Fairtrade exists to change the way “conventional” trade works. Founded in 1997, Fairtrade has grown and evolved – but throughout our history, we’ve held true to our mission of promoting better prices, decent working conditions and a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries. With producer organizations holding 50 percent legal ownership in our system, farmers and workers are truly empowered with more control over their lives and our collective investments in their future. Today more than 1,800 producer organizations, representing 1.9 million farmers and workers, are the heart and foundation of the Fairtrade system.

Fairtrade International is structured as a multi-stakeholder, NGO, comprised of:

• Three Producer Networks [Africa and the Middle East; Asia-Pacific; and Latin America and the Caribbean] representing more than 840,000 coffee farmers organized in 656 cooperative organizations and cultivating more than a million hectares; and
• 21 National Fairtrade Organizations, working to open markets for more than 30,000 distinct products carrying the registered FAIRTRADE trademark around the world. As a leader in the global movement to make trade fair, Fairtrade supports and challenges businesses and governments to seek continual improvements in truly sustainable livelihoods, and connects farmers and workers with the people who buy their products.