IFAT
What is IFAT?
IFAT is the International Fair Trade Association, the global network of Fair Trade Organizations (FTOs). Over 270 organizations in 60 countries form the basis of the network, and membership is growing steadily. Approximately 65% of IFAT members are based in the South (that is: Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America) with the rest coming from Europe, North America & the Pacific Rim.
IFAT members have the concept of 'fair trade' at the heart of their mission and at the core of what they do. They come in many shapes and sizes and represent the fair trade chain from product to sale. They are producer co-operatives and associations, export marketing companies, importers, retailers, national and regional fair trade networks, financial institutions and other support organizations, dedicated to the fair trade movement. IFAT members trade in a wide variety of fair trade goods, including giftware, household goods, furniture, garments, jewellery, food and beverages. They all adhere to IFAT’s code of Practice, developed by the members themselves.
IFAT's mission is to improve the livelihoods and well being of disadvantaged producers by linking and promoting Fair Trade Organizations, and speaking out for greater justice in world trade.
More info at www.ifat.org.
Learn more about IFAT and IFAT in Australia & New Zealand
The Beginning of IFAT
The Beginning of IFAT
Fair trade (as we now know it) began in the immediate post Second World War years when American church based bodies, the Mennonites and the Church of the Brethren, began trading in a small way with impoverished women’s groups in Puerto Rico and Jordan.
Fair Trade Organisatie, in the Netherlands, was the first European Alternative (Fair) Trade Organization, and was founded in 1959. Oxfam GB, which raised money during the war for the relief of civilian populations in Nazi occupied Europe, continued its humanitarian and disaster relief work after the war and then became involved in work with others to overcome poverty. During the 1960s, this started to include trade with those impoverished communities. In the early 1970s Fair Trade Organisatie founded several similar groups in other European countries, including GEPA in Germany, CLARO in Switzerland and EZA in Austria.
Working with their partners in countries in the South, these and other emerging organizations in the North helped to establish the Southern FTOs that organise producers and production, provide social services to producers, and export to the North. During the 1970s also, volunteers working with Oxfam Australia (then known as Community Aid Abroad) started trading, as did Trade Aid in New Zealand.
By the late 1970s, many of the Northern FTOs were meeting in conference every two or three years, and by the end of the 1980s they decided to set up an association to further improve the way they worked together.
IFAT was founded (as the International Federation for Alternative Trade), in 1989 by 36 Northern Fair Trade Organizations meeting in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. The key decision taken at the founding conference was to admit producer organizations in the South as full members of the new body with equal status with the Northern organizations. Today, two thirds of IFAT’s membership comes from the South.
The Structure of IFAT
The Structure of IFAT
IFAT's membership covers five separate regions: Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America & Pacific Rim.
IFAT has an elected Executive Committee, responsible for developing and implementing the plans arising from the strategic priorities agreed by the members at their Annual General Meeting. The Executive Committee is the guardian of the IFAT Constitution and Standards for Fair Trade Organizations. It makes policy, and decides which organizations may join the network.
Each region is represented on the Executive Committee by its own elected member. The Committee members act as a point of contact for members in their region, and may be involved in the co-ordination of the members' national and regional platforms.
IFAT's activities are coordinated by a small International Secretariat of appointed staff, currently based in The Netherlands.
More info here.
Developing the Fair Trade Market
Developing the Fair Trade Market
IFAT co-ordinates work on developing an environment for the fair trade market to grow, to help increase the opportunities for marginalised small-scale producers.
Traders looking for fair trade partners often use IFAT as a first point of contact with Fair Trade Organizations around the world. IFAT actively encourages links between Fair Trade Organizations to the business support services offered by members or other specialist providers.
IFAT brings members together for inspiration and learning. Using linkages provided by IFAT, members can build on each others' marketing experience and expertise. Every two years IFAT organises the Mohammed Islam Artisan Recognition Award to encourage, recognize and reward creativity in product development. IFAT’s international and regional conferences are the venue in which members share experiences, attend seminars, deliver feedback to trading partners, and develop their knowledge.
IFAT members have demonstrated the effectiveness of regional cooperation as a strategy for accessing markets. For instance, via the Asia Fair Trade Forum, Asian members now regularly exhibit at regional Trade Fairs such as the Bangkok International Gift Fair. Regional conferences provide the venue for building these partnerships.
More info at www.ifat.org/mktdvment.shtml
Market Development Services
Market Development Services
Connecting Producers and Buyers - CatGen software developed by IFAT member Peoplink allows IFAT members to display products online. The separate databases are linked and can be searched from the IFAT website, enabling members to get in touch with buyers from all over the world.
Financial Services for Producers - The Shared Interest Clearing House, another IFAT member, provides credit, advance payments and various financial services to producers, enabling them to grow their business at favourable rates.
Publications and Advice - IFAT has teamed up with partners such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development to make innovation more readily available to producers. Products include advice guides and manuals on various topics (e.g. "How to Participate in Trade Fairs") and an online library is currently being set up on the IFAT website.
Speaking out for Fair Trade
Speaking out for Fair Trade
IFAT is an advocate for fair trade - condemning the injustices of the international trade system and championing a radical, yet practical vision for change. IFAT and IFAT members have first-hand knowledge of the conditions under which trade can be a powerful force for sustainable economic and social development, and are thus uniquely placed to speak on behalf of disadvantaged producers in these debates.
