news n°6
/ 31st of October 2012
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many exciting changes and developments in the world of Fair for Life occurred in the last months.
Read more about Fair for Life analysed in the ITC Standard Map; how supermarkets and trading
companies commit to 100% sustainable fresh fruits and vegetables in the Netherlands and the
diversification of the market of fair trade certified products through Fair for Life Fair Trade Certification. Find important information on buying from FLO-certified producers or handlers and Fair
Trade USA certified handlers. You can find important issues on benchmarking, equivalence and
collaboration with other schemes and on Fair Trade Towns USA recognition of Fair for Life Certification. Furthermore, IMO Latinoamerica Ltda (Bolivia) got accredited for the Small Producers’
Symbol.
Regards, Your Fair for Life Team at IMO
Table of content
Fair for Life analysed in ITC Standard Map ...... 1
Comparison study Forum Fairer Handel .......... 1
Market of Fair Trade Certified Products is
Diversifying through Fair for Life Fair Trade
Certification .................................................. 2
Supermarkets and trading companies commit
to 100% sustainable fresh fruits and
vegetables in the Netherlands ...................... 2
Buying from FLO-certified Producers or
Handlers ....................................................... 2
Buying from Fair Trade USA certified Handlers3
Equivalence and Collaboration with other
schemes ........................................................3
GSCP Benchmarking For Life and Fair For Life 4
Fair Trade Towns USA Now Recognizes Fair for
Life Certification............................................ 4
The Small Producers’ Symbol ........................ 4
Fair for Life Analysed in ITC
Standard Map
The International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint
organization of the United Nations and World
Trade Organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, has developed a new web platform
called Standards Map that provides comprehensive and comparable information on sustainability standards and audit protocols, with
the aim to strengthen the capacity of producers, exporters and buyers to participate in
more sustainable production and trade. The
Standards Map platform offers an online
"comparison tool" that enables users to
fair for life news
make analyses, comparisons and reviews
of sustainability standards and audit protocols using a unique set of criteria, audit
best practices and good governance models. The information on Fair for Life is now
made available on the Standards Map
platform on www.standardsmap.org.
Read more about this interesting tool on
our website:
http://www.fairforlife.net/logicio/pmws/i
ndexDOM.php?client_id=fairforlife&page_
id=news&lang_iso639=en
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Comparison Study Fair Trade
Panel (Forum
(Forum Fairer Handel)
Handel)
The German "Forum Fairer Handel" has commissioned an extensive comparison study of
several new fair trade systems (Fair for Life,
Ecocert Fair Trade, Naturland Fair and Small
Producer Symbol/Tu Simbolo) which will be
published this month in German, English
translation of the report will follow. The Forum
Fairer Handel concludes that Fair for Life as
well as Ecocert Fair Trade and Naturland Fair
are indeed true fair trade certification systems.
Content wise the standards reach FLO level or even exceed it. There are differences
between all standards, but mostly only of a
gradual nature.
Read more about it: http://www.forum-
fairer-handel.de.
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news n°6
/ 31st of October 2012
Market of Fair Trade Certified
Products is Diversifying through
Fair for Life Fair Trade CertificaCertification
Fair for Life has further increased its scope of
fair trade certified products. It is exciting to
observe that more and more ethical companies with products that have so far not been
considered as classical fair trade merchandise
are increasingly taking steps to enter the fair
trade market and contribute to widening the
impact of Fair for Life certification.
In June 2012 biodegradable, Fair for Life
certified bags made of tapioca starch have
become available.
In August 2012 another interesting product
joined the fair trade movement. Pacific white
shrimps (Litopenaeus vannamei) have
been certified Fair for Life Fair Trade, becoming not only the first Fair for Life
shrimp certification world-wide but also
the first time an animal aquaculture product could be certified Fair for Life.
The Ecuadorian company marketing the
shrimps has been a pioneer in taking up the
challenge to convert its production and convince its partners in the trade chain to do
likewise.
Read more about these interesting new
products on our website:
http://www.fairforlife.net/logicio/pmws/i
ndexDOM.php?client_id=fairforlife&page_
id=news&lang_iso639=en
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Supermarkets and Trading
Companies Commit to 100%
Sustainable fresh fruits and
Vegetables in the Netherlands
The Initiatief Duurzame Handel (IDH)
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (FFV) in the
Netherlands development programme
aims for 100% sustainably sourced fresh
fruits and vegetables from Africa, Asia and
fair for life news
n° 6
Latin America by 2020. Dutch retailers and
traders in the FFV sector jointly committed
to this by signing a MoU on the 21st June
2012.
More information can be found under:
http://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/fruitsand-vegetables
Read more about this interesting new development on our website:
http://www.fairforlife.net/logicio/pmws/i
ndexDOM.php?client_id=fairforlife&page_
id=news&lang_iso639=en
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Buying from FLOFLO-certified ProProducers or Handlers
Following the recent split between FLO and
Fair Trade USA, FLO has announced various
rules that shall prevent FLO certified operations from selling to non-FLO traders as FLOFairtrade certified (see FLO’s press release:
http://www.flocert.net/flocert/24+M5cd0413
5bc5.html). Although the text refers mainly to
Fair Trade USA certified handlers, the same
restrictions are being applied to Fair for Life
buyers. The instructions confirm more explicitly what was the case even before: FLO-Cert
audits will not audit premium flows from nonFLO buyers, nor trace sales.
