In This Issue




NewestCertifier

Our Newest Cooperating Certifier 

Control Union b.v. 

of the Netherlands

We welcome Control Union b.v.
of the Netherlands as our newest cooperating certifier. As a leading certification agency with a wide portfolio of certification services, we are sure that the addition of Control Union will be a valuable addition to our existing group of certifiers and enhance our global presence. This addition emphasizes our efforts of establishing FairTSA as one of the preeminent Fair Trade certification programs on a world-wide scale.
NewestLicensees
New Licensing Partners
Voelkel Juice, of Pevestorf, Germany. An industry leader supplying superior fruit & vegetable juices for the health-conscious consumer.

C Coconut Water, of Riverwood, NSW. Australia's first 100% pure, organic, and best tasting coconut water on the market. 

Kokonut Pacific, one of our producer partners, is now also a licensee in Australia. 
Quick Links to Cooperating Certifiers
Facebook
Like us on Facebook

SEPTEMBER 2014 

Fair Trade Sustainability Alliance
  Collaborative Excellence and Accountability

Time flies - it's the end of summer, and we enjoyed several very warm New England days of hot and hazy weather. Now the air is clear and cool in the evening - a wonderful start to September. What a summer it has been - full of new partners, projects and lots of work.

Our organization is growing, we're in good spirits and we are preparing our first ever FairTSA stakeholder meeting in conjunction with the BioFach trade show in Nuremberg, Germany in February 2015. More on that in our next newsletter in November.  Until then, all the best wishes for all of you from the whole FairTSA team.

VoelkelJuice

Voelkel Juice and FairTSA

We are proud to announce our partnership with Voelkel GmbH, our newest licensee, and one of the pioneers of organic juices in Germany. Apart from their commitment to providing the widest array of delicious, healthy organic juices, they are also committed to domestic and international social and fair trading practices often exceeding typical Fair Trade requirements. Their philosophy is encoded in the Voelkel Guiding principles

 

Dedicated to long-term open and transparent relations with their suppliers, the company is a prime example for the new breed of successful triple bottom line companies truly integrating commercial success with environmental stewardship and just and fair trading practices.

Stephan Voelkel tasting pomegranate with his partners at Gőknur

 

RolesResponsibilitiesRoles and Responsibilities in 

the FairTSA Fair Trade Program

 

In this issue we would like to give you an overview of the cooperation with our certification partners. We would especially like to clarify the different roles FairTSA and our certifier partners play in the game of Fair Trade certification.

 

First, FairTSA is the standard holder, which means that we own and further develop the FairTSA Fair Trade standard. We also provide the standard-related documentation such as FairTSA System Plans, Inspection Reports, Review Checklists, and the Inspection & Certification Guide. We also publish special Guidance Documents when necessary to clarify topics or in reaction to developments in the field that are not addressed in the standard. FairTSA is also responsible for the training of the inspectors, certification reviewers and the administrative personnel of our cooperating certifiers. In essence, we provide them with a turn-key solution for an additional service they can offer their clients. In principle, this works like organic certification, with the difference that nowadays most organic certifications are based on the law of the land - such as in the EU, the USA, Canada, India, and many other countries. The FairTSA Fair Trade standard is, like all Fair Trade standards, a private standard - meaning it's not based on a law, but based on the credibility of the program itself and the trust it's able to create with producers, product buyers and consumers.

 

It should also be noted that we are the only truly open Fair Trade standard - which means that every certifier interested in working with the FairTSA standard can do so, provided they are ISO 65 (IEC 17065) accredited. This is an accreditation that proves the certifier's inspection and certification procedures and the quality management program is up to accepted industry standards. Also, special thanks to the folks at BCS! Without the support and cooperation of BCS �ko-Garantie, our first cooperating certifier, this Fair Trade program would not have seen the light of day.

 

Our second function is coaching our farmers, cooperatives and licensing partners in all aspects of the FairTSA program requirements. Since we are not making the certification decisions, we can do that without conflicting with ISO 65 guidelines. This is especially important with regard to community development, for which we have created our own training program.

 

Our third function is conducting independent audits of both our certifier partners and the certified operations, and, last but not least, we support the marketing efforts of our certified producer partners.

Inspectors in Action

CertificationProcessHow Does the Certification 

Process Work? 

The inspection and certification process is the sole responsibility of our certifier partners. When a certifier receives the request for FairTSA certification, they typically will ask the operation in question to fill out an application, then they will issue a cost estimate, to which the operation has to agree.  As a next step, the certifier sends the applicant a document in which they must list all their social, labor and occupational health and safety practices and procedures (the FairTSA System Plan). Once that is completed and returned, the certifier schedules the first inspection. This inspection is carried out by a FairTSA trained inspector, who uses the FairTSA Inspection Report to check the information on the System Plan, writes down his/her own observations, and sends the report and accompanying documents to the certifier headquarters. There, the trained certification reviewer compares the FairTSA System Plan and Inspection Report with the standard requirements and issues the certificate if warranted. In case of minor noncompliances corrective measures are specified by the certifier, which have to be taken care of within a prescribed time frame. In case of major noncompliances, the certificate will not be issued until these noncompliances have been addressed in a satisfactory manner, or in worst case scenarios, certification has to be denied or revoked. The inspection and certification procedure is carried out on an annual basis, along with irregular unannounced inspections according to their quality management procedure.


 
So much for now - in the next issue we will discuss the inspection and certification of the community development project.

 

 Fair Trade Sustainability Alliance

PO Box 791

New Lebanon, NY 12125

518-794-0286 

wfuchshofen@fairtsa.org 

 http://fairtsa.org