Green Labels: World Labels

There are a number of schemes which focus on providing good livelihoods for people and protecting ecosystems and biodiversity in the places where the products come from. Here are two examples that you are likely to come across.

The Fairtrade Mark
The Fairtrade Foundation awards the Fairtrade Mark to products that meet international Fairtrade standards. These include long-term trading contracts and a price that covers the cost of sustainable production and living. Farmers and workers' organisations receive a premium to invest in social and environmental projects benefiting their communities.

The Mark appears on a wide range of certified products, including coffee, tea, fruit, cotton and footballs, and composite products like biscuits which include a minimum percentage of Fairtrade ingredients.

The Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance has worked for over twenty years with foresters, farmers and tour operators to ensure that their goods and services are environmentally and socially responsible.

Its certified seal of approval appears on products including timber, paper, bananas and coffee which have been grown or made sustainably.