Tag Archives: Independent Smallholders Standard

244. FTUSA releases Independent Smallholders Standard

2012-02-13 Comments Off on 244. FTUSA releases Independent Smallholders Standard

Fair Trade USA has released a draft of its Independent Smallholders Standard (ISS) along with a four-page primer, officially opening the period of public review and comment on the way it proposes to bring smallholder farmers not currently organized into cooperatives into the U.S. Fair Trade market for the first time.   I will be conferring […]

243. FTUSA’s Independent Smallholders Standard: Periodic table of the acronyms

Comments Off on 243. FTUSA’s Independent Smallholders Standard: Periodic table of the acronyms

The Independent Smallholders Standard (ISS) released by Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) is shot through with acronyms — 35 by my count.  This periodic table of the acronyms is an essential companion to the Standard.   – – – – – Read other posts related to the FTUSA Independent Smallholders Standard.  

242. FTUSA’s Independent Smallholders Standard: The criteria

Comments Off on 242. FTUSA’s Independent Smallholders Standard: The criteria

The Fair Trade USA Independent Smallholders Standard includes 135 requirements.  Here is a visual representation that suggests they are focused primarily on empowerment, social responsibility and environmental stewardship. (If you haven’t already done so, I would suggest downloading the Periodic Table of the Acronyms — an essential resource that will help you make sense of […]

241. FTUSA’s Independent Smallholders Standard: Now and later

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In its draft Independent Smallholders Standard, Fair Trade USA adopts a familiar approach, identifying minimum criteria that participants must meet to qualify for certification initially, as well as progress criteria they must fulfill over time.  These graphs show what farmers and the organizations supporting them have to do now get certified, and what they can […]

240. FTUSA’s Independent Smallholders Standard: The empowerment agenda

Comments Off on 240. FTUSA’s Independent Smallholders Standard: The empowerment agenda

Opponents of FTUSA’s Fair Trade for All initiative have focused in their public communications on the participation of coffee estates in the U.S. Fair Trade market, and characterized their resistance as a stand for smallholders.  They have mostly ignored the fact that FT4All also opens the door to independent smallholder farmers.  On the rare occasions […]