Fair Trade USA® is a non-profit organisation and the leading certifier of fair trade products in North America. Its trusted Fair Trade Certified™ seal on a product signifies that it was made according to rigorous fair trade standards that promote sustainable livelihoods and safe working conditions, protection of the environment, and strong, transparent supply chains. Rather than creating dependency on aid, Fair Trade USA’s model empowers farmers, workers, and fishermen to fight poverty and earn additional money to improve their communities.
Find out more about Fair Trade USA® at - https://www.fairtradecertified.org/
ISEAL Code Compliant organisations have successfully adhered to our previous Codes of Good Practice (Standard-Setting, Impacts and Assurance) and have committed to aligning their systems to the ISEAL Code. Independent evaluations against the ISEAL Code commenced in October 2025, and organisations must demonstrate full adherence to the ISEAL Code by October 2029 to maintain their ISEAL Code Compliant status.
Please note, all ISEAL Code Compliant members are also ISEAL Community Members.
The ISEAL Code came into effect on 1 March 2024. Organisations that had adhered to the previous Codes of Good Practice were granted an 18-month transition period to align their system(s) with the ISEAL Code. For further information, visit: What is ISEAL Code Compliant.
From October 2025, independent evaluations against the ISEAL Code will commence in accordance with the Independent Evaluation Procedure. ISEAL Code Compliant organisations are required to successfully close an evaluation across the full scope of the ISEAL Code. This can be done through a single, full-scope evaluation or through phased specific-scope evaluations. Evaluations must be completed within four years of the end of the transition period, no later than October 2029, to maintain ISEAL Code Compliant status.
Details on the evaluation schedule will be made publicly available.
As a result of this independent evaluation, Fair Trade USA have made the following improvements to how they set their standards:
- Updated their Translation Request Procedure and Work Instruction for Standard Major Revisions documents.
- The Standards Committee Terms of Reference were updated.
- The Stakeholder Identification List for the Factory Product Standard update has been updated.
As a result of this independent evaluation, Fair Trade USA are in the process of making the following improvements to their assurance system:
- Updating their Quality Manual to reflect the different assurance structures and associated oversight mechanisms utilised by Fair Trade USA
- Updating their systems to ensure that it is clear who is responsible for the functionality and improvement of their assurance system
- Working with certification bodies to ensure that there is a publicly available list of operations certified by Fair Trade USA
No areas for improvement were identified during this evaluation.
ISEAL Code Compliant members provide publicly available reports that give a comprehensive and accessible overview of a member's system.
ISEAL System Overview Fair Trade USA 2022