Dear Supporters and Friends,

Warm greetings from TransFair USA! I hope I am finding you well. I am just back from an exhilarating five weeks in the field. First, with my family in my second home of Nicaragua, and then visiting Fair Trade rice and coffee farmers in Thailand, and Indonesia with business and philanthropic partners. It is always a deep honor to see Fair Trade farmers and their cooperatives in action and particularly heartening to see the impact of Fair Trade up close. I couldn’t think of a more inspiring way to kick off the year.

In Surin, Thailand, one of the poorest provinces of the country, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, and I were hosted by our Fair Trade rice partner Alter Eco. There we were welcomed into a deeply spiritual community of farmers with a profound connection to the earth. Among other projects, they have used their Fair Trade premium to start the first organic farmer’s market in their region and developed an organics school for young farmers so they may act as stewards for their land for generations to come.

In the isolated region of Sumatra, Indonesia, Theresa Faye-Bustillos, Executive Director of the Levi-Strauss Foundation, Board members and business partners and I were hosted by the PPKGO coffee cooperative and the area’s renowned “green” Governor Yusuf Irwandi (who TransFair co-hosted in San Francisco last Fall). While the area was electrified, they didn’t have a potable water supply until the coop chose to use their Fair Trade premium to build a water system for the entire community. We were also impressed by the natal care clinic they built that government doctors staffed – a great example of how Fair Trade can enable strong public-private partnerships.

Honestly, I could spend hours sharing all the adventures and ideas for collaboration that were born on these trips. But I also want to share more good news with you in these pages including the recent minimum Fair Trade price increase for coffee and an update on our big Valentine’s Day Flowers launch. We have exciting new partnerships to share, including Tully’s Coffee and BART, San Francisco’s public transportation system; and a ground-breaking technical assistance project with USAID, WalMart, Café Bom Dia and rural Brazilian coffee cooperatives.

I am particularly grateful to highlight a few of our generous individual, foundation and corporate donors including John and Linda Daniel of Kensington, Maryland, who hosted a series of successful events resulting in close to $15,000; the Levi Strauss Foundation’s 2007 grants totaling $160,000; and Gourmet Magazine and Manheimer Fragrances who invested in the gift of Fair Trade this holiday season. Their creativity, dedication and leadership are just a few examples of what so many of you are doing to spread the word and expand the benefits of Fair Trade to millions of farming families around the globe.

With deep respect and gratitude, Paul Rice President and CEO

TransFair USA and Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) announced in December that the Fair Trade guaranteed minimum washed Arabica coffee price will be increased by $0.05 per pound as of June 2008. The new price of $1.25 will be good through at least 2010, when another review will take place. This increase expresses to producers that regardless of what may happen in the volatile coffee market, TransFair USA and our international partners will continue to champion a fair price for their goods and labor. Farmers and farm workers around the developing world should never have to sell their livelihoods wholesale and at the expense of their right to healthcare, education, development, and environmental sustainability. Organic and social premiums were last increased by five cents each in mid-2007.

Like most commodity markets, the world coffee price faces wide fluctuation and can plummet rapidly, dragging coffee producers into severe hardship. TransFair USA’s roots run to a crisis in the coffee market when the price growers could hope to receive for their coffee was as low as $0.60 per pound – well below the cost of production, much less the cost of living with dignity. Stemming from this, FLO and TransFair USA presented a system to ensure producers were paid a fair price for their product: an international minimum floor price, high enough to cover the cost of sustainable production, that offers protection from price fluctuations and depressions.

The price increase is in response to increasing costs faced by producers. TransFair USA sought guidance on the increase from our coffee cooperatives through the Coffee Producer Advisory Council (CCC). The CCC, established in 2006, is a key way producer stakeholders can directly communicate their needs to TransFair USA and FLO. In February, we will be hosting the fourth meeting of the CCC here at our offices in Oakland, CA. Many of our partner producers are able to participate in these international gatherings through TransFair sponsorships – possible through the generous support of our donors.

Click here for further information about the price increase.

The multi-billion dollar flower industry sees as much as 50% of its business roll through on two single days: Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. With our recent launch of Fair Trade Certified flowers into the US market, we are working around the clock to rally retail support and spread consumer awareness so that February 14 would springboard further demand and market access for Mother’s Day.  We are excited to share that Sam’s Club Online and 1-800-Flowers are now offering Fair Trade flowers nationwide. Additionally, several regional supermarket chains have picked up the flowers and more locations are planning to have Fair Trade product in stores by Valentine’s Day.  Please stay posted to our website to see the latest updates.

