This report examines human and labor rights abuses in the agro-export enclave of Mexico’s San Quintin. Through sustained ethnographic research, this report gathers the words of workers on plantations selling to these brands, plantations which are certified “fair trade” by Fair Trade USA and “Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured” by the Equitable Food Initiative. These certified products are found in the supply chains of two major companies, Driscoll’s and Andrews & Williamson. The latter is less of a household name, but sells berries under the Good Farms and Limited Edition brands to Costco. Over two hundred interviews with workers helped shape the findings of this report, with the testimonies and perspectives shaping a narrative that belies the claims of both brands and certifiers.

Further, this research situates the workers’ words within the context of the rollout of these certifications within the fresh produce industry and current research into the ways that such multi-stakeholder initiatives fail to protect human rights.

Key findings include:

• Ethical certifications are failing to address regulatory gaps through weak standards and poor enforcement.
• Certifications help obscure the fundamentally exploitative dynamics of the agro-export industry.
• Multi-stakeholder initiatives support corporate power and undermine worker organizing.
• Joint-body committees fail to address power imbalances which drive abuses.
• Workers describe indicators of forced labor on certified farms without detection.
• Despite rhetoric of “continuous improvement,” labor standards have gone down over time.
• Annual audits fail to uncover abuses due to major structural flaws.
• Despite repression, independent unions are winning some concessions for workers.