You are a consumer
EFT (ECOCERT fair trade in the spirit of solidarity and responsibility) is a fair trade guarantee system designed to allow operators to enhance the value of their commitment. But this value enhancement only has meaning if, by setting a higher level of standards, we are able to build consumer confidence in this growing sector which, nevertheless, seeks credibility.
The EFT system sets out the conditions for effective third party inspection, carried out by a recognised, independent certification organisation.
The standards were written over a period of several months, and are the result of a consensus achieved by a representative working group. Sub-groups then examined specific issues raised for each product category (food-processing, cosmetics, textiles, crafts).
Increasing consumer protection
In order to increase consumer protection, we have decided to impose a natural or organic certification on cosmetic and textile finished products. There are incentives for converting agricultural products to organic agriculture, but flowers, bananas and cotton crops must be organic. Irradiation of foods is prohibited, as are certain additives.
The audit schedule breaks down each standard into several control points. Each deviation noted is penalised and corrective measures are devised. The certification officer decides whether to grant certification based on the audit report.
The entire approach is supervised by a Certification Committee, made up of professionals from the sector, qualified people and consumer representatives. This committee deals with disputes and appeal requests.
A demanding concept of fair trade
The EFT standards show the concept of fair trade to be a very demanding one. The EFT standards conform to the key founding international principles of fair trade (establishment of guaranteed minimum prices and long-term relations; harvest prefinancing on request; support for producer communities) and incorporate aspects from several normative standards (FINE Declaration, International Labour Organisation conventions, AFNOR Agreement AC X50-340).
But with EFT we wanted to go even further than this, by applying a limit on the number of intermediaries involved and by moderating profit margins along the commodity chain in the North. Moreover, the EFT standards pay particular attention to the information available to consumers: it must explain the project, be detailed, illustrated, annotated and available online (the website link must be stated on the packaging).
A commodity chain approach
Given the commodity chain approach adopted, the inspectors are appointed both at the production and processing site, and at the premises of the exporter and importer.
By having multiple ECOCERT establishments (offices or branches) throughout the world, we are able to understand the local social and cultural contexts in these regions and carry out outreach work.
In October 2007, following an audit the French Platform for Fair Trade approved ECOCERT’s validity.