Giving Compass' Take:

• Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certification are partnering in order to provide better fair trade services to farmers and bring in new app technology that could optimize their work. 

• How are collaborations and partnerships becoming more philanthropic? 

• Read about other organizations that utilize partnerships in order to battle the hunger crisis. 

For fair trade advocates, the recent merger of Rainforest Alliance and Utz Certification represents an innovative attempt to blend two complementary ambitions into one. In January, after almost a year of consultation, research and brainstorming, the two organizations moved in together, setting up a new a multi-faceted partnership that would allow them to function simply as Rainforest Alliance.

Still, many member companies have had questions about how the merger will affect the fair trade movement. Just as concerning, how would it affect the certification and the participation of companies that had helped to nurture the two programs?

The two organizations provide services for approximately 1.9 million farmers, including 182,000 coffee, cocoa and tea growers. De Groot said the merger is meant to acknowledge that the two organizations share similar geographies, both aimed at steps that will benefit the ecological well-being of the countries and regions they address.

Utz, which is known for its fair trade certification program, has also gained attention for its research and white papers on farming and other industries that impact the ecology.

That vital skill came to Rainforest Alliance when the two companies joined forces. It is allowing the new organization to research apps for farmers, including in remote locations, study forestry management systems in Guatemala and come up with resources and economic models that will encourage youth to stay in their farming communities in Mexico, rather than to abandon the endeavor and seek out jobs in the city.

But it also endows Rainforest Alliance with another important skill: The ability to use that data, and the information they get back from their members, to modify certification programs to fit the regional and specific needs of their members.

Read the full article about Rainforest Alliance by Jan Lee at TriplePundit