In January, our Public Relations team hosted a Fair Trade Flowers Media Tour to Ecuador with key media contacts to see the benefits of Fair Trade up close. We trust that this will result in strong media coverage over the upcoming months. Click here to see inspiring footage from the tour.  Additionally, grassroots organizers are campaigning for a Fair Trade Valentine’s Day, combining Fair Trade Certified chocolate and flowers. The message is gaining momentum through local Fair Trade coalitions, online social networking sites, and point-of-sale materials. Small grants have been made available to grassroots organizers to support their work.

Although awareness is still building, UKROPS, the first retail branch to stock Fair Trade Certified flowers, told us in November that they were already selling around 300 bouquets a week and expected a significant increase with intensified marketing outreach surrounding Valentine’s Day. Giant-Ahold has incorporated Fair Trade education into the Floral Excellence training for all Floral Staff – this is an enormous boon to our point-of-sale education opportunities. Monica Woo, President of Consumer Floral Brand at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM says, “We are overjoyed to expand our offering with these exciting new ‘green’ products.” They intend in increasing their offerings for Mother’s Day.

Visit our beautiful new website exclusively for Fair Trade Certified flowers for more information, profiles of flower plantations, frequently asked questions, and a directory of where to shop. Also, for more information about the benefits of Fair Trade Certified flowers and the women who produce them, read this article from the last donor newsletter.

On January 31, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Tully’s Coffee, the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition, and TransFair USA offered as many as 350,000 Bay Area commuters the opportunity to choose “a better life for farmers, a cleaner environment and a more sustainable commute.” Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition volunteers and TransFair USA staff greeted morning commuters at six stations to thank passengers for riding BART with coupons for a free Fair Trade Certified espresso drink and a half pound of beans from Tully’s Coffee.

This event – the first of four planned quarterly for 2008 – is an exciting model of public-private partnerships facilitated by TransFair’s unique role in the Fair Trade movement. We launched the idea of massive Fair Trade Certified coffee giveaways earlier in the year to generate consumer awareness and boost sales for our retailers. Meanwhile, BART has a history of “BART Rider Thank You Days,” recognizing the thousands of commuters who think green every day, partnering with local businesses to offer free or discounted services to riders. We introduced the idea of promoting Fair Trade and they were very enthusiastic. When Tully’s Coffee demonstrated its commitment to sustainability by converting all 150 stores to 100% Fair Trade Certified espresso drinks, and introduced a completely compostable cup in September, an ideal partnership was born.

Locally, the event is a fresh injection of life for the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition, as 60 new volunteers were recruited for the event and another 40-60 will be recruited for next quarter. This dynamic alliance offers an excellent model for building awareness that can be brought to any region with public transportation and a vision to promote sustainability. The partnership reflects our belief that simple choices – drinking Fair Trade morning espresso, using compostable cups, and choosing public transportation – can have far-reaching impact on the quality of life for people and the planet.

This quarter marks the highly-anticipated launch of TransFair USA’s three-year private-public Responsible Sourcing Partnership (RSP) with USAID/Brazil, Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart, Brazilian coffee roaster Café Bom Dia, and rural cooperatives to improve product quality and move toward organic production in Brazil. TransFair USA’s technical assistance arm, Global Producer Services, facilitated more than $1.9 million invested in the project.  In addition to benefiting thousands of Brazilian farmers, the RSP offers a replicable model for future cross-sector collaborations and TransFair is eager to see future, similar partnerships that benefit farmers, industry, consumers, and the environment.

TransFair USA and Global Producer Services (GPS) employ a unique market-based approach to economic development. Unlike traditional international development projects that focus on supply, GPS identifies demand in international markets and designs a technical assistance program that enables small producers to meet that demand. All GPS projects are structured around three goals: improving product quality; enhancing cooperative organizational capacity; and increasing marketing communication and opportunities for the producers.

The Challenge & The Opportunity
Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world, with more than one-third of global supply.  However, due to a combination of historically inconsistent quality and insufficient training and equipment, producers in Brazil garner very low prices for their coffee and face massive price volatility. Many Brazilian growers have such unpredictable incomes and product quality that they do not qualify for the credit needed to improve their production and pull themselves out of poverty.

