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Accountability

How can I be sure it is Fair Trade?

Calculating payment in Ethiopia

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Level Ground Trading works with the following organizations to provide accountability for our trade practices:

When you purchase a fair trade product, you are making a conscious decision to vote with your dollars. The accountability and transparency of a company's fair trade practices are then essential to ensure your purchase upholds the values behind your decision.

The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO) are two organizations that monitor fair trade practices.

We believe that when consumers and producers become familiar with the Direct Fair Trade approach taken by Level Ground Trading it is evident that our core values and actions are centered fully upon doing the most for, and with, our producer partners.

Level Ground seeks accountability from the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), TransFair Canada and the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO)—organizations that monitor Fair Trade practices.

World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO)

The WFTO is a global network of Fair Trade Organizations (FTOs) that have Fair Trade at the heart of their mission statement. It is the only global network whose members represent the Fair Trade chain from production to sale. 

Level Ground Trading is a Fair Trade Organization and is monitored by the WFTO. The WFTO prescribes ten standards that Fair Trade organizations must follow in their day-to-day work and carries out continuous monitoring to ensure these standards are upheld.

As an FTO, we are committed to these tenets of Fair Trade:

  • Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers - Level Ground Trading's mission is to trade fairly and directly with small-scale producers in developing countries, offering our customers ethical consumer choices.
  • Transparency and accountability - Level Ground Trading is committed to operating transparently and with accountability in the market place. We do this by reporting trading arrangements on our website, publishing initiatives and updates with producer groups, making these documents accessible to the producer groups, and visiting producer groups to ensure product prices are translating to direct payment to farmers.
  • Capacity building - Level Ground Trading, and the producer organizations with which we work with, are committed to investing in activities, which strengthen the knowledge, abilities and skills of producers and producer groups so they can effectively meet their mission and goals. 
  • Promoting Fair Trade - Annually, Level Ground attends over 100 community events and public engagement opportunities with the intention to share knowledge of Direct Fair Trade, to connect with future partners, and to engage in dialogue with community members and Fair Trade advocates.
  • Payment of a fair price - Level Ground is committed to paying a fair price to farmers and producers; we are committed to meeting or exceeding the FLO Fair Trade price standards and seek to ensure farmers receive at least 65% of the price we pay - learn more
  • Gender Equity - Level Ground Trading seeks to work with producer organizations where women's work is properly valued and equally rewarded.
  • Positive Working conditions - Level Ground Trading seeks to work with producer organizations that are committed to promoting independence and positive work conditions that meet and respect international conventions on labour standards.
  • Child Labour - Level Ground Trading seeks to work with producer groups that respect the ILO Legislation on the employment of children, in addition to local laws and customs.
  • Environmental responsibility - At home and at producer regions, Level Ground is committed to supporting sustainable environmental practice.
  • Ethical trade relations - Level Ground is committed to building and sustaining long term trade relationships with all our partners that are founded on dialogue, trust and mutual respect and have a goal of continual improvement.

As an FTO Level Ground participates in three levels of monitoring:

  1. Self-Assessment: Level Ground Trading submits a self-assessment every two years.
  2. Mutual Review: We are required to share our self-assessment report with our trading partners and other FTOs within our region
  3. External Evaluation: We are subject to an expert evaluation at any given time. We underwent such an evaluation in May 2006 by Olaf Paulson of Sustainable Development & Trade Consultancy Services in Germany.

As of July 2008, Level Ground Trading has begun a pilot project to implement the WFTO's Sustainable Fair Trade Management System whereby we are using standard and stringent reporting mechanisms to review how we are meeting IFAT's criteria.

Learn more at: www.wfto.com

Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO)

Level Ground Trading supports the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO) initiatives by purchasing from two FLO certified cooperatives—CAC Pangoa, Fero Co-op. As a purchaser of FLO certified coffee Level Ground Trading is required to:

  • Pay at least a price to producers that at least cover the costs of sustainable production: the Fairtrade Minimum Price.
  • Pay a premium that producers can invest in development: the Fair Trade Premium.
  • Partially pay in advance, when producers ask for it.
  • Sign contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices.

Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), created in 1997 and based in Bonn Germany, is the largest and most widely recognized standard setting and certification body for Fair Trade products.

FLO is an umbrella organization that unites 20 labeling Initiatives in 21 countries and producer networks representing Fairtrade Certified Producer Organizations in Central and South America, Africa and Asia. In Canada FLO labeled products fall under the labeling organization Transfair Canada, and respectively in the USA under Transfair USA.

Learn more at fairtrade.net

TransFair Canada

Level Ground Trading supports the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO) by purchasing coffee from two FLO certified cooperatives—CAC Pangoa in Peru, and Fero Coop in Sidamo Ethiopia. Purchasing coffee from these cooperatives means that we are licensed to use the Fair Trade Certified logo, provided by TransFair Canada, on our Café Pangoa, and Café Awasa packages.

As a TransFair Canada Licensee we are required to:

  • Report our purchases, processing and sales of Fair Trade Certified products
  • Agree to the stipulated terms of usage of the Fair Trade Certified logo on our products
  • Open our books to TransFair for periodic audits
  • Pay a quarterly license fee on the labeled products sold.

As a member of FLO, TransFair Canada is a national non-profit certification and public education organization promoting Fair Trade Certified™ products to improve the livelihood of developing world farmers and workers.

Learn more at transfair.ca.