Unlike coffee and chocolate Fair Trade apparel and home goods do not yet have certification in the US. In steps TransFair! TransFair is currently putting together a new certification and standards outline for Fair Trade cotton clothing and home goods. They hope to launch this program in the Spring of 2010, but have put together a draft, open to public viewing. There are asking, you , the consumers to take a moment and read through their proposal. They also welcome any comments or suggestions you may have about the new proposal and will be accepting those until the end of the year.

That’s right, you have until December 31st to take a moment and read through the draft as well as submit any commentary you may have to garments@transfairusa.org. The draft is broken down into two sections, one focusing on the obligations and standards the factories themselves must meet and the obligations the US companies must adhere to.

Obviously, being a Fair Trade Apparel company, this program and proposal is incredibly important to us. Currently our products are certified Fair Trade by FLO (which is a European Fair Trade organization.) However, we are very excited and encouraged by the developments of this program in the US. We certainly applaud TransFair for initiating this and hope that you will take the time to read over the document and give your feedback before the deadline of December 31st, 2009.

This is your chance as the consumers to take a stand and give your thoughts into a certification process. So while you have some downtime over the holidays, read over the document and please give your feedback! Fair Trade needs you.