Understanding the Registered Company Listing
Product certification not company certification
Only products can be Fairtrade certified, not companies. When a company appears on the list of registered companies, it means one or more of its products meet Fairtrade certification standards and is both monitored and audited by Fairtrade Canada, or a related organization in another country.
Also note that when a company is registered for a product (e.g. coffee) it doesn’t necessarily mean all of that company’s products (e.g. all coffee blends) are Fairtrade certified. To know for sure, look for a Fairtrade certification mark on the package.
Company name versus brand name
Our list of registered companies only provides the names of the companies themselves, which is not necessarily the same as the brand name(s) under which they sell their products.
Private labels
When one company contracts another company to produce a product under its own brand name, the arrangement is called a “private label”. Technically, any company listed as a “licensee” could produce a private label product for another company, in which case the name of the company selling the final product likely wouldn't appear on this list.
Retail sales
Fairtrade certification monitors a product supply chain from the producer/farmer to the point where a Fairtrade certification mark is applied to a consumer-ready product. This means companies that sell Fairtrade certified products at retail (grocery stores, cafes, etc) are unlikely to appear on this list, unless they are producing their own Fairtrade certified products.
If you ever have any questions or concerns about the status of a product's Fairtrade certification, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Understanding the Terms
Registered: A company registered to trade in unfinished Fairtrade certified goods, but not to produce consumer-ready products bearing a Fairtrade certification mark (e.g. importers, manufacturers, etc.)
Licensee: A company registered to both trade in unfinished Fairtrade certified goods and produce consumer-ready products bearing a Fairtrade certification mark.
Sub-Licensee: A company that produces a consumer-ready product bearing a Fair Trade certification mark, but has deferred some reporting responsibilities to the licensee(s) who sell them Fairtrade certified ingredients.
Labeller: A company that takes a consumer-ready Fairtrade certified product produced by another company, and packages it in its own packaging bearing a Fairtrade certification mark.
3rd Party Licensee: A company that is both monitored and audited by FLO-Cert or another member of Fairtrade International (FLO), but has signed an agreement with Fairtrade Canada to use a Fairtrade certification mark in Canada.
Cross Border: A company that is both monitored and audited by FLO-Cert or another member of Fairtrade International (FLO) and whose products can be found in Canada.