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The WFTO Fair Trade Guarantee System
Click here to download our Fair Trade Report for 2011-12
Pachacuti is currently a pilot for the new WFTO Fair Trade Guarantee System, along with 10 other Fair Trade organisations around the w by a professional, independent auditor, and in May our Panama Hat supply chain in Ecuador is being externally audited.
Only upon successful completion of a comprehensive self-assessment report against the Fair Trade Standard, a peer visit to assess the credibility and reliability of the organisations self-assessmen, and visits by external auditors to visit both the headquarters of the organisation and a representative sample of producer groups, will the organisation be allowed to label their products with the new Fair Trade label. The scrutiny does not end there, as consumers will also play a role through an internet based 'Social Watch' programme, allowing them to report organisations which may be involved in unfair practices. This innovative process will ensure true accountability for all organisations who carry the new label.
The WFTO Sustainable Fair Trade Management System
Pachacuti was the first company in the world to complete the pilot for the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System certification process in 2009. An audit was carried out by accredited EU auditors, both in the UK by an EMAS auditor and in South America. Pachacuti became the first international Fair Trade organisation to receive the entitlement to put 'Certified Fair Trade' on all of our product range.
The certification is for the organisation as an entirety, rather than taking a product by product approach. It involves a strong environmental management component, as well as a focus on the overall management of the certified organisation including administration, labour issues, production systems and quality control. It will certify that an organisation has a proven set of practices, procedures and processes which demonstrate social, economic and environmental responsibility.
The Sustainable Fair Trade Management System seeks to provide a certification system for Fair Trade organisations and their supply chains which complements FLO, the existing product-based labelling approach. Pachacuti does not use any commodities covered by the Fairtrade mark, so certification was an important means of differentiating ourselves in an increasingly crowded ethical marketplace.
Furthermore, fashion supply chains are complex and added value is not determined predominantly by raw materials but by the many processes involved in creating the finished article. The SFTMS certification enables consumers to be assured that it is not just the raw material which is Fair Trade, but every step of the production process.
Working with WFTO consultants, we developed analytical tools and methodology in order to obtain feedback in simple, visual form as many producers are illiterate. Tools were developed to analyse the entire production process, including raw materials mapping, eco-mapping (production, waste, chemicals, energy, water) and production flow charts with the aim of reducing non-compliances, identifying health & safety issues and ascertaining where Quality Control checks needed to be strengthened.
These tools improve our understanding of the entire supply chain and allow Pachacuti to have real information to assess and develop how their fair trade activities can improve the quality of the producers' lives. Together with our producers, we analyse where improvements need to be made and create an annual action plan. One of the principal benefits to our producers has been targetted capacity building, based on the findings of the baseline assessment. Together with each producer group, Pachacuti creates an annual action plan which allows producers to direct how Fair Trade will benefit them the most. For example, one embroidery group all complained of poor eyesight. Over the past 3 years, Pachacuti has paid for eye tests, glasses and eye operations for all workers who required them.
Pachacuti has issued a Fair Trade Report for 2011-12 and a Fair Trade Report for 2010-11 which gives details of our fair trade and environmental work. Our producer groups have been really excited to be part of the first Fair Trade organisation in the world to be certified. We are confident that this process will bring lasting benefit to all of our producers through a structured approach to social, welfare, economic and environmental improvements. We are proud to have been a part of a pilot for such an important development in Fair Trade certification which we will believe will help to improve conditions for marginalised producers around the world as the World Fair Trade Organisation rolls out this certification internationally.