Fair Trade/Level 3 Certification


The Need for Fair Trade Agricultural Practices
In the global economy, where agricultural and wild harvested commodities move rapidly across oceans and international borders, the harvesters and farm laborers are the last persons to profit. Working long hours in difficult environments, often far from medical facilities, schools, running water, and clean sanitation, these often workers lead lives of quiet desperation eking out a living for themselves and their families.

All too often, they are paid far less than their labor is worth. A typical coffee bean picker, for example, makes less in a 14-hour work day in oppressive heat, than a customer pays for a single cup of expresso served in an air-conditioned café.

The least that can be done for them is to pay them a living wage, to provide education for them and their families, while allowing them to live with dignity and health – that is the essence and promise of Fair Trade.

Fair Trade apple among oranges

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the need for economic justice for these hard-working laborers. They are demanding that the products they buy are produced by companies employing Fair Trade practices.

The process of changing long-held practices, or proving to international non-governmental organizations that a company treats its farmers and laborers according to Fair Trade practices can be costly and take considerable time over an extended period. While certification can be an important endeavor, companies firmly on that path need an interim method to demonstrate their commitment to Fair Trade. That is what Level 3 Certification provides.

Plus, while it is the intent of many companies to pursue such certification, many are already complying with the standards because… it is the right thing to do!

Sales of Fair Trade products have been growing in the double digits for over five years.

Brazil Products Company is in the process of certifying its Fair Trade practices, which has been the hallmark of its operations from its beginning. Until that is completed, it has been certified for Garden Pure/Level 3 Certification.


See a brief version of the Garden Pure audit results of Brazil Products Company and preB (Prebiotics) for Fair Trade/Level 3 Certification. Click here.

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