 In July 2012, German magazine "Ökotest" published an article labeling UTZ, among others, as unfair, due to a lack of pre-financing and guaranteed minimum purchase prices.In response UTZ stated that the foundation does not consider its standards fair trade, nor that it claims that they are, while maintaining that its standards contribute positively to sustainable development of tropical farming communities.In October 2019, the Washington Post reported that UTZ certified cocoa farms were actually more likely to employ child labor than farms without the certification.