Become a WFTO Guaranteed Member

Who are the WFTO?

The World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) is the global community and verifier of social enterprises that fully practice Fair Trade. Spread across 83 countries, WFTO members all exist to serve marginalised communities.

Becoming a Guaranteed Member

To be a WFTO Guaranteed member, an enterprise or organisation must demonstrate they put people and planet first in everything they do. They are democratically run by their members, who are part of a broader community of over 1,000 social enterprises and 1,500 shops. To become Guaranteed and to maintain this status, members need to be assessed through the WFTO Guarantee System (GS)

WFTO Guarantee System (GS)

The WFTO GS combines Fair Trade and social enterprise verification into one. It is built to verify that an enterprise is mission-led, focused on the interests of its workers and producers, and this is in the structure, systems and practices of the enterprise. It was created by experts and pioneers from the Fair Trade movement so as to be credible, clear, and affordable.

In contrast to commodity certifiers, the GS assesses the entirety of a business, not just a specific product, ingredient or supply chain. It includes an assessment of the enterprise’s structure and business model, its operations and its supply chains. Members that pass the GS process attain the ‘Guaranteed Fair Trade Enterprise’ status and may use the WFTO Label on their products.

The 10 Principles of Fair Trade specify the ways that Fair Trade Enterprises are set up and behave to ensure they put people and planet first. 

5 Reasons to become a Guaranteed Fair Trade Enterprise

• The WFTO is a democratically-run global community of mission-led enterprises. Everything about the WFTO is created by the members, decided by the members.
• Credible, clear and affordable: WFTO verification system was built by the Fair Trade movement to be credible, and adopts a common-sense approach. It carefully minimises costs and uses a combination of peer reviews and independent audits (4 yearly audits).
• The label is yours: members own the Guaranteed Fair Trade label (no license fee), and (once verified as a mission-led Fair Trade Enterprise) they can use it on all their products.
• Grassroots community: members support and trade with each other, speak up collectively on social justice and Fair Trade, deepen ties at global and regional gatherings and collaborate at trade fairs.
• Visibility as a true Fair Trader: buyers and consumers are looking for more Fair Trade brands and products. They search the WFTO website and social media to find them.

Just Trading Scotland (JTS) – Fair Trade importer and distributor with WFTO Guaranteed Member status:

In January 2021, JTS celebrated the awarding of their Guaranteed Fair Trade Enterprise status. Check out their fantastic and informative video below: