Transfair USA

Filing Period

Jan 1, 2011 to Dec 31, 2011

Signed

Oct 16, 2012

Return Version

2011v1.2

Gross Receipts

$10,534,596

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Marketing, communication, and education:fair trade usa works to increase u.s. Consumer demand for fair trade certified products by educating consumers about the importance of buying fair trade products and growing the fair trade movement.fair trade usa's annual fair trade month brings together brands, retailers, consumers, and media for a month-long campaign to promote fair trade. Grassroots events, producer tours, media relations, online marketing campaigns, and distributer promotions combine to galvanize supporters and build awareness. October 2011 marked the eighth annual fair trade month in the united states, commemorated with a major awareness campaign. Online communities play a critical role in fair trade usa's efforts to raise demand for fair trade certified products. By the end of 2011, fair trade usa's social networks had over 67,000 fans on facebook and over 12,000 followers on twitter. Finally, fair trade usa launched the fair trade towns campaign in 2009 to mobilize cities and towns across the country to raise consumer awareness, increase sales of fair trade products, and promote fair trade via local media. By the end of 2011, there were over 26 declared fair trade towns and over 50 active fair trade towns campaigns in the u.s. Our fair trade universities campaign is a natural outgrowth of the fair trade towns campaign and encourages students to raise awareness about fair trade on their college campuses.

Activity 3

Certification: both new and existing fair trade product categories expanded in 2011, revealing increased demand in the u.s. Market for fair trade items across the board. Product categories that included new fair trade certified products in 2011 included produce, vanilla, spices, herbs and extracts, and apparel and linens.fair trade usa drove strong growth in several key product categories in 2011.fair trade usa certified more than 100 million pounds of fair trade coffee, with 52 percent of those imports also certified organic. The majority of food categories showed impressive growth year-over-year, including cocoa (156%), tea (22%), sugar (31%), and vanilla/spices (108%).2011 showed growth across nearly every country and fresh produce product. Notably, 2011 was the first time that fair trade bell peppers, cucumbers and bananas from mexico were imported into the united states. These imports generated nearly $40,000 in premium funds for mexican growers & farm workers during the 2011 harvest. As a result of u.s. Imports of fair trade certified produce, nearly $1.8 million in fair trade premiums for community development reached farming communities during 2011. This figure represents an increase of 41 percent over 2010. While colombia remains the largest origin for fair trade certified produce imported into the u.s., stronger import growth in other origins is diversifying the sources of fair trade produce for the u.s. Market.

Filer

EIN

41-1848081