Notes:
Today we’ll complete our look at the history of Fair Trade labeling programs. Our first look was at the establishment of the Max Havelaar label. We saw how the label and certification process helped to bring Fair Trade products to a much bigger market. Then we looked at the expansion of the labeling initiative where many different Fair Trade labeling programs cropped up around the globe. For the most part, these groups worked together, but there was no over arching agreement. Farmers and producers were faced with a difficult process of figuring out which program(s) to go with and how to proceed. Today we’ll look at the natural evolution of that system as the various groups began to work together.
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The harmonization of the various Fair Trade labels:
In the last post, we saw how fragmented the Fair Trade movement had become. There were several labeling programs with no overarching standards. The Fair Trade programs had to work with each other on a product by product basis, in what ended up being a time consuming and confusing process for suppliers. In 1994 TransMax was formed to begin the process of unifying the various Fair Trade labels.
TransMax’s efforts culminated in 1997 with the creation of the Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO). FLO was set up as an umbrella organization to help provide overarching standards for the independent Fair Trade labels. They provided the support as well as took care of inspecting and certifying Fair Trade producers. For the first time, the Fair Trade movement was unified and the process had been streamlined.
In 2002 FLO launched a new international Fair Trade mark, with the goal of helping to display the unity of Fair Trade programs to consumers. The idea was to provide a consistent label across countries that would show consumers a consistent Fair Trade mark. The unification process is still underway, with TransFair USA and TransFair Canada still using their older individual marks.
In 2004 FLO was divided into two independent parts; FLO-CERT and FLO International. FLO-CERT was set up to inspect and certify individual producers. FLO International was created to set Fair Trade standards. The two were split to help make both more transparent and impartial.
Takeaway:
The formation of the various Fair Trade labels led to a fractured and confusing world for Fair Trade producers. TransMax, with their FLO program, helped unify the process and made it much easier for producers to begin the process of being Fair Trade certified. The unification also helped to increase consumer confidence because of the unified label across borders.
Discussion Question:
Why do you think the international Fair Trade certification mark is taking so long to be adopted in the USA and Canada?
Additional Reading:
http://www.web.ca/~bthomson/geocities/label_history.html
