri Lanka PORTLAND, OR…

Posted on August 8, 2012

Fair World Project (FWP), United Students for Fair Trade (USFT) Announce Formal Partnership United States Students for Fair Trade to Join Fair World Project as a Special Campaign to Catalyze University Students for Fair Trade and Social Justice June 22, 2012, Portland Oregon: Today, the Fair World Project (FWP), Organic Consumers Association’s Fair Trade Program…