Fairtrade Mark on Non-Food Products

by Zarah Patriana · 2008-10-28 16:41:00 UTC
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Soon, consumers across the pond may see the Fairtrade Mark on items other than food. Fairtrade Foundation director, Harriet Lamb, revealed a few months ago the organization's plans to expand the range of non-food products it endorses. She said:

“All the time we’re looking to expand the range of products that the public can buy from Fairtrade. Consumers trust the Fairtrade mark as it is an independent consumer guarantee and it brings their attention to products and they will seek them out.”

This endeavor is inevitably met with challenges. Lamb explained of an inability to endorse popular handicrafts and a lack of a global standard that they could use to check suppliers against that wished to apply for endorsement.

Currently, the Fairtrade Mark is only found on agricultural items internationally and even on sports balls. In the United States, the TransFair USA label is only found on food items, but are also looking into non-food items such as garments, diamonds and crafts.

IFAT is also working on creating a label for certified Fair Trade Organizations that will be placed on products, which currently is not in practice. For now, looking outto see if a business or organization carries the Fair Trade Federation or IFAT logo is a clear indicator that they are 100% Fair Trade in their business practices.

Zarah Patriana
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