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Home » Issues » Livelihoods » Living wage

Living wage

Photo credit: Caroline Irby

Across the tropics, farming communities face a daily struggle to cover life’s basic needs. Cultivating better livelihoods is key to our vision of a world where people and nature thrive in harmony. For the millions of farm workers worldwide, ensuring a sustainable livelihood starts with being paid a living wage.

This page features information about the Rainforest Alliance's work on living wage and links to all our living wage-related content and resources.

We work with farmers, companies, unions, governments, and civil society organizations to make living wages for workers a reality. Through our certification program, tailored supply chain services, and advocacy work, we promote responsible business practices to ensure that companies reward and invest in sustainability transformation from soil to shelf.

Quick Links


Living Wage in our Certification Program

Our certification program includes innovations that allow farmers to assess the gap to a living wage and measure progress. It also promotes a shared responsibility approach that encourages companies to do their part.

Living Wage Position Paper

Download this paper for an in-depth look at the Rainforest Alliance’s position and approach to living wage that includes several interventions from certification to advocacy.

Wages and Working Conditions in the Banana, Tea, and Coffee Sectors

We partnered with ILO to develop indicators and methodologies for setting adequate wages. The result: insightful reports on wages and working conditions in the banana, coffee, and tea sectors.

ALIGN—Guidance Tool on Living Wage for Companies

Co-developed by the Rainforest Alliance, ALIGN reduces complexity around the topic of living wage (and living income, too) and guides companies through the process to tackle these issues in their agricultural supply chains.

Must-read resources for Living wage


Article

How Companies Can Share Responsibility in Paying Farm Workers a Living Wage

We’re committed to addressing living wage through our 2020 Certification Program, the ALIGN tool, and innovative projects like Better Pay in Practice. If your company is interested in directly contributing to achieving living wages in your supply chain, we are here to help.

Learn More
Article

Our Work with the Global Living Wage Coalition

The Rainforest Alliance believes that workers around the world should be paid enough money to provide a decent life for themselves and their families.

Learn More
Article

Our Work to Improve Rural Livelihoods

To improve rural livelihoods, we foster deep collaboration between farmers, civil society organizations, companies, and governments.

Learn More

All resources for Living wage


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Impact Study

Baseline Evaluation of the RA2020 Living Wage Strategy

This report, commissioned by the Rainforest Alliance (RA), offers a baseline study analyzing the dispositions of Certificate Holders and Supply Chain Actors against the living wage requirements and... View more

Published on November 22, 2023
Available in: English

Annual Report

2022 Annual Report: We’re all in.

Dive into our 2022 Annual Report—and discover the extraordinary people and places at the heart of our global mission. We’re all in. Are you?... View more

Published on June 27, 2023
Available in: English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese

White Paper

Living Income Position Paper

The Rainforest Alliance’s vision is a world in which people and nature thrive in harmony. Critical to achieving this is ensuring that agricultural farmers, workers, and communities are able to achieve... View more

Published on March 27, 2023
Available in: English

Organizational Updates

The Rainforest Alliance Takes a Deeper Look into the Kenya Tea Sector with Independent Study

The study looks at impacts of transition to mechanized harvesting; employment terms and conditions; gender discrimination; wages; occupational health and safety; housing and living conditions; and operational grievance and remedy mechanisms.

Published on July 18, 2022

Project Profiles

Project Profile: Improving Livelihoods of Farmers and Workers Across the Fruit Sector in Latin America

This project will provide training and engagement to at least 37,093 workers in the avocado and berry (strawberry and raspberry) sectors in Mexico and the banana and pineapple sectors in Costa Rica.

Published on February 25, 2022

Sikobihora Marie Françoise, farmer is certified tea farm
Article

Rainforest Alliance Certified Tea: Creating a Sustainable Tea Sector

Rainforest Alliance certification supports farmers in turning their farms into profitable, resilient businesses that respect workers and the land. Through training, we promote farming techniques designed to help farms adapt to climate change and protect the land for future generations—all while improving incomes for tea-farming families.

Published on September 10, 2021

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