"Fair Trade Puts People at the Forefront of Sustainability in the Dairy Sector with New Initiative"

...Fair Trade USA executes on this through the application of robust and credible social and economic standards that support farms, fisheries, and factories in a transition towards improved social welfare and environmental sustainability. Since 1998, producers in more than 45 countries have earned over $400 million in Community Development Funds through sales of Fair Trade Certified™ products, which they have used to address their communities’ greatest needs: these include clean water, education, healthcare, and environmental protection.  A cornerstone to this success has been Fair Trade USA’s Agricultural Production Standard (APS) for crop production, which was designed to be applied to a variety of crops and farm settings. 

Building upon the strong foundation of the APS, Fair Trade USA saw an opportunity apply its standard to US dairy farms to bring about positive impact...

Our initial focus will be on the human and social aspects, specifically, to working conditions and remuneration, representation, and access to service to improve health and well-being for farmers and workers. Over time, we will partner with other organizations to continuously improve upon the social aspects of the program and address other important issues related to animal welfare and environmental stewardship as we believe a multi-solution approach is best to drive holistic industry transformation...