Every Purchase Matters: How Fair Trade Farmers, Companies, and Consumers Are Changing the World

From the founder and CEO of Fair Trade USA, a critical account of the past, present and future of conscious capitalism--the change it has wrought in the world and the potential it still has to confront our greatest challenges.

We all have the power to change the world through the products we buy. This simple premise has driven the growth of the conscious consumer movement for decades. Indeed, what started with a handful of niche sustainability brands has exploded into the mainstream with labels like Organic, Non-GMO, and Fair Trade Certified now adorning products in major retailers across the country.

Yet the true promise of ethical sourcing and conscious consumerism has not been fully realized. Paul Rice has dedicated his career to helping consumers and businesses embrace the power they have to protect the environment and improve the lives of farmers and workers on the far side of our global supply chains.

In Every Purchase Matters, Rice reveals the untold story of the Fair Trade movement and its significance for us all. Calling on the close relationships he cultivated over the last forty years with the pioneers of ethical sourcing--CEOs, activists, grassroots farmer leaders, and consumer advocates--Rice gives voice to the visionaries and practitioners who are making sustainable business the new normal. These protagonists share successes and failures, lessons learned, and their extraordinary impact in communities around the world. Their stories illuminate how sustainability is good not only for people and planet but also for business.

Whether you’re a consumer, a business leader, or an investor, Every Purchase Matters offers a rich and persuasive case for conscious capitalism--the change it has brought and the potential it still has to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.

Paul Rice is the founder and CEO of Fair Trade USA, the leading certifier of Fair Trade products in North America, and a pioneering figure on the conscious capitalism movement. Since launching the Fair Trade Certified(TM) label in 1998, Rice has helped establish Fair Trade as one of the fastest growing segments of the food and apparel industries. Rice has been named Ethical Corporation’s 2019 Business Leader of the Year and has been recognized four times as the Social Capitalist of the Year by Fast Company magazine. Rice is also the recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the World Economic Forum’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year, and the Ashoka Fellowship. He has spoken at the World Economic Forum, Clinton Global Initiative, Skoll World Forum, TEDx, and numerous universities and conferences around the world.

Joel Pitney is a ghostwriter, former journalist, and founder and president of Launch My Book, Inc. As a journalist, Pitney has published articles in What Is Enlightenment? magazine and Religion Dispatches, and has ghost-written and published articles for clients on a variety of platforms, including Fast Company, The Huffington Post, and Inc magazine. As the founder and president of Launch My Book, Inc, he has run marketing campaigns for nonfiction books spanning business, self-help, spiritual, and other genres, including multiple New York Times bestsellers.