Bring Fairtrade to your market
Fairtrade helps businesses build more resilient and responsible supply chains while creating better opportunities for farmers and workers.
What is Fairtrade?
Fairtrade is the most recognised and trusted sustainability label working to make trade fairer for the people behind the products sold and consumed around the world.
At the heart of Fairtrade are social, economic and environmental standards designed to create fairer trading conditions and support more sustainable production. Farmers and workers are actively involved in shaping the Fairtrade system and its standards.
Fairtrade for your business
Whether you manufacture products, build a purpose-led brand or manage a retail portfolio, Fairtrade offers ready solutions for companies of all sizes to manage risks in their supply chains.
The Fairtrade mark on your product shows that you are partnering with Fairtrade. It indicates that the product meets relevant criteria of the Fairtrade standards and that, together with us, you are working to improve living and working conditions in producing countries. The Fairtrade mark can help you build trust, differentiate your products and reach new target audiences. Fairtrade supports partners with marketing initiatives and campaigns.
Which products can be Fairtrade?
There is a wide array Fairtrade products creating measurable impact:
Coffee · Cocoa · Bananas · Tea · Sugar · Rice · Honey · Fruit and juices · Herbs and spices · Nuts, seeds and oils · Flowers and plants · Cotton · Textiles · Wine and grapes · Gold · Sports balls
Contact our team to find out which Fairtrade options are available for your product and supply chain.
Why join Fairtrade?
- Manage risk and strengthen supply chains
- Long-Term business relationships
- Trusted certification
- Demonstrate credible impact
- Stable business relationships with suppliers
- Solutions for livable incomes
Your path to the Fairtrade mark
Contact and Consultation
During the initial consultation, we will get to know your company, supply chains, and requirements better. This allows us to provide you with the best possible support throughout the process of becoming a Fairtrade partner.
Product certification
If you manufacture or package products yourself, an external audit is required. This applies up to the point in the supply chain where the products are fully packaged for consumers. The audit is conducted by FLOCERT, an external and independent certification body as required by law. FLOCERT verifies that retailers comply with Fairtrade standards.
If you buy finished products in consumer ready packaging from a certified manufacturer, you do not need certification, but a license agreement.
License Agreement
Anyone who wishes to sell products bearing the Fairtrade mark under its own brand or company name must have a license agreement with Fairtrade Germany.
The standardized license agreement ensures the comparability, transparency, and credibility of the Fairtrade mark. The agreement covers the following:
- Permission to use the Fairtrade mark
- Guidelines that must be followed, including certification and product design requirements
- License fees
If you manufacture private label products for retail or discount, please contact us. We will advise you on the applicable contractual set up.
Once the license agreement has been signed, you will become a Fairtrade partner.
Registration and approval of labelled products
All products bearing a Fairtrade Mark must be registered and approved in the online platform CONNECT. When the product has been approved in CONNECT, you can start selling and promoting your Fairtrade products.
Recognition and marketing
By using our mark, you can communicate your commitment to Fairtrade and build on the positive associations consumers have with the mark.
Fairtrade beyond the mark
Who we are
For more than three decades, Fairtrade has been making an impact on the way trade works. We believe that every farmer and worker should have access to a better way of doing business, and a better way of living.
As a leader in the global movement to make trade fair, Fairtrade supports and challenges businesses and governments and connects farmers and workers with the people who buy their products.
What we do
Fairtrade changes the way trade works through better prices, decent working conditions and a fairer deal for farmers and workers.
We offer retail and industrial partners as well as consumers concrete alternatives for action, so that farming families and workers in countries of the Global South can have better prospects for the future.
Why we do it
We want to build a world where everyone benefits from quality products and enjoys quality of life. But this cannot be done in a silo. You cannot separate human rights from environmental rights, child protection from living incomes, and gender equity from worker’s rights, amongst others. Our holistic approach looks from different dimensions to drive impact – and fairness.
Ready to explore Fairtrade for your business?
From responsible sourcing to certification, licensing and product launch, our team will guide you through each step of the Fairtrade process.