Enlisting a broad range of organizations with disparate commercial interests and ethical orientations, the WFTO’s principles have been softened in some cases by adding phrases like “to the extent possible” to make them more palatable to its diverse members. Each mark sets proprietary standards for when and how it can be displayed on product labels. What does fair trade mean for producers? By 1989, an international alliance of producers, importers, retailers, exporters, and other networks formed what became the World Fair Trade Organization. //-->. It is the logo or symbol you see on a product that meets the rigorous international Fairtrade Standards. He sighed before averting his eyes. In the 1960s and 1970s, several early attempts were made to market fair trade products. Perhaps they also had the higher licensing fees in mind. point or further advice on the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark is needed, please use the contact details on the last page of these guidelines. In 2016, I asked an FI staffer to name one cutting-edge example of her organization’s evolving development. Transfair USA’s monopoly on fair trade labeling ended in 2006 when a Swiss organic certifier, the Institute of Marketecology (IMO), brought its Fair for Life mark to the US. Fair trade’s “symbolic challenge to commodification,” he says, “has in itself become a commodity to be bought and sold on Northern markets.”. Trade Hong Kong. The Max Havelaar mark borrows its name from a novel whose hero exposed the exploitation of coffee pickers in 19th-century Dutch colonies. She earns a salary more typical of England than Nicaragua. ... On the distributerâs side, a company can display the Fairtrade logo on their products by purchasing from certified producers holding a fairtrade license and by respecting all the other standards imposed by Fairtrade International. While there are important differences among the major marks, all three have attracted both movement- and profit-oriented companies. But how much of that actually happens? Based in Europe, FLO did not give farmers from the Global South any governance authority, an issue that is still contentious. In recent years, competing new marks have appeared in Europe and North America. Its Prospects as a Poverty Solution. “She can’t visit them all,” he told me. U.S. society has shorn food production of its spiritual dimension. Coffee beans photo by Anthia Cumming / E+ / Getty. Throughout the history of the Fairtrade movement, quite a few individual national Marks were used until in 2002 the blue and green Fairtrade logo was adopted, which was to be used as the only official symbol all around the world. That was four years after the Small Producers’ Symbol (SPP) had emerged from a decade of efforts by CLAC, the Latin American and Caribbean Coordinator of Fair Trade Producers. The SPP is the only farmer-led fair trade certification, and its presence means the Global South finally has a mark of its own. I'm as down on big organics as the next guy who makes homemade sauerkraut out of cabbage grown by his farmer wife. Product certification, however, is different. The Fairtrade Logo is to indicate that the produce is sourced directly from the growers who employ local labour. Fairtrade. They deserve credit for its growing popularity among consumers. Below, there is the blue lettering explaining what type of program the logo refers to (“Cocoa Program”, “Sugar Program” etc.). Historically, fair trade’s single most contentious issue concerns whether to certify plantations and for which products. Ethical shopping suggestions from the CC editors. Download the vector logo of the Fairtrade brand designed by in Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) format. The blue part of the circle actually looks like a half of the Yin and Yang symbol, while the green and black parts of the circle have a bit different shape somewhat similar to the Pepsi logo. First, he mentioned the high cost of getting certified. Some farmers do benefit from fair trade, as when a co-op’s fair trade sales outweigh its initial investment and are proportionately shared among member producers. These are often fair trade’s strongest advocates—and they must also be counted among its beneficiaries. WTA updates its logo, launching a storytelling campaign, Pokémon unveils the 25th anniversary logo, teasing the celebration next year, Pentagram creates new brand identity for Virgin Money, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rolls out new logo invoking criticism, Mutual of Omaha changes Indian chief logo to African lion. He can be found at whenmoneyismoral.com. [CDATA[// >