o, you do not need to be part of a cooperative to qualify for certification.

Fair Trade USA’s certification enables sustainable development and community empowerment. This is achieved through a key component of the model: the Fair Trade Premium.

The premium is an additional sum of money paid by companies on top of the product’s price, which goes into a Community Development Fund. This fund is then democratically controlled by a committee of farmers, fishers, or workers who use a needs assessment to identify and invest in projects that best address their community’s most pressing needs, such as:

• Education: Building or improving schools as well as providing scholarships and school supplies.
• Healthcare: Constructing health clinics or providing access to sanitary facilities.
• Infrastructure: Installing clean water systems or improving housing.
• Emergency Funds: Providing relief during natural disasters or health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Business Operations: Investing in new equipment, technology, or job training to increase efficiency and productivity.

The time to get certified varies depending on the category and commodity, but the process generally involves these three steps:

1. Application: You submit an application to a third-party auditor like FLOCERT to begin the process.
2. Audit: An auditor will review your documents, inspect your premises, observe working conditions, and conduct confidential interviews with workers.
3. Evaluation & Certification: The auditor’s report is analyzed. If all requirements are met, you receive certification. If non-conformities are found, you must correct them to receive your certificate.

A certification cycle lasts for three years for producers, during which regular surveillance audits are conducted to ensure continued compliance.

Yes, certification can be revoked if a producer fails to comply with the Fair Trade Standards after non-conformities are found during an audit and not rectified.

The Fair Trade Certified model is distinct from other certifications in several ways. While many certifications may focus on environmental or product-specific criteria, Fair Trade’s model is uniquely centered on producer empowerment and social development.

Key differentiators include:

• Fair Trade Minimum Price: For certain commodities, a price floor is in place to protect producers from volatile markets.
• Fair Trade Premium: This is the additional money paid by companies directly to the producer community’s development fund, giving workers and farmers full control over how to invest in their community’s needs.
• Democratic Decision-Making: The model is built on empowering producers through a democratically-elected Fair Trade Committee that makes all spending decisions for the premium.

The Fair Trade Premium is an additional payment, separate from the price of the product, that is paid by the companies that purchase Fair Trade Certified goods. This fund goes directly to the producers and is managed by a democratically elected Fair Trade Committee. The committee conducts a needs assessment to determine the most beneficial use of the funds for their community. The premium can be used for a wide range of projects, from community development and business improvements to cash payouts to workers.

Fair Trade USA provides comprehensive support for small producers throughout the entire certification process. This includes:

• In-field support to assist producers on the ground.
• A stepped approach to compliance that makes progress achievable.
• Collaboration to create a certification plan that is tailored to a business’s unique needs.

A cooperative or producer does not “fail” an audit in the traditional sense. Instead, if an audit identifies areas that do not fully meet the Fair Trade Standards, these are documented as non-conformities. The producer then has a specified period of time to correct these issues and provide evidence of the corrective actions. Certification is granted only after all non-conformities have been successfully resolved. In some cases, a temporary “Permission to Trade” may be issued to allow the business to move forward while it works on correcting minor issues.

While the premium funds are flexible and controlled by the producers, their use is not unlimited. A democratically-elected Fair Trade Committee leads the management of the funds. They must perform a needs assessment to identify the community’s most pressing needs, propose a plan for how the funds will be used, and then have the plan approved through a community vote. This process ensures that the funds are used for projects that benefit the community as a whole.