As Fair for Life accepts FLO certification as
equivalent, but requires additional MoUs to
cover those aspects we know to be not covered by the FLO-Cert audits of the suppliers,
we will need to adapt wording and procedures
carefully in order to not get in conflict with
FLO’s strict new ruling to producers. We are
presently working on a briefing document for
both Fair for Life handlers and FLO producers
or handlers selling to Fair for Life handlers
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news n°6
/ 31st of October 2012
explaining the Fair for Life requirements as
well as a proposed contract between FLO
producers / handlers and the Fair for Life
handlers.
documentation for assessment of equivalence.
For now, the most important aspect to be
aware is that formally Fair for Life handlers
do not buy the products from FLO certified
producers (or handlers) as “FLO-Fairtrade
certified”. The sales will be recorded as
non-Fairtrade in the FLO audited book
keeping. The sales may, however, be referred
to as fair trade sales (Note the spelling in 2
words) or sales according to Fair for Life terms
but it is up to private agreement between the
FLO producer / handler and the FFL buyer to
still ensure that the product originates from
the certified producers, that the correct FLO
prices and premiums have been paid and that
clear procedures how the premium paid is
administered and used are agreed. More information and a sample agreement with FLO
producers and handlers will follow shortly.
To further clarify, IMO will continue to audit any Fair Trade buyer that is directly
buying from a producer organisation, and
thus responsible for fair trade price and
premium payments. This will ensure FT payments are sent to producers correctly. If the
producer is a FLO-certified producer, however,
we cannot confirm the proper administration
of the fair trade premium payments, as FLO
will not follow this. That is an important
reason for any handler or buyer that is Fair
for Life certified to maintain MoU relationships with suppliers.
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Buying from Fair Trade USA Certified Handlers
Following the split between FLO and Fair Trade
USA, Fair for Life (FFL) is continuing to accept
FT USA certification of handlers in the US as
equivalent, so Fair for Life handlers can continue to buy products from these handlers.
But they must now obtain confirmation
that the products received originate from
FLO-certified producers or else submit the
fair for life news
For all products to be sold as Fair for
Life certified, the origin and certification status of all producer and handling operations down to the primary
producer operations of origin must be
declared to IMO by the FFL handler. Alternatively the FT USA handler may
send the information directly to IMO.
• The producer origin information must
be provided to IMO in writing with the
following data available: producer
name, country, certifier, ID/certificate
number, certification status, intermediate trader if any.
• For any producer operations not certified according to an equivalent
scheme (FLO and Soil Association Ethical Trade) an audit report will be required, and a fee charged for equivalency assessment. For intermediate
traders, confirmation of their fair trade
certification or registration status is
required (letter of good standing or
similar).
Additionally, a MoU must be signed between
the FFL handler and FT USA supplier, to ensure
fulfilment of FFL requirements as outlined in
Module 4 of the FFL Programme.
•
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Equivalence and Collaboration
with Other Schemes
Additionally to a general equivalence acceptance of FLO and Soil Association Ethical
Trade certified products, Fair for Life approves
products certified under other fair trade certification schemes as equivalent on a case to
case basis (see Annex 2 to Module 1 of the Fair
for Life Programme). The reason behind equivalence acceptance of other schemes is to
avoid double certification on producer level
and related costs and efforts. We are there-
fore trying to expand our equivalency approach and also collaborate with other
schemes to make the fair trade certification process as efficient and smooth as
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news n°6
/ 31st of October 2012
possible, seeking also exchange and open
discussions on matters that concern all
fair trade certification schemes.
Equivalence discussions between Fair for Life
and Ecocert Fair Trade have been ongoing, but
an agreement is expected early next year once
the revised Ecocert Fair Trade standards are
ready for the final standard benchmarking.
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GSCP Benchmarking For Life
and Fair For Life
The Global Social Compliance Programme
(GSCP) is a business-driven programme for the
continuous improvement of working and environmental conditions in global supply chains.
Fair for life will start the GSCP benchmarking
process this autumn, the first step being an
online self-assessment against the GSCP code
of reference, with an expert panel assessment
of the standard being envisaged for late 2013
or 2014.
You can find more information on our homepage:
http://www.fairforlife.net/logicio/pmws/index
DOM.php?client_id=fairforlife&page_id=news
&lang_iso639=en
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Fair Trade Towns USA Now RecRecognizes Fair for Life Certification
Fair Trade Towns USA (FT Towns USA) has
officially announced the acceptance of Fair for
Life Fair Trade Certification by The Institute for
Marketecology (IMO) under the FT Towns USA
criteria.
More information you can find on our homepage:
http://www.fairforlife.net/logicio/pmws/index
fair for life news
n° 6
DOM.php?client_id=fairforlife&page_id=news
&lang_iso639=en or please contact Kerry
Hughes ([email protected]).
To learn more about Fair Trade Towns USA,
please visit www.fairtradetownsusa.org.
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The Small Producers’ Symbol
The Small Producers’ Symbol (SPP) is an initiative launched in 2006 by the Latin American
and Caribbean Network of Small Fair Trade
Producers (Coordinadora Latinoamericana y
del Caribe de Pequeños Productores de
Comercio Justo—CLAC).
In September, IMO Latinoamerica Ltda
(Bolivia) has been authorized by FUNDEPPO to certify according to the Small producer Symbol Standards in order to offer
IMO clients this additional new fair trade certification system that is designed specifically
for organised small scale producer groups.
Certification can be offered worldwide through
our network of fair trade auditors. For more
information: please contact Carola Cabrera
([email protected])
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