How to sell products with the Fairtrade logo:

If you're only interested in selling final packaged consumer-ready products with the FAIRTRADE Mark, you don't need to be certified.

The FAIRTRADE Marks are protected trademarks of Fairtrade International. The Marks are licensed for use by either Fairtrade International or your local National Fairtrade Organisation. Use of any of the FAIRTRADE Marks either on pack or in promotional materials is subject to a contractual relationship between licensee (manufacturers, producers, traders) and Fairtrade International or your local National Fairtrade Organisation.

Please find out if there is a National Fairtrade Organisation that will help you in your country, or email license@fairtrade.net.

National Fairtrade Organisation (NFO)
Short form: NFO. A full member of Fairtrade International, responsible for licensing, marketing, business development and raising awareness in a …
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Fairtrade International
Fairtrade International (FI) is a multi-stakeholder, non-profit organisation focusing on the empowerment of producers and workers in developing …
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Fairtrade
Fairtrade refers to all or any part of the activities of Fairtrade International eV, FLOCERT, Fairtrade Producer Networks, National Fairtrade …
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Licensee
A company licensed by a National Fairtrade Organisation or Fairtrade International to use the FAIRTRADE Certification Mark.
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Producer
The term Producer refers to any type of producer set-up as found in the Fairtrade Standards: Hired Labour, Small-Scale Producer Organisations, …
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Trader
An organisation with Trader Certification. It may have either a seller or buyer role in transactions depending on its business relationship with the …
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Fairtrade application facts

  1. Please check if we offer Fairtrade certification for the product you would like to certify: Fairtrade product list.
  2. Once you have applied, you will receive an application ID. Please use it for all communications and payment identification.
  3. The application process takes an average of two weeks, and is only completed once you have submitted all required documents and we have received your application fee payment. If you need an invoice for the application fee, please let us know.
  4. Find out what Fairtrade certification costs for your organisation with our Cost Calculator.
  5. Upon successful completion of your application process we schedule an initial audit or grant a temporary “Permission to Trade” if you are a trader.
  6. Refer to our Compliance Criteria page to find out what will be checked during an audit. In addition to the generic Fairtrade Standards, specific additional standards by product might apply.
  7. After receiving the initial audit the certification process timelines are explained in the Fairtrade Assurance Manual.
  8. You can only trade your product as “Fairtrade” if you have a valid “Permission to Trade” or hold a valid “Fairtrade Certificate”.  However, producers can sell products as Fairtrade prior to receiving a valid “Fairtrade Certificate”.
  9. If you would like to use the Fairtrade Mark on your product, please contact the Fairtrade National Organisation active in your country or Fairtrade International at license@fairtrade.net.
  10. In Fairtrade, the entire trade chain (producers, importers, exporters and brand owners) must be Fairtrade certified. Individual small producers are not eligible for Fairtrade certification; they must be members of a Small Producer Organisation (SPO). As a certified SPO, you are allowed to export your production directly to an importer, but if an SPO wants to export for other certified organisations 15% of the total invoice will be included in the Certification Fee.
Fairtrade Certification
A product certification system where social, economic and environmental aspects of production are certified against Fairtrade Standards for producers …
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Fairtrade Certificate
Each customer granted Fairtrade product certification by FLOCERT receives a certificate. This document is valid for four years (Small Licensees: six …
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Permission to Trade
Intermediate and temporary allowance to start trading under Fairtrade conditions. By no means does it represent a valid Fairtrade Certificate and it …
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Certification
Formal procedure of confirmation, by which an authorised person or agency assesses and verifies the attributes, quality, qualification, status of …
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Initial Audit
In order to become Fairtrade-certified, an organisation must first apply for certification. Based on the information received during the application …
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Exporter
An Exporter is a company (other than the producer organisation) taking care of exporting a Fairtrade product from the country of origin (the country …
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Importer
An Importer is a company taking care of the import of a Fairtrade product from the country of origin (the country the producer organisation is …
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Audit
An evidence-gathering process that aims to assess the compliance of an organisation and/or a product with certain standards. There are three types of …
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