IN BRIEF

Creation: 2005.

Based at: Weinfelden, Switzerland (IMO) with sec-retariat in Cambridge, UK (Traffic International)

Origin/need: The growing demand for natural prod-ucts in the food, cosmetics and medicinal sectors is putting much pressure on vulnerable plants; threat-ening local ecosystems and plant collecting commu-nities, who normally belong to the poorest social groups.

Sector: picking/collecting (fruits, nuts, plants, mush-rooms, berries, etc.)

What is guaranteed: Maintenance of MAP re-sources (wild Medicinal and Aromatic Plants); pre-vention of harmful effects on the environment; com-pliance with laws, regulations, agreements, com-mon law; establishment of responsible management practices; fair working conditions and commercial relationships; fair commercial behaviour and quality awareness.

Stakeholders: NGOs, consumers, public authori-ties, businesses, experts in conservation, fair trade, FLO and ILO requirements.

Beneficiaries: Independent producers, coopera-tives, factories, businesses/ brand holders

Type of assessment: internal, second and third party inspections.

Methods: analysis of the documentary system, pre-announced visits to collection sites, interviews with internal and external stakeholders.

Sector activities concerned: production, import/export, processing.

Standard: the FairWild Standard is a combination of the old FairWild standard (social section) with the ISSC MAP standard (environmental section). Avail-able on www.fairwild.org

Improvement procedure: checklist with grading system (0 = non-compliant; 1 = basic compliance; 2 = compliant with requirements; 3 = exceptional). 90% of the points in the requirements must be achieved during the 1st year. All the main points must be achieved. 95% must be achieved during the 2nd year, 100% during the 3rd year.

At the beginning of the 21st century, professionals who traded or protect-

ed medicinal and aromatic plants began reviewing good agricultural prac-

tices that were recommended by organisations such as the WHO, the

WWF and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). They

also wanted to ‘fine-tune’ the recommendations, in order to ensure the

sustainability of these specific natural resources as well as to ensure con-

tinuing compliance of local rural communities, whose survival often de-

pends on these plant species.

Soon they realised that with the exception of “standard” crops such as tea

and vanilla, the normal certification and best practice criteria used in fair

trade (FLO, for example) and organic production were not precise enough

to cover the specific range of plants used in medicines, cosmetics and

foodstuffs. They therefore created a set of requirements and a certification

system entitled the “International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection

of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP)”.

Based on economic, social and environmental criteria, this guarantee sys-

tem has been in existence since 2005. The FairWild Foundation has been

promoting it since 2008 among plant collectors, businesses, traders, im-

porters and exporters, etc., through various training and awareness pro-

grammes. It was reviewed in 2010 and is now called FairWild Standard

2.0.

The FairWild Standard provides guidance on best practices in eleven key

areas: maintaining wild plant resources, preventing negative environmen-

tal impacts, compliance with law, regulations and agreements, respecting

customary rights and sharing benefits, promoting fair contractual relation-

ships between operators and collectors, ensuring benefits for collectors

and their community, ensuring fair working conditions for all workers of

FairWild collection operations and limiting participation of children in wild-

collection activities, applying responsible management practices and busi-

ness practices and finally, promoting buyer commitment.

The scope of the FairWild Standard 2.0 includes medicinal plants and

other products of plant and/or fungal origin. Animals and products of ani-

mal origin such as honey are excluded.

1 http://www.fairwild.org/labelling

Out of almost 70,000 plant species used for medicinal purposes through-out the world, only some 3,000 are traded on an international scale.

For more information:

www.fairwild.org

By the end of 2012, wild plants were collected under the FairWild label in 7 coun-

tries, mainly in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans (Poland, Bosnia and Herze-

govina, Macedonia, Albania and Hungary) but also in Bolivia and Kazakhstan.

Plants are collected for the account of North-American, British, German and Swiss

companies. FairWild products are mainly offered for sale in the USA, Canada, Great

Britain and Japan. In the United States FairWild has just been recognised by the

Fair Trade Resource Network.

Current implementation projects are underway in Vietnam, Ecuador, Morocco, Leba-

non and Central Europe (Poland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary).

