Member of the Month – Guaranteed Members Special

Fair Mail

We are very happy to inform you that more WFTO-Europe members will become guaranteed during the following weeks. We have decided to dedicate a special space to these organizations in our Newsletter and to let them share their views and experiences with others.

First of them, Fair Mail from Netherlands became guaranteed member in March 2015! We would like to take this opportunity and congratulate them on their success. Find out how they feel about this important step as WFTO-members in the following interview:

1.       How do you feel about being WFTO Guaranteed Member?  What are the main positive outcomes you expect? 

We feel proud to be the Netherlands first WFTO Guaranteed Member. It is a big step for the WFTO to implement the FT guarantee system and we are very happy to be one of the front runners. It is especially good news for us as we can now communicate clearly to our publishers and end-consumers what we mean with FairMail being Fair Trade. Especially once the visibility and recognition of the label grows.

2.   How are you going to promote the WFTO Product Label? Which are the main channels you are going to use for this purpose? 

We will print the label on the back of the 500.000 greeting cards we sell worldwide each year. Next to the photo, name and email address of the teenage photographer who took the picture on the front of the card. The cards will become available in our mainstream and fair trade retail channels in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria, plus via our web based printing on demand partners worldwide.

3.   What would you say to encourage other members to go through the WFTO Guarantee System?

If you are serious about being fair trade and are willing to show what you mean with this claim go for the challenging Guarantee System as it is the closest to a 100% guarantee you can get. Do be aware and get internal agreement on the relatively high audit costs. Don’t hesitate to make a moral appeal on the third party auditors to give your organisation a price quote that fits with the values and ideas of a fair trade guarantee system and that are proportionate to the fair trade wages your producers receive.