What is 'Fair Trade certification'?

What is 'Fair Trade certification'?

Sam Bills (Manager) gives expert video advice on: How do I know if something is Fair Trade Certified?; What is the difference between 'Fair Trade' and 'ethical trading'?; Do Fair Trade goods cost more than comparable non-fair trade goods? and more...

Certification is where a third party comes in and does the research for you, so that you know that the claim that a company is making about their product being Fair Trade is legitimate. There are two different ways that they make that certification. The first is that they certify a particular product, by following that product in the chain from producer to when it ends up on your grocery shelf, and they certify that throughout the process Fair Trade principals were being followed. The other method is that they certify an entire organization, and look at the mission, principles and the practice of an organization, and they certify that that organization is in line with the broader mission of Fair Trade. When they certify an organization, everything that that organization produces is by that method certified Fair Trade.