Get certified today!

Check here to read 10 important Fairtrade application facts

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. Fairtrade certification by FLOCERT does not automatically grant the right to use the FAIRTRADE Mark on product packaging or labels. 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 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 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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FLOCERT
FLOCERT is a leading global assurance provider. Besides providing sole certification to Fairtrade, FLOCERT offers certification and verification as …
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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. The Fairtrade system distinguishes between "producers" and "traders”. Producers are the farmers/growers harvesting the raw material or primary products, while traders are all remaining operators in the supply chain buying and selling the products.
  2. In Fairtrade, the entire trade chain (producers, exporters, importers, manufacturers, distributors and brand owners) must be Fairtrade certified.
  3. Get an estimate of the Fairtrade certification costs for your organisation with our Cost Calculator.
  4. FLOCERT will check whether your application request is within scope of certification. If it is, you will receive an application ID from us. The application process entails submission of specific application documents, payment of a non-refundable application fee and completion of an online training session. Please use your application ID for all communications and payment identification during the application phase.
  5. Once we have received your documents and application fee and you have completed the training, the minimum time frame to complete your application is one week. This timeline applies only to the application phase, not full certification.
  6. After completing the application, traders receive their Permission to Trade (PTT) upon payment of the certification fee. Producers undergo an initial audit and complete additional steps in the certification process before they get certified.
  7. You can only trade Fairtrade products if you have a valid Permission to Trade or hold a valid Fairtrade Certificate.
  8. Producers can sell their products harvested 12 months prior to certification as Fairtrade, as long as they still own the product.
  9. Refer to our Compliance Criteria page to find out what will be checked during an audit. The Compliance Criteria combine the generic Fairtrade Standards and the product-specific standards.
  10. Detailed information on the application and certification processes, including timelines to get certified, are explained in the Fairtrade Assurance Manual.
Certification Process
The process which is applied by FLOCERT to verify compliance with applicable Fairtrade Standards by the Customer including the FLOCERT Compliance …
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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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Compliance Criteria
A translation of the requirements of the Fairtrade Standards, binding guidance documents and FLOCERT certification rules into verifiable control …
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Fairtrade Standards
Fairtrade Standards, comprising Fairtrade Generic Standards and Fairtrade Product Standards, are requirements that producers and traders must meet in …
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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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Application Fee
Consideration to be paid upon initiation of the application process, covering costs for processing of the application. Application Fees are …
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Primary product
An agricultural or non-agricultural product as it is extracted or harvested. Fairtrade Minimum Price and/or Premium are generally set for the primary …
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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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Supply chain
Business entities involved in the supply and purchase of materials, goods or services from raw materials to the final product. In contrast to a chain …
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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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