Press Releases

TransFair Press Release

06/26/2006

Fair Trade Certified™ Vanilla Now Available in U.S. Market
Fair Trade Needed to Stabilize Tumultuous Market, Protect Farmers & Environment
Extract will be on Shelves in Time for Baking Season!

Oakland, CA (June 26, 2006) – Fair Trade just got a little sweeter.  TransFair USA – the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade goods in the United States – has introduced Fair Trade Certified™ vanilla to the U.S. market – the largest vanilla market in the world – offering countless ingredient options for baked goods, sodas, candies, syrups, ice cream, soy milk and perfumes.  Fair Trade Certified™ vanilla ensures that small-scale farmers receive a fair price and use sustainable farming practices, stabilizing vanilla-producing communities and protecting the environment.

The vanilla market has been tumultuous since 2000, when environmental disasters and political turmoil in Madagascar and Indonesia cut supply so drastically that the world price skyrocketed.  As a result, many companies switched to synthetic vanilla flavoring, just as new vanilla farmers in Africa and Latin America emerged eager to capitalize on an inflated market.  Production increases combined with a drop in demand caused prices to plummet almost 90 percent since 2003, when vanilla prices peaked at around $500/kg.  While the vanilla industry is still recovering from devastating price fluctuations, many farmers are struggling to sell their crops, some even uprooting or abandoning their vanilla plants.  This option is devastating for farmers who have invested considerable time establishing their crops – vanilla is perhaps the world’s most labor-intensive crop with the lowest yield, taking an average of five years between first planting the vine and producing aged extract. 

Most vanilla is shade-grown, and integrated with other crops.  However, this practice could soon change.  A new sun-tolerant variety of vanilla has been introduced that may force sustainable, small-scale vanilla producers out of business, and further contribute to deforestation and erosion.  This new variety of vanilla may also further depress prices by flooding the market with even more supply.  Fair Trade Certification standards require environmental stewardship, giving value to sustainable, shade-grown vanilla.

 “We are thrilled to answer growing demand from new and existing industry partners eager to add Fair Trade Certified vanilla to their products – the possibilities are endless with such a ubiquitous product,” said TransFair USA President and CEO Paul Rice.  “Much like with the coffee crisis in the 1990s, the vanilla market needs Fair Trade right now more than ever – to stabilize the market, give value to sustainable, small-scale vanilla farming, and allow farmers to continue cultivating a crop they have invested so much of their resources to establish.”

The Fair Trade Certified™ label is a simple way for consumers to know that their products were produced under socially, environmentally and economically sustainable conditions.   Farmers and farm workers in Fair Trade Certified producer organizations are guaranteed above-market prices for their crops and fair wages; have direct market linkage with international buyers who offer reliable, long-term contracts and pre-financing; use sustainable farm management systems that protect the environment, and prohibit forced and child labor, harmful agrochemicals and GMOs; and have the right to organize and democratically decide how to best re-invest their Fair Trade premium in community and business development projects.

Currently Fair Trade Certified vanilla is available from producer groups in India, Sri Lanka, Uganda and the Comoros Islands, with other origins to follow.  Fair Trade Certified vanilla extract will be available to consumers this fall, and possibly products flavored with Fair Trade Certified vanilla such as yogurt and soy milk.  For more information about the Fair Trade Certified Vanilla Program, contact Maya Spaull at mspaull@transfairusa.org. 

About TransFair USA
TransFair USA, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, is one of twenty members of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), and the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States.  TransFair USA audits transactions between U.S. companies offering Fair Trade Certified™ products and the international suppliers from whom they source, in order to guarantee that the farmers and workers behind Fair Trade Certified goods were paid fair, above-market prices and wages.  FLO annually inspections producer organizations to ensure that strict socioeconomic development criteria is met using increased Fair Trade revenue, in addition to sustainable farm management, environmental stewardship and democratic decision making.  For more information, visit www.transfairusa.org. 

CONTACT:
Nicole Chettero
Public Relations Manager
TransFair USA
510-663-5260, ext. 357
nchettero@transfairusa.org