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Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) was established in 1997, and is an association of 20 national labelling initiatives that promote and market the Fairtrade Certification Mark in their countries. Fairtrade labelling organizations exist in 15 European countries as well as in Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
FLO is the largest and most widely recognized standard setting and certification body for labelled Fairtrade. It regularly inspects and certifies producer organizations in more than 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, encompassing approximately one million families of farmers and workers.
In January 2004, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International was divided into two different organizations: FLO e.V., which sets Fairtrade standards and provides producer business support, and FLO-CERT, which inspects and certifies producer organizations. The aim of the split was to ensure the impartiality, the independence of the certification process and compliance with ISO 65 standards for product certification bodies.
In 2005, FLO labelled Fairtrade sales amounted to approximately €1.1 billion worldwide, a 37 % year-to-year increase. As per October 2006, 586 producer organizations in 58 developing countries were FLO Fairtrade certified.
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Mission
Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International’s mission is to enable the sustainable development and empowerment of disadvantaged producers & workers in developing countries through Fairtrade labelling by:
setting international Fairtrade standards;
certifying production and auditing trade according to these Fairtrade standards;
facilitating and developing Fairtrade business;
supporting producers in making maximum use of the opportunities offered by Fairtrade labelling; and by
promoting the case for trade justice in debates on trade and development.
FLO is the only organization in the world that specializes in Fairtrade standard-setting, certification and trade auditing.
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FLO Structure
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To ensure the transparency and the independence of the Fairtrade Certification and Labelling system, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International was divided in January 2004 into two independent organizations:
FLO International e.V. develops and reviews standards and assists producers to gain and maintain certification and to capitalize on market opportunities. To ensure the transparency of the system, the standards are developed and reviewed by the FLO Standards and Policy Committee, in which stakeholders from FLO’s member organizations, producer organizations traders and external experts participate.
FLO-CERT GmbH ensures that producers and traders comply with the FLO Fairtrade Standards and that producers invest the benefits received through Fairtrade in their development. Operating independently from any other interests, it follows the international ISO standards for certification bodies (ISO 65).
FLO-CERT works with a network of 72 independent inspectors that regularly visit producers and importers and report back to FLO-CERT. Certification decisions are then taken by a Certification Committee, comprised of stakeholders from producers, traders, national labelling organisations and external experts. An Appeals Committee deals with appeals on these decisions.
FLO-CERT has also developed a trade auditing system to monitor traders' and retailers' compliance with Fairtrade standards. The system was created to check that every Fairtrade labelled product sold to a consumer has indeed been produced by a certified producer organization which has been paid the Fairtrade price.
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International Fairtrade Certification Mark
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The International Fairtrade Certification Mark is an independent consumer Mark which appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal.
Fairtrade labelled coffee, the first Fairtrade labelled product, was first launched in the Netherlands in 1988. The label, then called Max Havelaar after a fictional Dutch character who opposed the exploitation of coffee pickers in Dutch colonies, offered mainstream coffee industry players the opportunity to adopt a standardized system of Fairtrade criteria.
The concept caught on: in the ensuing years, similar non-profit Fairtrade labelling organizations were set up in other European countries and North America, called “Max Havelaar” (in Belgium, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Denmark, Norway and France), “Transfair” (in Germany, Austria, Italy, the United States, Canada and Japan), or carrying a national name: “Fairtrade Mark” in the UK and Ireland, “Rättvisemärkt” in Sweden, and Reilu Kauppan in Finland. Initially, the Max Havelaars and the Transfairs each had their own Fairtrade standards, product committees and monitoring systems. In 1994, a process of convergence among the labelling organizations – or “LIs” (for “Labelling Initiatives”) – started with the establishment of a TransMax working group, culminating in 1997 in the creation of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International. FLO is an umbrella organization whose mission is to set the Fairtrade standards, support, inspect and certify disadvantaged producers and harmonize the Fairtrade message across the movement.
In 2002, FLO launched a new International Fairtrade Certification Mark. The goals of the launch were to improve the visibility of the Fairtrade Mark on supermarket shelves, facilitate cross border trade and simplify procedures for both producers and importers. The system of Fairtrade has always been about global relationships and global standards of fairness - these were recognised for the first time with an International Fairtrade Certification Mark.
The Fairtrade Certification Mark harmonization process is still under way – as of September 2006, all but three Labelling Initiatives (Transfair USA, Transfair Canada and Max Havelaar Switzerland) have adopted the new International Fairtrade Certification Mark. Full transition to the new Mark should become reality as it gradually replaces the old Certification Marks at various speeds in various countries.
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See also
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FLO Member Organizations
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Associate FLO Member Organizations
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