Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International

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To ensure the transparency and the independence of the Fairtrade certification and labelling system, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International was divided in January 2004 into two independent organizations:

* FLO International develops and reviews Fairtrade standards and assists producers in gaining and maintaining certification and in capitalizing on market opportunities on the Fairtrade market. To ensure the transparency of the system, the standards are developed and reviewed by the FLO Standards and Policy Committee, in which FLO members, producer organizations, traders and external experts participate.

* FLO-CERT ensures that producers and traders comply with the FLO Fairtrade Standards and that producers invest the benefits received through Fairtrade in their development. Operating independently from any other interests, it follows the international ISO standards for certification bodies (ISO 65).

In 2007, Fair trade certified sales amounted to approximately €2.3 billion (US $3.62 billion) worldwide, a 47% year-to-year increase. [Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (2008). http://www.fairtrade.net/single_view.html?&cHash=d6f2e27d2c&tx_ttnews [backPid] =104&tx_ttnews [tt_news] =41. URL accessed on May 23, 2008.] As per December 2007, 632 producer organizations in 58 developing countries were FLO-CERT Fairtrade certified.. [Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (2008). [http://www.fairtrade.net/uploads/media/FLO_AR2007_low_res_01.pdf FLO International: Annual Report 2007] URL accessed on June 16, 2008.]

See also

References

External links

* [http://www.fairtrade.net/ FLO International] website
* [http://www.flo-cert.net/ FLO-CERT GmbH] website