Fairtrade International (FLO)[1] was established in 1997, and is an association of 3 producer networks, 19 national labelling initiatives and 3 marketing organizations that promote and market the Fairtrade Certification Mark in their countries [2] Fairtrade labelling organizations exist in 18 European countries as well as in Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand[3].
To ensure the transparency and the independence of the Fairtrade certification and labelling system, Fairtrade International was divided in January 2004 into two independent organizations:
In 2009, Fair trade certified sales amounted to approximately €3.4 billion (US $4.9 billion) worldwide, a 15% increase from 2008.[4] As of 2011, 827 producer organizations in 58 developing countries were FLO-CERT Fairtrade certified.[4]
FLO also oversees national organizations in South Africa, the Czech Republic and Korea[3] .
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