The Fairtrade Certification Mark

The Fairtrade Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal. For a product to display the Fairtrade Mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards. These standards are set by the international certification body Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) (http://www.fairtrade.net). Producer organisations that supply Fairtrade products are inspected and certified by FLO. They receive a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects.

History

Development agencies recognised the important role that consumers could play to improve the situation for producers. By buying direct from farmers at better prices, helping to strengthen their organisations and marketing their produce directly through their own one world shops and catalogues, the charities offered consumers the opportunity to buy products which were bought on the basis of a fair trade. Fairtrade Labelling was created in the Netherlands in the late 1980s. The Max Havelaar Foundation launched the first Fairtrade consumer guarantee label in 1988 on coffee sourced from Mexico.

Who can use the Fairtrade mark?

Every country has it’s own labelling initiative, which licenses the Fairtrade Mark to products in the country which meet FLO standards. The supplier (brand-owner or main national distributor) must sign the labelling initiative’s Licence Agreement which provides a licence to use the Mark. For example in the UK, the labelling initiative is called Fairtrade Foundation, in Finland Association for Promoting Fairtrade in Finland. It is the labelling initiatives' task to promote the products in their own countries. Local labelling initiatives are owned by development agencies and other NGOs. The members of these organizations and Fairtrade volunteers play an important role in spreading information on Fair trade issues and promoting the products together with the NI.

What does Fairtrade mean for the producer?

Find out more about the impact of Fairtrade for the producer on FLO's website: http://www.fairtrade.net/impact.html

Read producer stories from Fairtrade Foundation : http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/suppliers_growers.htm

What is Fair Trade in general?

The term Fair Trade is used to refer to the Fair Trade movement as a whole and can be used to describe both labelled and unlabelled goods and the work of Alternative Trade Organizations (ATOs), Fair Trade federations and networks such as IFAT, NEWS, EFTA etc. The term fair trade is a broader term often used to describe one or many of the above, but can also occasionally be used to refer to trade justice issues. In such cases, it can be as broad as to describe general fairness in trade, such as tariffs, subsidies, worker rights and other issues.

Currently the most widely recognized definition of fair trade was created by FINE, an informal Association of the four main Fair Trade networks (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, International Fair Trade Association, Network of European Worldshops and European Fair Trade Association).

“Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers - especially in the South. Fair Trade organisations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade. Fair Trade's strategic intent is:

1. deliberately to work with marginalised producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency
2. to empower producers and workers as stakeholders in their own organisations
3. to actively to play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.

Links:

Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International: www.fairtrade.net

Fair Trade Advocacy Office: www.fairtrade-advocacy.org

IFAT - Global network for Fair Trade Organizations: www.ifat.org