Certification

TransFair Canada FAQs

1. How can I tell if Transfair has sanctioned a product?
2. What is TransFair Canada?
3. What is TransFair Canada committed to?
4. How does TransFair Canada work?
5. How does the TransFair logo make the coffee trader fairer?
6. How affordable is fairly traded coffee?
7. How are Canadians supporting the TransFair campaign?
8. How long has fair trade labeling been around?
9. How is today's coffee trade unfair?
10. What's the larger context for TransFair's initiative?
11. How does fair trade benefit farmers?

Trainsfair Canada FAQs (PDF file)

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1. How can I tell if Transfair has sanctioned a product?

This is the logo for TransFair Canada, which guarantees Canadians the coffee they buy is produced in just conditions and that the farmers who grow it get a fair price.

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2. What is TransFair Canada?

TransFair Canada (TFC) is the Canadian affiliate of Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO). It is a not-for-profit company. Its members include major Canadian churches, trade unions and such non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as Oxfam-Canada, and World Vision. FLO is a growing world-wide movement working for the fairer trade of products in global markets.

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3. What is TransFair Canada committed to?

TransFair Canada supports the alleviation of poverty in Southern countries by expanding sales of certified products such as fair trade coffee and tea in Canada. TFC is working to show importers and retailers in Canada that they can do good business by doing good. It wants them to offer products that are more fairly traded and expand this "niche market." It wants Canadian consumers to have more choices.

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4. How does TransFair Canada work?

TFC is an independent certifier and monitor. It licenses the TransFair logo to Canadian importers for a fee. When Canadians buy fair trade products they know they're improving life for producers in the developing world, and for their families and communities. TFC licensees buy from importers who pay a fair price and deal directly with the democratic co-ops, which the small farmers began forming in the 1980s. There are now over 300 coffee co-ops on FLO's international register of producers in areas like Latin America, South America, Africa, and Asia.

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5. How does the TransFair logo make the coffee trader fairer?

The TransFair label certifies that small farmers are getting the three things they need to plan a better future: a fair price, credit at reasonable rates of interest and longer-term sales contracts.

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6. How affordable is fairly traded coffee?

Market research indicates that 60-80 % of Canadian consumers say they will pay a 'premium' for fairly traded and environmentally friendly products. In the case of coffee it generally amounts to less then 2 cents more per cup or 30-50 cents more per pound depending on world coffee prices. For all Transfair certified products three criteria must be met: the product's quality must be maintained, it must be easily available, and any claims to fair trade must come from an independent certifier not as marketing hype.

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7. How are Canadians supporting the TransFair campaign?

In spring 1998, TransFair Canada's "Buycott, Not Boycott" campaign mobilized over 1000 congregations in Canada's faith community via the ecumenical group Ten Days for Global Justice. The campaign sparked letters to coffee industry executives, visits to store managers and ads in more than 50 newspapers across the country. Each called on coffee companies and grocery stores to offer coffee brands certified with the TransFair label. They said ethical consumers want an option. It was a clear message. As of March 2001, 67 Canadian coffee companies have signed license agreements for the TransFair label. Others are in process, and more action is coming; for instance, key trade unions are lobbying that fairly traded coffee be available in their workplaces.

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8. How long has fair trade labeling been around?

Fair trade labels for coffee started in Holland in 1987. Now FLO licenses commercial sales of 24 million pounds of coffee beans every year through over 130 brand names. These brands are on sale in more than 35,000 retail outlets. There are also fair trade labels for tea, cocoa, orange-juice concentrate, sugar, honey and bananas. TransFair Canada focuses its TransFair logo on coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar and bananas.

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9. How is today's coffee trade unfair?

Of the 25 million coffee producers in 70 countries, over one third are small farmers. Typically, each has only two to five acres of land. Since each coffee bush provides only a pound of coffee per year, the farmers must tend thousands. They are at the bottom of a long food chain from farm to supermarket and local cafe. Usually they get no more than 10% of the retail price. This means earning as little as $5 a day. Unable to export directly, they turn to dealing with mid-level traders or "coyotes," as they're called in Latin America. With their monopoly, coyotes force farmers to sell low and as lenders. Coyotes charge extremely high interest.

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10. What's the larger context for TransFair's initiative?

Consumer activism is growing and the ever-stronger business ethics 'industry' is debating codes of conduct, standards, labels, monitoring and other mechanisms to demonstrate corporate social responsibility, as well as the pace at which change is implemented. Persistent consumer pressure has pushed Starbucks to finally start implementing the code of conduct it drafted in 1995. Activists applaud the move but want more concerns resolved and change quickened. Recently, Nike and The Gap have agreed to allow independent monitoring of their overseas production. Nike's CEO Philip Knight said that having effective organizations monitor working conditions would not only serve to assure consumers but also Nike itself and industry in general.

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11. How does fair trade benefit farmers?

1. Guaranteed minimum price of US $1.26 per pound, which covers the cost of production and basic living costs. If the world price is higher than $1.26, importers pay a premium of US$0.05/lb more.
2. Direct trade/reduced reliance on the middlemen.
3. Pre-financing by the importer to the producer if requested, which helps avoid debt traps.
4. Long term contracts: So producers can invest in social and ecological development projects such as organic or shade grown coffee which is healthier for the environment, workers and consumers, produces higher quality beans, and allows families to inter-plant fruit trees and vegetables at the same time.

Under fair trade, consumers pay a more realistic cost, which acknowledges the farmers' basic human rights, environmental concerns, and sustainability in return for quality coffee. Through the skills learned from direct fair trade, farmers know the value of their coffee and capture a higher percent of the world price even on their conventional market sales.

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