Certifications

Fair Trade

The Fair Trade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) comprises two entities, FLO e.v., the umbrella organisation described above that coordinates the Fairtrade label internationally, and FLO-Cert, a private holding of FLO e.v. that conducts audits and authorises producers to use the Fairtrade trademark. FLO e.v. used various internationally recognised standards and conventions, especially those of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as a basis for establishing the criteria of its equitable standards. The standards are organised by product and type of production structure around 3 themes: social, economic, and environmental. The FAIRTRADE trademark is now one of the mostly widely respected social and development labels in the world. The trademark is held and copyrighted by FLO e.v. in the name of its members. Originally, the Fairtrade labelling initiatives created by FLO e.v. had different labels. The international FAIRTRADE certification trademark was created in 2002 and it gradually replaced the different national labels. Two FLO e.v. members still use their own original labels. In Canada and in the United States, the Fair Trade Certified™ labels indicate compliance with the criteria of the FLO e.v. standards.