By Andria Cheng
Fair Trade coffee and chocolate have become commonplace. Get
ready for Fair Trade fashion and décor.
Two years after a garment-factory collapse in Bangladesh killed
more than 1,100 people and put a harsh spotlight on
fashion-industry working conditions, Fair Trade apparel is gaining
ground.
The volume of apparel and home goods sold as Fair Trade
Certified has grown rapidly in the past two years, according to the
nonprofit certification group Fair Trade USA, which in 2012
introduced more than 334 compliance criteria for textile
factories.
Fair Trade USA's apparel certification now appears on 20 brands,
up from just a handful before the Rana Plaza factory collapse in
Bangladesh. Patagonia, Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s West Elm unit and Bed
Bath & Beyond Inc. are among retailers that began selling Fair
Trade Certified apparel or home furnishings in the past two years,
according to Fair Trade USA.
The number of factories certified by Fair Trade USA is expected
to increase to at least 25, in countries from India to Colombia, by
the end of 2015, up from fewer than five in 2012.
A range of factors are measured by the group before a factory is
labeled Fair Trade Certified--which is a trademarked designation.
Those include a factory's environmental impact, its overall working
conditions and the rights afforded workers. As a baseline, workers
must be guaranteed local minimum wages. Brands also are required to
make additional payments, based on how much they buy from
factories, directly to workers in what's called a Fair Trade
Premium.
The total cost to the brands, including third-party factory
auditing, worker training and the Fair Trade Premium, is, on
average, about 1% to 5% of what brands pay to factories, said Maya
Spaull, director of Fair Trade USA's apparel and home goods
category.
Fair Trade USA, according to a West Elm representative, is the
only group certifying production facilities for home and apparel
manufacturers involved in large-scale production. "Traditionally,
certification has been limited to raw materials or outputs," said
West Elm spokeswoman Abigail Jacobs.
Fair Trade USA--founded in 1998 to certify coffee
production--now certifies in 30 categories, ranging from
furnishings to flowers to spices to lip balms, as well as
clothing.
Certified ethical apparel and home goods "need to be available
to a wider mass-market audience" to "effect true positive change,"
just as organic food choices have gone mainstream, said Marci
Zaroff, founder and CEO of Under the Canopy, a fashion brand that
works with Fair Trade USA.
Under the Canopy's Fair Trade Certified line of bedding,
introduced for back-to-school season at Bed Bath & Beyond last
year, sold out immediately, according to Ms. Zaroff. "Millennials
are seeking authenticity and transparency," she said. They are the
ones "driving the rapidly growing movement for sustainable and
ethical fashion."
Under the Canopy has added more Fair Trade collections at Bed
Bath & Beyond, including lines of organic cotton kimono robes
and throws, which it also sells through Amazon.com and
Wayfair.com.
West Elm is expanding the six Fair Trade Certified rug offerings
introduced during the 2014 holiday season to 30 rug lines and 13
textile collections this fall, said Ms. Jacobs, adding that the
broadening of its certified offerings "speaks to the customer's
interest" and "commitment to consciousness."
Whole Foods Market Inc. began carrying Fair Trade Certified
T-shirts made by Pact Apparel in the spring of 2014. The shirts,
which cost $15, are one of Whole Foods' best-selling basic apparel
lines, the company said.
At yoga and outdoor-apparel brand Prana, which was acquired by
Columbia Sportswear last year, the single Fair Trade Certified
T-shirt introduced in 2010 led the way to nearly 100 items,
including dresses, skirts and men's shirts, said Nicole Bassett,
the brand's director of sustainability. In fact, Fair Trade
products now represent about 15% of the overall assortment at
Prana, which has approached some existing suppliers to help them
get certified, Ms. Bassett said.