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Fair Trade News

October 12, 2009

Sam's Club expands Fair Trade banana program

by Pamela Riemenschneider

Two years after it began its fair trade banana program in about 20 stores, Sam's Club expanded the offering to more than 100.

The warehouse store, a division of Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said in a news release it has generated more than $615,000 in community development funds through $1 per box donations. TransFair USA administers the program and helps manage the funds.

Sam's Club's participation in  the Fair Trade-certified program and its above-market price premium also has helped farmers pay for environmental improvements leading to the elimination of more than 422,000 gallons of herbicide a year for participating growers in Colombia, according to the release.

The retailer offered free samples of its fair trade bananas on Oct. 9 and 10 at Sam's Club locations in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and Utah.