The state of Minas Gerais, where the project is based, produces more than any other coffee-growing country in the world. Six cooperatives already Fair Trade Certified and several more close to certification in Minas Gerais have been selected for the RSP, ranging in size from only 40 producers to nearly 2,000. Because they are geographically close, the technical assistance team can coordinate their needs and share information among the participating coops efficiently. The cooperatives are directly involved with the project’s design and were asked, along with industry partners, to identify their greatest needs, ensuring none are overlooked and that the highest priorities are met in a timely fashion.

A Strategic Partnership
In May 2006, Wal-Mart – the largest retailer in the U.S., commanding 25% of the U.S. grocery market – and its subsidiary, Sam’s Club, approached TransFair USA about plans to expand the volume of Fair Trade coffee through their Brazilian dedicated roaster and exporter, Café Bom Dia. Sam’s Club has already distinguished itself by offering several Fair Trade Certified products, including flowers – available online nationwide. With this partnership and the robust marketing backing it on the retail side, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club will bring Fair Trade to more shelves of more stores nationwide.

Café Bom Dia, founded in 1978, is a significant player in the coffee market, with top-selling products in supermarkets throughout Brazil and private labels around the world. Roasting close to origin, Café Bom Dia transfers a significant portion of the value chain to Brazil, rather than the country of export. The cost savings realized by roasting at origin then enables Café Bom Dia to price Fair Trade coffee more competitively.

With the industry partners lined up, TransFair USA sought USAID’s partnership and additional financial investment. Operating for over 40 years in developing countries around the world, USAID has recently begun focusing on projects that emphasize social and environmental responsibility through the pooled efforts of cross-sector partnerships.

Progress and Plans
Although the work plan for the Responsible Sourcing Partnership was just finalized in December, the project is well underway. A program has been set up this quarter to distribute small grants to cooperatives ($1,000-$5,000 per grant) for initial infrastructure improvements. Farmers are being solicited for low-cost, high-impact proposals, such as cement drying patios, which enable farmers to quickly improve the quality of their product with a simple technology upgrade. This grant-making burst at the beginning of the project improves the base-line capacity of producers, which the rest of the project will develop.

Currently, an on-location project manager has been equipped to serve as the primary liaison between the US partners and project offices in Minas Gerais and São Paulo. Field staff are being recruited and trained to conduct appropriate education on quality, capacity-building, and marketing. To ensure the project stays effective, on-course and collaborative, there is a quarterly meeting of the steering committee, comprised of representatives from each partner group.

To achieve the three project goals, GPS is starting with the implementation and evaluation of quality improvement training. Later this year, the training will shift to emphasize governance and capacity-building. To jump-start market opportunities, representatives will attend the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) twentieth annual conference this May in Minneapolis. This will be followed by targeted marketing initiatives and a big advertising push with Fair Trade Month in October.

Each farmer who participates in the partnership will have the opportunity to submit samples to Café Bom Dia, and to gain access to the US market through Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart stores. This project is an excellent example of the unique and powerful players our Global Producer Services team is able to facilitate to meet our core mission: to empower and enrich the lives of family farmers and workers around the world. For more information on other technical assistance projects, go to: www.fairtradeimpact.org

With a 2006 grant to TransFair USA and a follow-up in 2008, the Levi Strauss Foundation is generously supporting a feasibility study to determine how Fair Trade standards can be interpreted for the garment industry. Given the harsh conditions of many clothing factories in developing countries, TransFair USA is eager to introduce Fair Trade Certification so the benefits of Fair Trade can be extended to factory workers, and so industry partners can demonstrate their commitment to fairness and social responsibility.

In addition, the Levi Strauss Foundation has awarded a marketing capacity building grant, helping us to bring Fair Trade to the American mainstream in a meaningful way. The program will build our marketing and communications capacities—through market research and a review of our branding efforts—in close collaboration with licensees and external advisors.

TransFair is extremely honored to have been awarded $60,000 for the on-going feasibility study, and an additional $100,000 for the capacity building grant. TransFair USA sends its sincere gratitude to the Levi Strauss Foundation for playing a key role in the work we do to make sustainable sourcing possible.

