Fair Trade FAQ’s

+ “Fair” – a commonly used word – what does it actually mean?

In connection to fair trade have several different terms come to be established: “fair trade” this term generally describes the fair exchange of goods. This includes issues such as worker’s rights, custom duties, and subventions and above all the fair treatment of the business partners and producers. “Fair Trade” this term covers the entire Fair Trade-movement, also the organisations and companies that carry another type of fair logo (there are aside from FLO other Fair Trade organisations) and also those who have no certification but that abide by the principles of Fair Trade. Important is that they follow the essential Fair Trade criteria, such as the re-forming of the conventional world market and producer support. “Fairtrade”: stands for the activities of the organisation Fairtrade International (FLO, national Fairtrade organisations, Fairtrade marketing organisations, and Fairtrade producers’ networks. Fairtrade is a system that identifies and certifies products and distributors who meet the Fairtrade standards of FLO (Fairtrade International).

+ What does Fairtrade mean?

The main focus of Fairtrade is the people in developing countries. The aim is to support small-scale farmers and workers and to improve their position on the international market. Only products that meet the requirements of the international Fairtrade-standards are granted the Fairtrade-seal. Some crucial standards are following:

• Workers, harvesters, and producers receive a guaranteed minimum wage. This helps them to improve their living and working conditions in a sustainable way.
• The producers have the guarantee of being able to sell their products at fair prices.
• The Fairtrade-prices must, at the minimum, cover the cost of production and allow the producers to live above the poverty line.
• Harmful practices, compulsory labour, discrimination, and exploitative child labour are prohibited.
• The producer groups receive a Fairtrade-premium through which they can finance and carry out social projects such as construction, education, medical care, etc.
• Producers can more easily plan the future thanks to the long-term trade relationships.
• Fairtrade-producers are supported in the conversion to organic farming and a surcharge is paid for organically grown produce. Environmental-friendly standards lower the use of pesticides and chemicals and prohibit genetically modified crops.
• Fairtrade promotes greater equality in international trade through dialogue, transparency, and mutual respect.
• Consumers achieve through their purchase a personal contribution that leads to development aid and thus to the overcoming of poverty.

The goal is to contribute to a more responsible consumption and through that to fight poverty. Fairtrade stands for ethical actions and trade, sustainability, and transparency build a bridge between the producers and the consumers. People who buy Fairtrade-products contribute directly through their purchase to a sustainable improvement of the lives of poor farmer families. At the time being are 1,3 million small-scale farmers and workers in over 70 countries profiting from Fair Trade.

+ Why are some products labelled as “fairly traded” without carrying the Fairtrade-seal?

Some organisations have for a long time been campaigning for Fair Trade. Many of these organisations were founded long before the Fairtrade certifications even came to life. Some companies offer products for which there are no set Fairtrade standards, for example handicraft. Fair Trade or “fairly traded” is not a protected term. Many producers claim that their products are fairly traded, by such cases it is important to ask on what this claim is founded.

+ What is the Fair Label Organisation?

Fairtrade International, short FLO, is the umbrella organisation of the national Fairtrade organisations. The association was founded 1997 in Bonn, Germany, with the purpose to unite the many different labels and standards of fair trade. FLO consists of two branches:

• FLO e.V. develops the conditions and principles that need to be met to obtain a Fairtrade-certification.
• FLO – CERT (FLO Certification) controls the compliance with these principles. This is important to ensure that the meaning of the word fair “fair” really is behind where the label “fair” stands. The international Fairtrade-system consists today of three producer networks, 25 national Fairtrade-organisations, FLO e.V. and FLO-CERT. The Fairtrade-organisations allocate the seal in the respective countries. In Germany is that for example the TransFair e.V. In Switzerland the Max Havelaar Foundation and in Austria it is carried out by Fairtrade Austria. The producer networks represent the many different groups of producers in Latin America, Africa and Asia (CLAC: Coordinadora Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Comercio Justo, AFN: African Fairtrade Network and NAP: Network of Asian Producers). The Fairtrade seal of FLO is according to the opinion of the Fairtrade-forum the most famous, and one of the strictest quality marks of fair trade. The products being certified are products that are being produced under fair conditions or that contain ingredients that have been produced under fair conditions. Ingredients such as coffee, bananas, cotton, cosmetics, jewellery, as well as wood and gold.

+ What exactly does Fairtrade do?

