CALIFORNIA – US outdoor apparel brand Patagonia has announced that it expects a third of all its apparel to be produced in Fair Trade-certified factories by fall 2017. Fair Trade USA is a program for ensuring products are made in factories and farms where workers are safe and paid a decent wage. For every product made by a Fair Trade-certified factory, companies such as Patagonia choose to pay an additional premium that workers can use to improve their standard of living and bridge the gap between a minimum wage and a living wage. A worker-elected committee votes on how to spend the money – either as a cash bonus or to pay for social, economic and environmental community projects. Patagonia is one of more than 1,000 companies representing 30 product categories that sell Fair Trade Certified products.