Name: Domestic Fair Trade Association
What They Do: The Domestic Fair Trade Association (DFTA) is a thought leader on domestic fair trade and a crucial advocate for workers rights, fair prices for farmers, and environmental sustainability in the American and Canadian agricultural system. They promote, educate, and advocate for an agricultural production system that meets sixteen domestic fair trade principles that have been identified by diverse stakeholders throughout the agricultural supply chain. As part of their mission, they facilitate connections between agricultural sectors in order to build resilient communities and improve food production in order to ensure that the agricultural system is healthy, just, and sustainable.
How They Do It: The DFTA is a membership-based organization with 35 members spanning five stakeholder groups along the food chain: farmers, farmworkers, retailers, intermediaries (manufacturers, processors, and distributors), and NGOs.
Mission: The DFTA’s purpose is to promote and protect the integrity of domestic fair trade by fostering ways for American and Canadian farmers and farmworkers to work with like-minded traders, retailers and consumers in order to build supply chains dedicated to the principles of fairness and equity.
Latest project/campaign: In 2018 DFTA, in partnership with the Center for Fair and Alternative Trade at Colorado State University, released the first-ever comprehensive report on consumer market patterns and awareness of domestic fair trade messaging. Part one of the report presents reviews of ten key academic articles while part two offers an analysis of media coverage of consumer patterns and awareness of domestic trade fair. Part three is a summary of consumer and market research on domestic fair trade.
Major Funding: Members provide the majority of their funding.
Profit/nonprofit: Nonprofit
Annual Revenue: N/A
Interesting fact about how they are working to positively affect the food system: The DFTA draws on both the international fair trade movement and the organic movement to advocate for a more sustainable and equitable market. They advocate for and practice a fair, equitable, and sustainable agricultural system that supports family-scale farms, farmer-led initiatives such as co-ops, just conditions for workers, and organic agriculture.
FACT SHEET:
Location: P.O. Box 210638, Brooklyn, New York
Core Programs: Domestic fair trade; food justice; farmer and worker support
Number of staff: N/A
Number of volunteers: N/A
Areas served: North America
Year Started: 2008
Director: Erika Inwald
Contact Information: (347) 589-3398 or info@thedfta.org
Website: https://www.thedfta.org
