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Fairtrade International logo
Fairtrade International
Global · Tier 3 Specialty
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'Natural' (NOT a certification)
Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing
Fair for Life logo
Fair for Life
Global · Tier 2 Trusted
What it meansCertifies fair prices and conditions for producers in developing countries — not organic, not environmental. Common on coffee, cocoa, sugar, bananas, tea.The word 'natural' on packaging is a marketing term, not a certification. In most jurisdictions there's no legal definition, no standard, and no inspection. A product labelled 'natural' can contain synthetic ingredients, pesticides, GMOs, and artificial flavours.Combined organic + fair-trade + social-responsibility certification. Issued by Ecocert (originally developed by IMOswiss). Stricter than baseline Fairtrade on labour conditions; often paired with an organic mark on the same product.
ScopeFoodSeveral categoriesSeveral categories
Established1997—2006
InspectionAnnual on-site by FLOCERT (independent of Fairtrade International)NoneAnnual on-site, Ecocert-administered
Residue testingNot for organic — Fairtrade alone doesn't test residuesNoneRisk-based
Guarantees
  • Minimum price floors for producer cooperatives.
  • Fairtrade Premium paid into community-development funds.
  • Bans on the worst forms of child and forced labour.
  • Producer organisations must be small-farmer cooperatives or hired-labour plantations meeting standards.
  • Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.
  • Fair pricing for producers.
  • Compliance with ILO core conventions on labour rights, no forced or child labour.
  • Environmental criteria including organic-or-equivalent farming practices.
  • Annual on-site audit by Ecocert.
Does NOT
  • Doesn't mean organic — many Fairtrade products are conventionally grown. A separate Fairtrade-Organic dual certification exists.
  • Doesn't mean organic. Doesn't mean pesticide-free. Doesn't mean GMO-free. Doesn't mean ethically produced.
  • Some markets (e.g. the US FDA on food, EU on cosmetics) place very limited restrictions on the word, but enforcement is weak.
  • Doesn't itself mean organic — pair with an organic mark for the full picture.

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