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

Assurance
FLOCERT provides independent and impartial assurance services. This requires the following five components: A three-party relationship – the …
Audit
An evidence-gathering process that aims to assess the compliance of an organisation and/or a product with certain standards. There are three types of …
Audit Order
Order that contains information regarding the audit to be carried out, including customer details (contact information, products), Terms of Reference …
Audit Preparation Letter
Document that contains detailed information on the scope of the audit, the agenda and which documents the customer needs to prepare before the audit.
Audit Report Evaluation
An evaluation of all the completed Audit Order’s documents and annexes.
Auditor
A person qualified to carry out audits on behalf of a certification body. Learn more about the audits carried out by FLOCERT auditors.
Basic Documentation
Basic Documentation for an audit is defined for each customer individually by the Auditor in the Audit Preparation Letter (where it is highlighted in …
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.
Central Structure
Organisational level in Hired Labour Multi Estates or 2nd/3rd grade Small-scale Producer Organisations that coordinates and manages the overall …
Certification
Formal procedure of confirmation, by which an authorised person or agency assesses and verifies the attributes, quality, qualification, status of …
Certification Analyst
FLOCERT employee who acts as the point of contact for customers; coordinating and administering Fairtrade Certification for customers in the regions …
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.
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 …