Together with FLO, NEWS! (Network of European World Shops) and EFTA (European Fair Trade Association), IFAT operates a joint dedicated advocacy office, to influence European and global politics and increase the awareness of fair trade among decision makers.
IFAT develops the voice of fair trade by building the capacity of members, and IFAT as a network, to conduct effective advocacy campaigns. And it delivers the message of fair trade by developing and then communicating IFAT's particular perspective on the current debates around trade and development.
Every second Saturday of May, tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of people across the globe celebrate World Fair Trade Day, a very public part of IFAT’s advocacy and campaigning work.
More info at www.ifat.org/advocacy.shtml
Building Trust in Fair Trade
Building Trust in Fair Trade
In the early stages of the growth of fair trade, consumers of fair trade products knew the importers and distributors personally. The guarantee that those goods had been purchased on the basis of certain ethical principles was essentially, therefore, a question of trust between acquaintances. As a result of fair trade’s growth, the direct and personal link between producers and consumers has often been broken.
While the IFAT Code of Practice continues to provide the basic philosophy and core principles of FTOs, the assurance that fair trade standards are being met by the members has become essential for the continued growth of fair trade. IFAT members have therefore developed a set of common standards for all Fair Trade Organizations, and a monitoring system to help its members show that they meet these standards.
The IFAT system aims to be comprehensive and clear, but also friendly. It takes into account the daily reality of its member organizations. It tries to avoid heavy (and one-way) reporting but also to capture the qualities of an organization that can be difficult to measure. It emphasises learning and improvement: it is a process that is owned by the participants.
More info at www.ifat.org/monitoring.shtml
IFAT Standards for Fair Trade
IFAT Standards for Fair Trade
Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers (supporting the poorest producers)
Transparency and accountability (dealing fairly and openly with trading partners)
Capacity building (developing the skills of producers and creating opportunities for trading their products)
Promoting Fair Trade (telling as many people as possible about Fair Trade and informing customers where products have come from)
Payment of a fair price (ensuring that producers receive a fair price for their products)
Gender Equity (providing equal pay and opportunities for women and men)
Working conditions (ensuring that producers are working in a healthy and safe place)
Child Labour (ensuring that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is respected)
The Environment (ensuring that materials and processes used in production and packing do not damage the environment)
The full text of the standards is available at www.ifat.org/downloads/monitoringdownloads.shtml
The IFAT Monitoring Process
The IFAT Monitoring Process
IFAT’s Monitoring System is based on a three-tier process:
Self Assessment,
Mutual Review, and
External Verification.
Self Assessment is the first step of the monitoring process, in which members assess themselves against IFAT’s Fair Trade Standards. All the standards have indicators, which member organizations must meet or show progress towards. The Self Assessment report states the degree of compliance with these indicators and is sent to IFAT every two years.
Mutual Review (peer review) is the second step. Members send their Self-Assessment reports to their trading partners allowing for comments and feedback to both the initial organization and to a Registration Committee.
The third process, External Auditing, is used to establish the credibility of an organization’s Self Assessment report and its compliance with the Standards, and to check that the system itself is working. 5-10% of FTOs are audited annually, and ad-hoc External Audits can also be used if and when concerns are raised about a member’s working practices.
An internal IFAT Registration Committee examines all Self-Assessment reports, Mutual Review reports and External Audits, and recommends to the IFAT Executive Committee if the organization should be registered as a Fair Trade Organization. Registered members can then use the FTO mark to identify themselves as a Fair Trade Organization.
More info at www.ifat.org/monitoring.shtml
The FTO Mark
The FTO Mark
Launched in 2004 at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, the FTO Mark identifies registered Fair Trade Organizations worldwide.
A list of registered members can be found at www.ifat.org/registeredftos.shtml.
Currently there are about 150 registered FTOs, and the number is steadily growing.
The FTO Mark is a quality mark which means standards are being met regarding working conditions, wages, child labour and the environment, and demonstrates that an organization's trading activity is dedicated to the development of disadvantaged producers, and is sustainable and committed to continual improvement.
The FTO mark is a means of identification which sets FTOs apart from other commercial businesses, making them recognizable to consumers as mission driven organizations whose core activity is fair trade. It also gives FTOs definable recognition amongst existing and new business partners, governments and donors who wish to support fair trade activities - providing wider market opportunities for producers.
Registered organizations identify themselves as FTOs by displaying the FTO Mark on stationery, websites, posters and other promotional material.
Unlike the FAIRTRADE Label, the FTO Mark is not a product label - it has not been designed as a label to appear on handcrafts or other products. It is a mark to identify Fair Trade Organizations.
More info at www.ifat.org/theftomark.shtml
Right now, the FTO Mark is on a Global Journey promotional tour. The latest information on the Global Journey can be found at www.ifat.org/globaljourney/index/shtml. The Global Journey will be coming to Australia and New Zealand in July 2006.
IFAT In ANZ
The Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand recognises IFAT as a credible fair trade system and is working to ensure IFAT members and FTOs are included within the organisation.
FTAANZ is considering various opportunities for connecting to the IFAT system, enhancing the work of IFAT members in ANZ, promoting FTOs and their products, and other initiatives. Further developments will be announced on this site and here.
You can find information on current Australian and New Zealand IFAT members here, learn about how to trade in IFAT goods, as well as search for fair trade products sold through IFAT stores.