Our Standards
Our vetting process
Certification organizations
The vast majority of our brands maintain third-party certifications or memberships with reputable Fair Trade organizations. If they do, we review their certifications to ensure it is up to date and meets our own standards for Fair Trade practices.
Our vetting process
Small batch & handmade
Some of our sellers are very small organizations or single artisans for whom a certification is prohibitively expensive. In these cases we gather documentation from from the brand such as paid invoices from manufacturers, statements on their founding principles, receipts for raw materials purchased, photographic evidence from visits to suppliers, and more to verify that they are actively practicing the principles we stand for.
Our vetting process
Continuous review
We review each seller on The Labour Movement annually to ensure their commitment to Fair Trade standards are strong and continuing to expand.
We go to lengths to ensure the products we list here meet our standards, but it is possible that some unscrupulous person will slip through our vetting and review process.
If you have concerns about a brand or product selling on The Labour Movement we take that concern seriously. Report it to us for investigation.
Our vetting process
The future
As we grow, one of the core missions we have is to develop our own coaching and certification system which provides a guided road to Fair Trade certification, and which is both is accessible to any brand and robust enough to ensure the highest standards of Fair Trade practices.
A WFTO Market Access Partner
The World Fair Trade Organization names seven Market Access Partners worldwide, and The Labour Movement is one of them. Partners give WFTO members more ways to reach shoppers.
WFTO checks whole businesses against its 10 Principles of Fair Trade, including fair payment, good working conditions and transparency. We still vet every brand here, WFTO member or not, against our own standards before it's listed.
The certifications our brands hold
Most of our brands hold a third-party certification or membership. Each page explains what that certifier checks, how it fits with our own vetting, and which brands on The Labour Movement hold it.