Fairtrade International is a non-governmental organisation. It is responsible for the development of the Fairtrade standards and the support of the producer groups. Fairtrade International is the umbrella organisation of the national Fairtrade organisations (for example TransFair) and the producer networks. The Fairtrade standards apply to all Fairtrade producers and workers. The traders and companies who label their products with the Fairtrade seal need to abide to the Fairtrade standards. The same goes for the other actors of the production chain, such as imports, exports, and licensees. Fairtrade International supports the producers in meeting the requirements to achieve the Fairtrade certification and in creating new chances on the market for farmers and cooperatives. Fairtrade International also works together with so-called “liaison officers” who are located on site. They support the producers with education, certification consulting, and in the contact with traders.

+ What are Fairtrade standards?

Economic and social aspects are the pillars of the Fairtrade standards. They create the rules of Fairtrade. All producers and traders must abide by the standards, only then can their products be permitted to be labelled with the Fairtrade seal. The standards were developed to improve the quality of life of small-scale farmers and plantation workers in the world’s poorest countries. The development of standards is carried out by the Department of Standards of Fairtrade International. They are developed together with producers, distributors, and experts. The Fairtrade standards consist of core indicators and so-called development indicators. The core requirements must be met by each producer group to receive Fairtrade certification. After the initial certification, the producers must also meet the development requirements. These are more extensive and have among other things the goal to improve the organisation and working conditions of the producers, but also to implement long-term measures to protect the environment.

+ What is Fairtrade in FAIR SQUARED products?

All ingredients of a product, which is available in a Fairtrade variant, must be added as a Fairtrade certified ingredient to the product. By cosmetics this means that if a formula for example calls for apricot oil, the used apricot oil has (if possible) to come from a Fairtrade producer. However, there are cosmetic ingredients that are not yet covered by the FLO system. This does however not mean that they are not or cannot be fairly produced. But because they are not covered by the FLO, they are not included in the Fairtrade percentage value that is declared on each product. Products that remain on and are absorbed by the skin (e.g. lotions) must have a Fairtrade percentage of at least 5%. For products that are rinsed off (e.g. soaps) is the minimum requirement at least 2%. At first glance, this does not look particularly “fair.” However: There is no fair trade water, which by cosmetic products often make up about 90% of the content, and the Fairtrade content is measured by its wet weight. If the water was not counted, the Fairtrade percentage would naturally be much higher. That is unfortunate, but so are the Fairtrade regulations. Without water have the FAIR SQUARED cosmetics an average Fairtrade percentage of above 35%. The other percentages naturally make out other ingredients that are needed for qualitative cosmetics and that are not labelled by FLO. We stick to these ingredients, because our goal is to have the highest possible percentage of Fairtrade ingredients without loss of quality.

+ Does the money reach the producers?

FAIR SQUARED obtains all available Fair Trade ingredients from Fairtrade producers who are regularly monitored by the Fair Label Organisation (FLO). Through that is not only a minimum price getting paid, but also an additional premium which helps the workers and their families to improve their living conditions. The external monitoring by Fairtrade (FLO) is important for all parties to ensure that the consumer can be sure that the Fairtrade funds actually get to the people concerned. There are unfortunately also so called fairwashers (freeriders) who advertise with “Fair Trade” or “fairly traded” although that they have nothing that is verifiable Fairtrade in their products. The Fairtrade-seal, however, ensures trustworthiness. In addition, we visit our producer partners personally and are always deeply impressed after each trip by how Fairtrade really can make a change and improve the quality of life.

+ Is fair trade really fair?

Since there are different Fairtrade Labelling Initiatives and since fair trade is fundamentally affected by the always ongoing and changing world political circumstances, it is inevitable that consumers are wondering how fair Fair Trade really is. Here is an up-to- date collection of the most common thoughts / criticisms. There are no fitting shorter answers. We also are happy to refer to the websites of FLO / Max Havelaar:

• The certification costs for producers are too high and have to be paid although there yet are no customers. Beneficiary is the certifier, who still very often invents their own new seal. Our answer: There are funds in the Fairtrade system for financially weak producers / cooperatives that fill this financial gap and that make the certification financially possible.
• The farmers receive only a fraction of the Fairtrade surcharge. Our answer: One can naturally complain about that the trade in Europe requires a high net margin for its distribution to function. It does however not matter to the Fairtrade farmers because they want to sell as much as possible of their raw materials. And for that, they need the European traders. It is however not very easy for traders in Europe, unless they are not a well-organised chain store, because when they count their costs together, there is generally not much left from their turnover.
• Fairwashers can only certify a product rather than an entire production or series. Our answer: Yes, but it is fundamentally up to the customer themselves what provider they choose to trust.
• There are also migrant workers who cannot benefit from the Fairtrade minimum wage. Our answer: Yes, that is a gap in the Fairtrade system that is being worked on. This does, to our present knowledge, not apply to the FAIR SQUARED partner companies.