Comments on: Rainforest Alliance Is Not Fair Trade

By: Roland

Roland — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 11:22:22 +0000

In reply to D. Croteau. That would work if it was mandatory for products to have both, it is not the case, so people can still be exploited, while the producer has a fancy logo on their packaging, so complementary, not currently unfortunately.

By: Jerrozolim

Jerrozolim — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 06:11:57 +0000

Rainforest alliance is a gimmick to make people believe they’re spending money eco- consciously, when in fact it’s all a farce.

By: Hamish Taylor

Hamish Taylor — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 18:01:25 +0000

Why don’t you do the right thing and link to the independent ITC Standards Map available at http://www.sustainabilitymap.org which shows the similarities and differences among 260+ standards. It is this proliferation of standards who have effectively competed for market share, creating duplication, sowing the seeds of confusion and leading to a mess of wasted effort.
The Standards Map shows the inadequacy of FairTrade standards in the areas of environmental protection, Biodiversity and Climate Change compared to Rainforest Alliance but I notice that you don’t want to mention those important differences…
“Holier than thou” attitudes from standards that create cost-of-compliance and chain-of-custody audits and therefore add bureaucracy and cost do NOT service farmers’ interests and is why certification is no longer enough (if it ever was) to stand for anything meaningful!

By: KJB

KJB — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 12:50:02 +0000

I don’t know why two good guys are fighting each other instead of joining forces to ensure certification meets both sets of criteria, good for Earth and good for us?!

By: Katie Cooper

Katie Cooper — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 15:38:41 +0000

Is it unreasonable to ask that organisations like Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance look after both things: people and the planet?
If there does need to be separate entities, each to look after a different aspect of sustainability then should we not ask, as consumers, that products need to meet all standards of sustainability – Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance (or whatever they may call themselves now and in the future).
We need to love people (although some of them may be foolish, flawed or disappointing) and we need to love our planet – it’s a beautiful place and animals, albeit ‘red in tooth and claw’, are wondrous and awe-inspiring, too. Let’s not have one without the other.

By: Jorge

Jorge — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 21:16:57 +0000

Let’s say that you are a poor farmer with little or no resources and you barely survive the season.
Would you follow a quality standard or do you cheat the process? To support a standard is expensive and even big companies with big pockets are unable to fulfill. You can’t expect any quality of a poor farmer. To think the opposite is only wishful thinking and it is not a reality.
Ergo, Rainforest Certification is bluff if the ecology measures are not followed or (conclusion of) social measures.

By: Jay

Jay — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 16:48:08 +0000

fair trade doesn’t actually have anything to do with the environment and on Zavida coffee beans it explains what the Rainforest Alliance certifies and says otherwise but their trueness isn’t certified so technically everything they “certify” could be a lie so how do we know they actually care about the people who spend their lives planting and harvesting coffee beans for all we know they just want farmers to respect the environment so they say they’ll help them with health and education but they don’t.

By: paul siemering

paul siemering — Sat, 30 May 2015 02:50:31 +0000

There is no reason Rainforest could not do both. this report mentions a case where they have certified growers that are committing unfair labor practices. why couldn’t they find growers who are good to the foredsts and also fair to their workers

By: D. Croteau

D. Croteau — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:30:54 +0000

Rainforest Alliance is not Fair Trade?
So what?
Fair Trade is not Organic and nobody is asking to forget about Fair Trade and just choose Organic products.

Fair Trade is primary about people not the environment. Maybe as a secondary aspect it tries to have good environmental practices but that is not the main focus of the organization. The main focus of Fair Trade is to alleviate poverty by ensuring that farmers/workers get compensated equitably for their work.

Rainforest Alliance’s primary goal is about conserving biodiversity, i.e. the main focus on this organization is about the environment.

It is not a questions of Rainforest Alliance vs. Fair Trade. Both of them are complementary.

Thank you.