Glossary

If you feel that the world of Fair Trade has its very own language – don’t fret! We’ll keep you in the know!

With this glossary we’ll guide you through the common technical terms used by FLOCERT, Fairtrade International and the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO).

Learn about the wor(l)ds of Fair Trade below!

Navigate the glossary by letter

Category 1 trader
New FLOCERT customers (who have not yet had their Fairtrade Initial Audit), as well as customers who: pay the Minimum Price and/or Fairtrade …
Category 2 trader
All FLOCERT customers who do not fall in Category 1 and are not considered a Small Licensee.
Certification
Formal procedure of confirmation, by which an authorised person or agency assesses and verifies the attributes, quality, qualification, status of …
Certification Analyst
A FLOCERT employee who is the point of contact for customers. Certification Analysts coordinate and administer Fairtrade Certification for customers …
Certification body
An independent entity authorised by a specific standard-setter to certify that its clients comply with the requirements of the respective standard.
Certification Cycle
The period from the point of initial certification to re-certification, or from re-certification to the following re-certification. At FLOCERT, one …
Certification Decision
A Certification Decision is always made on the basis of a previous evaluation of audit results, or assessment of other compliance status-related …
Certifier
At FLOCERT, Certifier refers to the staff member who – in contrast to an Evaluator – has the authority to take Certification Decisions. The term …
Chain of custody
In an economic context, a chain of custody describes the stages a raw material passes through. It starts with primary production, moves through …
Child labour
Work that is harmful to a child’s health and well-being, and/or interferes with their education, leisure and development. As the International …
Closing Meeting
Held at the end of the audit, during which the auditor explains to the customer: any Non-Conformities identified, the Development Criteria score …
Closing Report
Signed by the operator, the Closing Report is the outline of Non-Conformities identified during the audit and presented by the auditor during the …
Code of Conduct
In the context of ethical trading, a Code of Conduct (or code of practice) is a set of rules concerning labour practices adopted by a company. The …
Complaint
A formal expression of dissatisfaction with the quality of services delivered by FLOCERT. A complaint can be registered by any third party or …
Compliance Criteria (CC)
A translation of the Fairtrade Standards requirements, binding guidance documents and FLOCERT certification policies into verifiable control points. …