Business

In order to apply the FAIRTRADE Label onto a product, both producers and traders must comply with the relevant Fairtrade Standards. Consumers can therefore be confident that the Fairtrade labelled product they buy has been grown and traded according to Fairtrade rules and that the premiums were paid to the farming communities.

Fairtrade certification is run by a separate company called FLO-Cert. FLO-Cert is an independent certification body that is specialised in Fairtrade audits. They have branches across producing regions and the office responsible for the Southern African region is located in Cape Town - Tel. +27 (0)21 6710289, Email info@flo-cert.net.

How does certification work?
Application
This process always starts with the completion of an application questionnaire and ends with the so-called scope-check, which evaluates the certifiability of the applicant. In other words, the purpose of this process is to establish whether the applicant falls within the scope of Fairtrade (e.g. that the product is covered by Fairtrade Standards) and to provide all the necessary information regarding the certification process.

If you are a producer organisation or a trader and you want to apply for Fairtrade certification, please contact FLO-Cert at africa-applications@flo-cert.net.

Audit
FLO-Cert verifies compliance with Fairtrade Standards by physically auditing the applicant. Audits vary in length and complexity depending on the size of the organisation, the complexity of its structures and the number of products they want to certify. A full Fairtrade audit can last from a couple of days up to six or seven days for large co-operatives. The cost of certification is dependent on the number of working days required to inspect the producer group or trader.

Evaluation
Following the inspection, the auditor sends a report to FLO-Cert for evaluation. The decision to certify is taken by a specialised certifier, who is supervised by an independent certification committee. If non-conformities are found, FLO-Cert will revert to the applicant and decide on a timeframe within which the applicant must solve them, after which a second audit occurs.

Certification
After receiving the initial Fairtrade certification, producers and traders are inspected on an annual basis.

FLO-Cert is ISO 65 certified. ISO 65 is the leading, internationally recognised quality norm for bodies operating a product certification system. FLO-Cert follows the ISO 65 norm in all its certification operations. Concretely, ISO 65 guarantees that:

• A quality management system is in place;
• Transparency in all processes;
• Independence in the certification decision making. 

FLO-Cert is checked by an independent third party to ensure compliance with ISO 65 rules.

For more information about Fairtrade certification visit FLO-Cert's website.
To download the Fairtrade Standards relevant for your organisation and product, visit the standard section on Fairtrade International's website.