In October, John and Linda Daniel of Kensington, Maryland, hosted a series of events for TransFair USA, with truly inspiring outcomes. With the assistance of TransFair staff, they organized over 35 hosts for a chocolate and coffee tasting fundraiser and raised nearly $15,000. Additionally, they invited a TransFair representative to speak to their Unitarian Church community on the role of Fair Trade Certification – resulting in multiple donations, a Fair Trade holiday gift project, conversion of a local coffee shop to using Fair Trade and incorporating Fair Trade products as a fundraiser in their church.  They didn’t stop there; they also engaged their book club to watch and discuss Black Gold and inspired the formation of a Fair Trade club at a local community college. We are humbled and inspired to have such dedicated and talented donor activists to spread the word about Fair Trade.

We asked them to share what they thought made their efforts so successful, and they responded, “Personal invitations from us really made the difference for people to come forward and get involved. We had a very high rate of participation of those we asked to co-host or attend these events.” They added, “Buying Fair Trade is easy to do and is a way to get involved politically, socially, and environmentally.” We are deeply grateful for John and Linda’s leadership and would love to share more about their organizing success with others of you who are interested in hosting an event in your community.

We are delighted to thank Gourmet Magazine and Manheimer Fragrances for their holiday donations and tributes to TransFair USA. Gourmet Magazine, as many may know, is a household name in the gourmet food world and is an important and vocal leader in the slow and sustainable food movement. We are honored to have their support and look forward to future partnerships to share the stories of Fair Trade farmers and communities from around the world.

Manheimer Fragrances, on the other hand, may be invisible to the average consumer but is a Fair Trade superstar and has been a licensee for two years. Our Ingredients Director, Cate Baril, calls them, “extraordinary Fair Trade detectives.” She adds, “Without them, the world would not have Fair Trade ingredients.” Thank you, Manheimer and Gourmet, for your commitment to just and equitable trade relationships and exercising your leadership through Fair Trade.

Throughout the holiday season, everyone here was inspired by and grateful for the “In Honor Of” donations we received. Within the first few hours of launching the program on our website, we received our first donation, and more continued steadily into January. To all of you who gave, thank you! We were touched by the messages you sent to your loved ones and the hope you sent to farmers and farm workers around the world. Donors gave to children and parents, lovers and friends, neighbors and coworkers with messages like these:

We give this gift in honor of how hard you work and how much you give. We’re so proud of you! Love, Mom & Dad

We invite all of you to let us help you pay tribute to your friends and loved ones on birthdays, special occasions or just to show you care all year round. Click here to learn more.

Consider these new and creative ways to contribute to Fair Trade:

• Donate stock to TransFair USA.  Did you know you can donate a gift of stock to TransFair USA?  Giving stock is a great way to give and easy to arrange.  Contact Ginger Daniel in the Development Department at (510) 663-5260 or at development@transfairusa.org
• Host awareness building and fundraising parties.  Fair Trade House Parties, film screenings and product tastings are great ways to raise awareness and educate others in your community about the importance of Fair Trade. We offer tools and materials to make your event successful and fun as well as instructions to help you incorporate fundraising. Be sure to register your event with us so we can support your efforts.
• Shop and search online using the novel tools on TransFair USA’s website.  What do Evo, Good Search, Freepledge, and Econcious Market have in common?  They all donate proceeds to TransFair USA at no cost to you.  Simply use these tools to shop and search online as you normally would.  Read more about how to use these websites here.

We're always working to expand and grow the impacts of Fair Trade on farming communities around the globe as soon as we possibly can. We need your help to do this. Please contact us to learn more about our strategic new projects that would deeply benefit from your financial investment, including our:

•New Fair Trade Product Launches
•Pilot Studies on New Products - Garments, Diamonds and more
•Market Linkage for Farmers and International Buyers
•Direct Technical Assistance for Farmers in the Field
•Building the Fair Trade Movement in the U.S.

As a non-profit, we are dependent on the generous support of individuals and foundations like you to advance this critical work. We are incredibly grateful. We hope you will continue your financial commitment to TransFair USA. Donate today!

If you have any questions about our work or how your donations are put to use, do not hesitate to contact the Development Department at: 510-663-5260 or development@transfairusa.org.

TransFair USA enables sustainable development and community empowerment by cultivating a more equitable global trade model that benefits farmers, workers, consumers, industry and the earth. We achieve our mission by certifying and promoting Fair Trade products.
www.transfairusa.org