The Fair Trade label, soon to be found on the FairMail cards

Fair trade are words more and more widely used. With the growth of fair trade we think it is very important to be clear on what we mean when we say that FairMail is the world’s only fair trade photographic greeting card concept.

This is why FairMail is a monitored member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) since 2010. Since last year the WFTO implemented a new and even stricter “fair trade guarantee system” that verifies organizations on their compliance with the principles of Fair Trade, and ensures that improvements are consistently carried out over the years through a scheduled monitoring scheme. FairMail has become the first Dutch member of the WFTO to pass this exam allowing us to print the WFTO’s fair trade label on our cards from now on. Assuring our customers that their purchase has a positive impact on marginalised producers in Peru, India and Morocco.

All books on the table during Fair Trade audit in Peru

“The exam” consisted of first giving a detailed explanation of FairMail’s operation and how they do or don’t comply with the WFTO’s fair trade criteria and providing proof to substantiate this. This was cross checked by an external audit conducted by FLO-Cert, a German fair trade certification organisation, going through the books, finances and contracts. This was followed by another third party audit of FairMail in Peru consisting of interviews with the teenagers, going through the teenager’s earnings and savings plus checking on the safety of their working conditions. In the end everything was proven to comply with the WFTO’s fair trade standards, with just a few minor suggestions for improvement.

With the logo appearing on more than half a million cards sold worldwide each year, we hope to also help increase the visibility and acceptance of this new label. This way not only helping FairMail but the whole Fair Trade community!

Read more about FairMail’s fair trade guaranteed membership here.