Transfair USA Wins Fast Company Magazine and Monitor Group's Social Capitalist Award For Fourth Consecutive Year

Oakland, CA (December 18, 2007) - For the fourth year in a row, TransFair USA - the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States - was named a Social Capitalist Award winner by Fast Company magazine and the Monitor Group.California-based TransFair USA was listed among the "Top-Performing Nonprofits" in this year’s awards.  The awards recognized 45 nonprofits that use the tools of business to solve the world’s most pressing social problems - ranging from poor health care in developing nations to unequal education access, homelessness, unemployment and substance abuse in the United States - and that have demonstrated a consistent and unusually large impact on society.

"This year we’ve seen an explosion of diverse experiments, many of them engineered by one-time Wall Street heavies, that attempt to bring new capital - and capital-market dynamics - to the realm of social good," said Fast Company Contributing Writer Keith Hammonds. "Through these deals, social entrepreneurs and businesses are raising the stakes, creating both business and social impact, and changing old-style capitalism as we know it."

TransFair USA, commended for introducing a paradigm shift that enables globalization to work for small-scale farmers and farm workers in developing countries by way of its Fair Trade certification program, receives this award during a period of continued growth.  Fair Trade Certified™ coffee is the fastest-growing segment of the $12 billion U.S. specialty coffee market, more than doubling in the last two years, indicating rapid growth in consumer awareness and demand for sustainable products nationwide. Fair Trade Certified is increasingly recognized as the gold standard of social, economic and environmental certification, and TransFair USA’s pioneering approach is rapidly mainstreaming Fair Trade Certified products nationwide. 

"Today, sales of Fair Trade Certified products are growing faster than ever, from local cafés and markets, to major national chains," said Paul Rice, CEO of TransFair USA.  "This award is for all of the businesses and consumers who work to make the Fair Trade Certified model successful, and proof that being a responsible global citizen is the first step of any successful enterprise."

The winners are featured in Fast Company’s December/January 2008 issue. Complete information on this year’s Social Capitalist Award winners can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.

About TransFair USA
TransFair USA is the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade Certified products in the United States. TransFair USA audits and certifies transactions between U.S. companies offering Fair Trade Certified products and their international suppliers to guarantee that the farmers and workers producing Fair Trade Certified goods were paid fair prices and wages. TransFair USA certifies coffee, tea, herbs, vanilla, cocoa, chocolate, rice, sugar, bananas and flowers. For more information, visit www.FairTradeCertified.org 

Contact:
Anthony Marek
PR director, TransFair USA
510.663.5260 ext. 346
amarek@transfairusa.org