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Fairtrade International logo
Fairtrade International
Global · Tier 3 Specialty
Rainforest Alliance logo
Rainforest Alliance
Global · Tier 3 Specialty
Bio Suisse 'Knospe' (Bud) logo
Bio Suisse 'Knospe' (Bud)
Switzerland · 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.Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.The Swiss organic farmers' federation mark. The Knospe (Bud) is the dominant organic mark in Swiss supermarkets and operates to standards stricter than the Swiss federal organic ordinance.
ScopeFoodFoodFood
Established199719871981
InspectionAnnual on-site by FLOCERT (independent of Fairtrade International)Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)Annual on-site, bio.inspecta accredited
Residue testingNot for organic — Fairtrade alone doesn't test residuesRisk-basedRequired
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.
  • Reduced (not eliminated) synthetic pesticide use, with bans on the most hazardous classes.
  • Forest conservation requirements (no deforestation after the cut-off date).
  • Worker welfare and community development requirements.
  • Annual third-party audit.
  • Whole-farm conversion.
  • Lower nitrogen inputs than the Swiss federal organic baseline.
  • Strong animal welfare requirements.
  • Annual on-site inspection.
Does NOT
  • Doesn't mean organic — many Fairtrade products are conventionally grown. A separate Fairtrade-Organic dual certification exists.
  • Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.
  • Switzerland is outside the EU — the Knospe is recognised by the EU under the Switzerland-EU equivalence agreement, but not by USDA without further certification.

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