Certification
Certified Fairtrade has helped thousands farmers earn enough income to provide for their families' basic needs and invest in community development.
Who decides what is traded fairly?
Fairtrade commodities are certified by non-profit organizations in 19 different countries, all of which are affiliated with the Fairtrade Labelling Organization International "FLO". Fairtrade certified commodities bear the seal of the certifying agency, providing a guarantee that fair trade practices were followed.
How does certification work?
The Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO-international) - the umbrella organization for all certified Fairtrade "National Initiatives" in different parts of the world, sets the Fairtrade standards for producers, traders, processors, wholesalers and retailers. These standards are set with agreement from all its stakeholders - member organizations, producer organizations, traders and external experts.
The standards are product specific and there are also two generic producer standards. The first set applies to smallholders organized in cooperatives or other organizations with a democratic, participative structure. The second set applies to organized workers, whose employers pay decent wages, guarantee the right to join trade unions and provide good housing where relevant. On plantations and in factories, minimum health and safety as well as environmental standards must be complied with, and no child or forced labour can occur.
The producers pay to be certified and the consumer indirectly pays for it as a Licensee fee charged to the importer by the National certification body.
In Canada, TransFair Canada certifies coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, rice, spices, bananas, wine and other products.
The Certified Fair Trade coffee system benefits over a million producers organized into over 586 cooperatives in over 50 countries (Oct. 2006).
Certified Fair Trade has helped thousands farmers earn enough income to provide for their families' basic needs and invest in community development. However, these co-ops are still selling most of their products outside of the Certified Fair Trade system because there is not enough demand for fairtrade in consumer countries.
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