Fair Trade

The trading partnership between the small family farmers that grow our rice and Lotus Foods is based on a dialog of respect and transparency that seeks to provide a means of economic support through access to a global and sustainable marketplace. We are committed to supporting the rights and livelihoods of smallholder farmers and ethical sourcing. Although no formal fair trade rice certification program existed in the early 90’s when we first started working with farmers in developing countries, we pay a premium price that exceeds today’s standard fair trade practices. None of our suppliers had ever exported rice before and together we have worked to develop the infrastructure to meet the standards the USDA and FDA require for quality agricultural imports.

As a mission-driven triple bottom line company, we are proud of the relationships that we have built with our suppliers and the support we have been able to provide to them and their families. The standard fair trade certification model is now being replicated by many international organizations and it is our intent to find the appropriate organizations in each country that we work in. At present, we work with IMO (the Institute for Marketology (IMO) and their Fair for Life program to certify our new Indonesian Volcano Rice. In the near future we hope to havea fair trade certification for all our rice products.

Click here to learn more about IMO’s social and fair trade programs