FAIR TRADE (              0207 405 5942       )

International trade may seem a remote issue, but when commodity prices fall dramatically it has a catastrophic impact on the lives of millions of small scale
producers, forcing many into crippling debt and countless others to loose their land and their homes.

The Fairtrade Foundation exists to ensure a better deal for marginalised and disadvantaged third world producers.

The Fairtrade Foundation
Suite 204
16 Baldwin's Gardens
London
EC1N 7RJ

Fairtrade standards

The problems experienced by poor producers and workers in developing countries differ greatly from product to product. The majority of coffee and cocoa, for example, is grown by independent small farmers, working their own land and marketing their produce through a local co-operative. For these producers, receiving a fair price for their beans is more important than any other aspect of a fair trade. Most tea, however, is grown on estates. The concern for workers employed on tea plantations is fair wages and decent working conditions.

To address this there are two sets of generic producer standards; one for small farmers and one for workers on plantations and in factories. The first set applies to smallholders organised in co-operatives or other organisations with a democratic, participative structure. The second set applies to organised workers, whose employers pay decent wages, guarantee the right to join trade unions and provide good housing when 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.

As Fairtrade is also about development, the generic standards distinguish between minimum requirements which producers must meet to be certified Fairtrade. Process requirements also encourage producer organisations to continuously improve working conditions and product quality, to increase their environmental stability of their activities and to invest in the development of their organisations and the welfare of their producers/workers.

Trading standards stipulate that traders must:

pay a price to producers that covers the costs of sustainable production and living; pay a 'premium' that producers can invest in development; make partial advance payments when requested by producers; sign contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices.

Commodities Covered by the FAIRTRADE Mark Internationally-agreed Fairtrade generic criteria exist for the following commodity products and in each category there is a list of approved producers maintained by a FLO register.

Coffee
Tea
Cocoa
Honey
Fresh fruits
Orange Juice
Sugar

Monitoring: The Fairtrade Foundation, with its international partners, checks that approved products continue to meet these criteria.

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