Fair Trade USA™ Recognition Program for Fairtrade International-certified Producers

Yes. Thank you for registering in the past. Signing a new agreement is now part of the Producer Recognition Program for producers certified with FLOCERT.

Our 1,400 Registered Buyers, along with the North American market in general, are requiring increasing levels of transparency and traceability in their supply chains. Buyers want to know more about where their product comes from, who produced it, and how Fair Trade Premiums were invested and the impact they are having. Through the Producer Recognition Program, we aim to meet this demand for information to continue growing the Fair Trade market for your products.

Yes, it is mandatory for all FLOCERT certified producer organizations that sell products to Fair Trade USA Registered Buyers. If you have received an invitation to participate in this program, it is because your products are currently being sold to one of our Registered Buyers in the US. 

Nothing. This program is free of charge for producers, as long as they remain compliant with all the terms of the contract. For producers that fail to submit required data on time, there will be an annual fee of US $1,000, invoiced annually in February for the previous year. If you sign the Agreement, submit your valid FLOCERT certificate, and send transaction reports and premium use information within the deadline, this Recognition program remains free. We did not create this program to charge producers money. In fact, we created it to help you make more money.

We do, however, need all producers to participate so that our buyers get the increased transparency that they are asking for.

Yes. Fair Trade USA appreciates that producers have worked hard to achieve FLOCERT certification, so we recognize and accept FLOCERT certificates. It is not necessary to undergo a second Fair Trade audit to sell to Fair Trade USA Registered Buyers based in the US.

The requirements are:

• Sign the online Producer Recognition Agreement (with DocuSign) and share your FLOCERT certificate. Here are links to the Docusign agreement in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa, and French.
• Every quarter, you must report your sales on Fair Trade terms.
• Every year, you must send information to Fair Trade USA on premium use and compliance, as requested.
• Additionally, you must notify Fair Trade USA of any changes about the status of your certification.

Producers who fail to fulfill the requirements of the Recognition Program will be sanctioned. Initially, the recognition will be suspended, and if the partner continues to fail to share required information, the recognition will be cancelled.

If a group does not participate in the Producer Recognition Program, Fair Trade USA cannot grant you an Authorization to Trade, and you will not be able to sell your product with the Fair Trade Certified label.

Log into the Partner Portal with your username and password. If you do not know your username, please reach out to Fair Trade USA at producers@fairtradeusa.org.

We have dedicated personnel to assist producer organizations to upload transaction reports quickly and easily.

Additionally, you can also access training resources for reporting on our website: https://get.fairtrade.help/hc/en-us.

Yes. Fair Trade USA needs this information to facilitate product transparency and traceability from the producer organization all the way to our Registered Buyers. A lot of Fair Trade products are sold through intermediaries from other countries before arriving at our market. Therefore, we need purchases and sales information from all actors in the supply chain in order to guarantee the credibility of the Fair Trade value chain and to ensure that producers are receiving all the benefits they deserve.

No. Your information and transactions are yours and not the property of any certifier or third party.

Fair Trade USA does not require a second fair trade audit if a producer organization already has a valid FLOCERT certificate. However, there are cases where, due to discrepancies in the information presented, Fair Trade USA may conduct a verification visit to clarify those discrepancies and train the organization on data management.

Yes, you will receive a certificate as a Recognized Producer with Authorization to Trade, as well as a Fair Trade USA ID number. Your certificate will be renewed and issued each calendar year and will be active for one year or until the expiration of your FLOCERT certificate, whichever comes first.

Fair Trade USA shares impact information with buyers and consumers to expand the Fair Trade market and to share your positive results.

Transaction information is only shared with your specific buyers, not publicly.

Audit reports and information related to compliance with standards is strictly confidential. Fair Trade USA collects this information to analyze the impact of Fair Trade and identify most common non-conformities across hundreds of producer organizations to improve the focus of its producer support programs. When explaining the impact of Fair Trade this information will only be shared in an aggregated and therefore anonymous way.