As you have read, Fair Trade USA has an exciting new vision called Fair Trade for All. Our goal is to double our impact by 2015.

To make that vision a reality, we’ve realized that while FLO and Fair Trade USA share the same mission, we have differing perspectives on how to reach our goals. Therefore, Fair Trade USA will separate from the FLO membership network at the end of the year. We plan to do so collaboratively with FLO and to maintain continuity for producers and business partners.

In the short-term little will change for producers or business partners. Over time, Fair Trade USA will introduce innovations that will extend the benefits of Fair Trade to millions more farmers and workers, and U.S. businesses will have more supply options, offering them more opportunities to do more good for more people. We’ll also have more resources to invest in building the Fair Trade movement, as well as the market for Fair Trade Certified products, here in the United States to generate significantly more impact for Fair Trade producers. Finally, Fair Trade USA will be assessing its business practices in an effort to make Fair Trade easier, less expensive and more scalable for our industry partners.