Product Certifications

Product Certifications

Certification helps consumers know how a product was produced.  Certification ensures that producers and products meet certain standards.  When products meet those standards, they can display a certification mark, which indicates to customers that the product is in compliance with those standards.

There are fair trade and environmental certifications which may apply to some artisan products, but even more to producers of food products.

Fair Trade Certification

Fair Trade Labeling Organization

FLO InternationalFair Trade Certified products meet Fair Trade standards, including wage, labor, and environmental criteria.  oversees Fair Trade certification worldwide.

Certification is done by an independent international certification company FLO-CERT GMBH, which is responsible for inspection and certification of producer organizations according to Fair Trade standards.

FLO certified products meet a Fair Trade Minimum Price and use a Fair Trade certification mark, which is specific to the country in which a product is marketed.

Fair Trade certification is currently available for bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, flowers, fresh fruit, honey, juices, nuts, rice, spices and herbs, sugar, tea, wine, and soccer balls.  Additional products are in the process of receiving Fair Trade certification.

World Fair Trade Organization

The World Fair Trade Organization, although not yet a certifying organization, gives global recognition to organizations that are committed to Fair Trade principles. Once an applicant has succes fully met the requirements of the Standards and Monitoring system they become Registered Members. They currently have a network of more than 350 Fair Trade Organizations in 70 countries. WFTO was formerly called IFAT, the International Fair Trade Association, and changed its name in 2009.

Organic Certification

Organic Certification applies to food and agricultural products which have met standards in growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping.  Organic products are produced without the use of conventional chemical pesticides, fertilizers made from synthetic ingredients, and genetically modified organisms.  Generally, organic products must be produced on land that has been free of these contaminants for three years, and must be separated from non-certified organic products at each step of the production chain.

Many regions and countries have Organic Certification programs.  It is important to understand which certification program is right for your organization and the countries to which you export.

Organic products exported to the United States must comply with the standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP also accredits the certifying agents in different countries who inspect organic production and handling operations to certify that they meet USDA standards. A list of accredited certifiers is available on the NOP website.  In addition to being certified organic by an accredited certifying agent, each shipment of organic products requires an Export Certificate in order to be imported into the United States.

Sustainable Wood Certification

As consumers are increasingly concerned about the impact of wood and paper products depleting the world's forests, various certification and production systems for these products have been developed.  Different wood, timber, and paper certification systems adhere to different environmental and social standards.  Many of these systems were developed by or are supported by organizations seeking to preserve the world's forests

One example is Forest Stewardship Council Certification

The Forest Stewardship Council Certification:

• prohibits conversion of natural forests or other habitat around the world
• prohibits the use of highly hazardous pesticides around the world
• prohibits the cultivation of genetically modified trees
• respects the right of indigenous peoples around the world

More information

If you would like to learn more about certifying your products, visit the websites of the organizations listed above. You can also find more information about different kinds of certifications on the website Buyer Be Fair