Moreover, the IUCN has collaborated with TRAFFIC, the WWF and other partners,

with the financial support of the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and

Development, with a view to implementing the ISSC-MAP standard. This is part of

the joint initiative “Saving Plants that Save Lives and Livelihoods” and seeks to cer-

tify sustainable plant collection and picking in the countryside under the auspices of

the FairWild Foundation. Projects are in progress in Brazil, Cambodia, India, Leso-

tho, Nepal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China and Ukraine

For Edward Quiroz, adviser to the Arcasy association of wild cocoa producers

(Bolivia), which obtained its FairWild certification in 2012, "the certification offers

advantages such as a fair price, healthy competition (with wholesalers who

respect collectors), environment-friendly practices that protect biodiversity

and the sustainability of cocoa trees. Economic profit is also generated when

the product is exported to countries that know the label."

This adviser also points out that the label is a marketing tool: It shows the producer-

organisation is ecologically sound. But there are restrictions. The Arcasy adviser

regrets he cannot export directly to Europe without using intermediaries, who also

benefit from the label. He is also limited as to quantities collected, which for certain

industries are too low.

Products containing at least 75% Fair-

Wild ingredients can carry the FairWild

logo prominently displayed.

Products containing 20–75% of Fair-

Wild ingredients can carry the FairWild

logo in a subordinate position.

Products containing less than 20% of

FairWild ingredients can be labeled with:

contains FairWild “xxx”, without using the

logo.

Indigenous cocoa in Bolivia—© BTC

The FairWild label can be used on packaging through a licence agreement with the

FairWild Foundation. To determine the licence fees, buyers fill out a declaration

stipulating the relationship and prices paid to producers; traders report on all Fair-

Wild-labelled products sold during one year. The buyer undertakes to pay a Fair-

Wild Price, at least 5% higher than the market price. An additional premium is di-

rected to a development fund, which is intended for social development projects in

the collectors’ communities. The FairWild Premium is not to be confused with the

FairWild Price. It can be passed on in whole or in part throughout the value chain.

The license fee rate is calculated on a sliding scale depending on the annual turno-

ver of the FairWild certified product(s).

The costs of certification depend on the number of working days required for ins-

pection. The time needed depends on the size of the company, its complexity, and

the number and type of certified products it is seeking to sell. A full FairWild audit

(ecological and social criteria) normally takes 2-3 days.

At the present time, the IMO is the only FairWild-accredited agency. Costs are

borne by the certificate holder. This can be either the importer or the collectors’ as-

sociation.

FairWild confirms its affiliation with fair trade. FairWild principles and criteria are

very close to those of the Fairtrade label. It also includes CBD (Convention on Bio-

logical Diversity) provisions on prior informed consent (PIC) and access and benefit

-sharing (ABS) of biodiversity.

FairWild also responds to endangered species issues and to the over-exploitation of

natural resources. It’s the only label that refers to the rights of indigenous people

and respects their traditional know-how.

With the emergence of a growing market for biodiversity-based products – in cos-

metics but also as food supplements - the FairWild Standard can inspire the fair

trade movement, which should consider developing a strategy and complementary

criteria to include respect for biodiversity-based resources and traditional know-how

in its own standards, and in the new value chains it develops.

January 2013

CONTACT FAIRWILD

Head Office

Weststrasse 51 CH-8570 Weinfelden Switzerland Tel: +41-71-6 26 06 26 Fax: +41-71-6 26 06 23

Email: info@FairWild.org

* The remuneration guarantee varies according to the system. Some provide a “fair” wage, with a discretionary income (EFT, Fair for Life, Fairwild, FSC, GoodWeave, Max Havelaar (FLO), BSCI, ETI, Fair Wear, RSPO, SA8000, STEP, WFTO). Re-ferred to as a “living wage”, it varies from one region

to another and is calculated in relation to the cost of living (basket of household goods). Other systems simply guarantee compliance with legal indices, without examining their correlation with the “fairness” of the amount paid. ** Financial security sometimes takes the form of setting a guaranteed minimum price (essentially for raw materials), sometimes the payment of a premi-um over the market price (considered to reflect the superior quality of the product) and/or through contractual clauses relating to the duration of part-nership (long-term), easy access to (pre)financing, etc. These factors have a strong correlation with the criterion of “remuneration”: A correct price implies “fair” remuneration.

Secretariat

TRAFFIC International 219a Huntingdon Rd Cambridge CB3 ODL UK Tel: +44 (0)1223 277427 Fax: +44 (0)1223 277237

Email: secretariat@FairWild.org

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BUILDING A FAIR WORLD

Trade for Development Centre closely follows the evolution of fair and sustainable trade. We try to inform consumers, authorities, producers and other economic actors as objectively as possible with opinion surveys, market studies, articles, brochures and a review of labels and guarantee systems.