Fair Trade Pays Workers earned an additional $350K this year through our participation in the Fair Trade Certified™ program
The Fair Trade Certified™ program
Apparel workers who make Patagonia clothing earned an additional $350,000
is one of the first tools we’re using at
this year through our participation in the
Patagonia to raise workers’ wages,
Fair Trade Certified™ program.
improve their standard of living and move them closer to earning a living wage.
Employees at Nature USA in Los
This is how it works: We pay a
Angeles voted to take their share of the money, which equaled up to six days pay,
premium for every item that carries a
as a cash bonus to pay for such things as
Fair Trade Certified™ label. That extra
health care and college tuition for their
money goes directly to the workers at
children. At Hirdaramani in Sri Lanka,
the factory, and they decide how to
workers chose to use theirs to open a
spend it. But that’s not all. The program
day care center that provides factory
also promotes worker health and
workers with free child care, implement a
safety and social and environmental
health and sanitation program, and pay
compliance with its standards, and it
for sanitary napkins and undergarments
encourages dialogue between workers
to improve individual hygiene. And
and management. As of May 2016,
workers at MAS Leisureline, also in Sri
more than 7,000 people working in
Lanka, chose store vouchers to buy
factories that make Patagonia clothing
food, medicine, toiletries and other
benefit from the program, which has
personal items. (These indirect benefits
paid some $430,000 in premiums since
amounted to two weeks pay.)
we joined in 2014. continued on next page
Thanks to the Fair Trade Certified™ program, child care is now available at Hirdaramani’s Mihila factory in Agalawatta, Sri Lanka. Tim Davis
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environmental + social initiatives