Check out the press release below from DFTA member, Institute for Marketecology, about their first domestic fair trade endeavor in North America!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8/8/2014
Contact: Kerry Hughes kerry.hughes@imo-control.org
FIRST DOMESTIC FAIR FOR LIFE PROJECT IN NORTH AMERICA
Citadelle obtains fair trade certification thanks to the continued commitment and cooperation of its members.
Weinfelden, 07.08.2014 – In 2014, Fair for Life Fair Trade further increased its scope of fair trade certified products. It is exciting to announce that Fair for Life has grown beyond traditional fair trade and has reached the domestic fair trade market in North America, with certification of the Citadelle Maple Syrup Producers’ Cooperative in Plessisville, Quebec. This is the first step to increasing the fair trade market and widening the impact of Fair for Life certification.
The Citadelle Maple Syrup Producers’ Cooperative is a member-owned co-op with approximately 1900 members, offering a wide range of benefits including free barrels for shipping maple syrup, fire and theft insurance, dividend payments when profit is made, technical advice and training in acericulture. “The tapping of maple trees in traditional operations is a secondary source of income for most Citadelle members. By giving producers the opportunity to stay in production, even if their volumes are far too low for profitability, the traditional structure of the small, family-based sugar bush is preserved. This is one of the key fair trade aspects supporting the certification,” says Julia Edmaier, who visited the Cooperative during the 2013 sugaring off season in the name of the Social & Fair Trade department at IMOswiss AG.
With processing facilities located in the small towns of Quebec, the Citadelle Cooperative is a major employer in these regions, and acts as a model company in its commitment to staff. The company acts in a socially responsible manner with respect to its employees, neighbouring communities and the environment, developing innovative solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever possible.
Fair for Life Fair Trade was developed by the Swiss Bio-Foundation in cooperation with the Institute for Marketecology (IMO) to create an opportunity for all producers and products to become fair trade certified. It has gained quick acceptance in high quality markets worldwide. IMO is one of the first and most renowned eco-certifiers with its head office in Switzerland and local representatives and offices in more than 35 countries.
To learn more about Fair for Life Fair Trade certification, please contact Phillip Wagner at +41 (0) 71 6260683 or pw@imo.ch; Kerry Hughes at (978) 208-7477 or kerry.hughes@imo-control.org. You may also visit www.fairforlife.org. For more information on Citadelle Cooperative, please contact Sylvie Chapron at 1.819.362.3241.231 or sylvie.chapron@citadelle.coop, or visit www.citadel.coop.