Other Certification Systems and Labels

There are increasingly a number of social and environmental claims in the market place from FAIRTRADE and organic labels to Rainforest Alliance certified as well as corporate initiatives.  While more product labels provide consumers with greater choice, the proliferation of certification and labelling systems can make it hard to distinguish credible certification and labelling from initiatives with lower standards.

What is the difference between certification and labelling?

Who runs social and environmental certification and labelling initiatives?

Are there other fair trade certification systems?

Are there other social certification systems?

What about environmental protection?

What is the Rainforest Alliance Certified Program?

What is the difference between fairtrade and organic?

What if I want to buy a product that is both fair trade and environmentally preferable?

How can I tell if a product label is credible?

ISEAL Alliance

Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN)

For a recent overview and comparison of coffee environmental and social certification systems, review the following article from the Sustainable Commodity Initiative, a partnership between UNCTAD and IISD: www.iisd.org/pdf/2004/sci_coffee_labelling.pdf

For another comparison, see Consumers International article, called "From Bean to Cup", online at www.consumersinternational.org/Templates/News.asp?NodeID=94997