Canada’s Fair Trade Programs are managed by Fairtrade Canada. They were developed in partnership by the Canadian Fair Trade Network and Fairtrade Canada.
Fairtrade is an international movement for change that works directly with businesses, consumers and campaigners to make trade fair for farmers and workers. The world-wide Fairtrade system is the largest and most recognized fair trade system. We are a global organization working to secure a better deal for farmers and workers.
Fairtrade Canada is a national, non profit fair trade certification organization, and the only Canadian member of Fairtrade International. What we do can be broken down into two main categories. Licensing – we license Canadian companies to use the FAIRTRADE Mark on their products, and ensure that they abide by strict economic, environmental and social standards. Education – we work alongside community groups, companies, and individual citizens to educate about fair trade and Fairtrade certified products.
The products that we buy, the companies that we purchase from, how we invest and spend our money all have impacts on the world around us. In Canada, we work to build, support and develop communities of active, engaged citizens. This includes working with various community members and local businesses.
As an organization, we work with people, advocates, businesses, and our public institutions and governments to ensure those decisions have positive impacts on the world. Buying fair trade products is a way to ensure that farmers and workers are compensated fairly, treated with respect, and can produce their products in an environmentally sustainable way. We work in Canada, but our impacts are felt worldwide, extending through global supply chains into Africa, Asia, and Latin America.