How does the Fair Trade certification process differ from organic and shade grown certifications?
Organic, Shade Grown, and Bird-Friendly certification labels have contributed important and valuable efforts to promoting sustainable agriculture techniques that benefit farmers and the environment. However, they do not carry the encompassing attributes of the Fair Trade Certification process. Organic coffee is certified according to strict legal criteria. There are a number of different certifying agencies (QAI, OCIA) that all certify according to the same California Organic Foods Act an in accordance with the standards of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM). Shade coffee (bird-friendly) is currently certified by several groups (Rainforest Alliance, Seattle Audubon Society, Smithsonian Institute) but they work with slightly different criteria and do not have comprehensive monitoring procedures. Of these, the Smithsonian Institute has the strongest and most scientifically-based criteria and the best monitoring capability. Fair Trade Certification work
