WH A T ’ S I N S T O R E
fair-trade success story — the process is
simplerbecausecoffee (likecocoa) isacom-
modity. Growers can be paid a fair market
price for their goods, one that can be ap-
plieduniversally.TheSpecialtyCoffeeAsso-
ciation of America estimates that in 2006,
3.3 percent of coffee sales in the United
Stateswere fair trade (TransFairUSAcalcu-
lates this at a retail value of $730million),
thanks to support frommegaplayers such
asMcDonald’s.Twoyearsbefore that, those
figureswere 1.7percent and$369million.
Clothing is more complicated because
it is not a commodity. Everyone, from the
cotton growers to the factory workers who
InFair Indigo’s first 30
days, it had sales to all
50 states, andnot just
to the urban areas.
hem the pant legs, needs to be paid a liv-
ing wage, and the cost of the end product
differs, based on a number of subjective
criteria suchasdesigner labels. So far, there
hasn’tbeenaMcDonald’sequivalent in fair-
tradeapparel. If acompany like theGapde-
cided toconvertall its factories to fair trade,
the category of fair-trade apparel would
certainly get aboost. ButEvans says that at
present, therearenotenough fair-trade fac-
tories tohandle that kindof volume.
It’s impossible topinpoint theexactvalue
of all fair-trade products, partly because
there is no U.S. certification of fair-trade
apparel.But estimatesof thedomesticnon-
agricultural fair-trade market range from
$200million to$225million.
“I feel the U.S. is slow to start but will
move at a faster pace to bring fair trade
to scale,” says Stacey Edgar, president of
GlobalGirlfriend, aColoradofirm that sells
fair-trade goods made by disadvantaged
women. Edgar became aware of fair-trade
issues after her mother-in-law, the former
first lady of Illinois, told her about the
working conditions she’d seenwhen travel-
ing todeveloping countries.
Bassestimates that in thenextdecade, 10
to 15 percent of apparel sales in theUnited
Stateswill be from fair-trade clothing. And
Fair Indigo has competitors who are help-
ing tomove sales in thatdirection.U2 rock-
star-turned-activist Bono launched Edun
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