Fairtrade International e.V. is an independent non-profit organisation that develops Fairtrade standards, operates certification and the FAIRTRADE Mark, and supports small-scale farmers and workers in developing countries. The association represents over 2m farmers and workers globally and owns the internationally recognised FAIRTRADE Mark, which appears on more than 37,000 certified products worldwide. Its work spans standards development, product certification and labelling, producer support and capacity building, supply-chain and trade-fairness programmes, and advocacy.
The organisation is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, and works globally with farmers and workers across developing countries. It has its origins in a Fairtrade labelling initiative of the late 1980s, founded by a group of European organisations challenging the exploitation of small-scale farmers, and later evolved into Fairtrade International e.V. It is a multi-stakeholder, member-based association bringing together three producer networks and 20 national Fairtrade organisations.
Fairtrade International's stated aim is to ensure that farmers and workers receive fairer prices, a living income and a living wage from global trade. Its approach combines a certification and standards system covering small-scale farmers and agricultural workers, direct programmes that strengthen producers' position in trade, and advocacy and campaigning to share the benefits of trade more equally. It operates across agriculture and smallholder farming, global commodity trade, food and consumer-goods certification and labelling, and international development.
