Fair Trade USA Founder Paul Rice Resigning as CEO

An influential figure in the fair trade movement over the past quarter century, Paul Rice is resigning as CEO of Fair Trade USA.

In an announcement last week, Rice said he is finishing the calendar year with the certification organization in the role of founder, then will join the group’s advisory council.

The Fair Trade USA board tapped current COO Felipe Arango to take over as interim CEO of the nonprofit organization as it searches for a permanent chief executive.

Rice launched Fair Trade USA (formerly known as TransFair USA) in late 1998 in a one-room warehouse in Oakland, California.

The organization was part of Fairtrade International until it split off under Rice’s leadership in 2011, maintaining the same price premium model for certifications but softening the requirements of the certification scheme to allow for participation among larger plantation farms.

[Editor’s note: For the purposes of this story, the term “fair trade” refers to the fair trade coffee movement in a broad sense, whereas “Fair Trade USA” and “Fairtrade” (one word) refer to distinct organizations or certification schemes.] 

“Coffee farm” by dianaandleland is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The ideological split allowed Fair Trade USA to grow to become the largest third-party “fair trade” certifier of coffee in the United States, while working with larger corporate green coffee buyers in the B2B and grocery segments. As of 2022, Fair Trade USA certified approximately 210 million pounds of coffees per year, representing approximately 6% of all green coffee imported in the U.S.

Rice’s resignation comes as the group has pledged to significantly review and revise its model in order to remain relevant and impactful. To that end, the group has launched an ongoing “Innovation for Impact Initiative” and Coffee Impact Advisory Board.

In a move that was criticized by some farmer advocacy groups in 2023, Fair Trade USA announced plans to maintain its existing price premiums tied to certified coffees, even as Fairtrade International made the historic decision to raise its guaranteed prices to producers. In June, Fair Trade USA said it planned to continue its “coffee market stabilization strategy” at least through the end of 2025.

In last week’s announcement, Fair Trade USA said that Rice will be releasing a new book, published by Public Affairs in 2025, called Every Purchase Matters: How Fair Trade Farmers, Companies, and Consumers Are Changing the World.

“It has truly been an honor and privilege to lead Fair Trade USA and our amazing team,” Rice said in the announcement. “I’m so proud of the impact that we and our stakeholders have had over the last 26 years. We have helped improve the lives of millions of hardworking farmers and workers, building hope for a better future. We have shown corporate America that ethical sourcing can be good not just for people and planet, but also for the bottom line.”

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