The NGO states that its mission is "to create a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities.

[9] As of October 1, 2018, the Rainforest Alliance transitioned its sustainable forestry certification business, including all related services, personnel and clients, to Preferred by Nature (formerly NEPCon), a global non-profit organization in Copenhagen, Denmark.

[11] In recent years, the Rainforest Alliance has greatly expanded its work with smallholders, which includes more than 7.5 million farmers and workers certified by the organization.

[12] The Rainforest Alliance encourages businesses and consumers to support sustainable agriculture by sourcing or choosing products grown on certified farms.

As of October 1, 2018, Preferred by Nature assumed management of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Tourism Standards for Hotel and Lodging Services and Inbound Tour Operators.

[10] Rainforest Alliance certification has been extended in recent years to products such as pineapples, hazelnuts, coconut oil, orange juice, and vegetables, among others.

Especially for retail groups, the seal represents a differential that distinguishes and certifies that the crop in question has been produced in a sustainable way, meeting specific requirements.

[25] The new program, named the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, includes new features with respect to the previous one and demands more in environmental, social, and economic terms.

The Rainforest Alliance's integrated landscape management programs allow producers, companies, communities, local governments, and non-governmental organizations to discuss common interests and collective actions.

"[35] The Economist favors the Rainforest Alliance's method and writes that "guaranteeing a minimum price [as Fairtrade does] means there is no incentive to improve quality".

[43][44][45] The nonprofit Truth in Advertising also reported that WASH was suing Rainforest Alliance for allegedly misrepresenting how earth-friendly its certified products actually are.

[47] Rainforest Alliance made statement to Sierra after publishing about the case: "While certification serves as a valuable mechanism for mitigating risks and promoting responsible practices, it's essential to recognize that no single organization can solve deeply complex challenges on its own.

These issues demand a broader and more holistic approach encompassing systemic change, including legislation and regulatory reforms, education, and a commitment to tackling the root causes."

[48][49] A report in 2020 by The Guardian alleged that some Costa Rica pineapple growers certified by the scheme were exploiting their labour force, using illegal agrochemicals, and concealing hundreds of undocumented workers from auditors.

[50] The development and publication of the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard caused concern among several Latin American banana producer and exporter associations.

In the letter, banana associations from Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia and Guatemala requested that the Rainforest Alliance explain the process of socialization to the new standard and expressed their concerns, considering that only 2 percent of their demands had been taken into account.

[52] As Juan José Pons, coordinator of Ecuador's banana cluster, stated: the standard "does not take into account the immense effort and related costs that we have made in the recent years, both in social and environmental matters.

"[51][53] During the meeting, the banana associations questioned why the new standard does not address the region's economic challenges, which have been exacerbated in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and black sigatoka disease.

On November 27, 2020, the banana associations called a tripartite roundtable with the Rainforest Alliance and European Union retailers to discuss the new standard and the future development of guidelines for shared responsibility.

Furthermore, according to the banana associations, the explanations provided by the Rainforest Alliance did not clarify the strategy by which the new standard would be applied, which still failed to fill several gaps around the implementation of the concept of shared responsibility.