Fair Trade Federation

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Fair Trade Federation" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines for companies and organizations. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. Find sources: "Fair Trade Federation" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Fair Trade Federation" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (August 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Fair Trade Federation (FTF) is a nonprofit trade association that provides support to and promotes North American businesses that they identify as being fully committed to the principles of fair trade.^[1] In this vein, it describes itself as "part of the global fair trade movement, promoting a system that aims to pay fair wages and create long-term, direct trading relationships based on dialogue, transparency, equity and respect."^[2]

The FTF began through alliances formed in the late 1970s when individual alternative trade organizations began holding yearly conferences for groups working in fair trade. In 1994, the group incorporated formally as the North American Alternative Trade Organization (NAATO) and, the following year, changed its name to the Fair Trade Federation.^[3] Since then, FTF has focused on supporting businesses aligned with its fair trade ideology in order to expand markets for artisans and farmers around the world.

FTF has been an active member of the World Fair Trade Organization (formerly IFAT) for many years.^[1]

FTF states that its members are required to commit to the following nine principles in all of their transactions:^[1]

• Create opportunities for economically and socially marginalized producers
• Develop transparent and accountable relationships
• Build capacity
• Promote fair trade
• Payment of a fair price
• Support safe and empowering working conditions
• Ensure the rights of children
• Cultivate environmental stewardship
• Respect cultural identity

FTF members undergo a rigorous screening process to try to ensure adherence to the organization's principles.^[4] The Federation does not certify individual products, but instead evaluates an entire business for its commitment to Fair Trade. FTF members include retailers, wholesalers of agricultural and handmade goods, cafés, and coffee shops.^[5]

FTF runs annual conferences and offers resources to help entrepreneurs begin and strengthen their fair trade operations. It provides business owners with a forum through which to network with other fair trade businesses and raises awareness about the perceived importance of fair trade.^[6]

In Boston on September 10–12, 2010, FTF cosponsored the Fair Trade Futures Conference—the largest fair trade conference in North America.

• World Fair Trade Organization (formerly known as IFAT)
• Equiterre
• Green America
• World Fair Trade Organization - Asia
• International Resources for Fairer Trade (IRFT) India
• Cooperation for Fair Trade in Africa
• World Fair Trade Organization - Europe
• La Asociacion Latinoamericana de Comercio Justo^[1]
• Fair World Project

• The Fair Trade Federation, official website
• FTF's Member Directory