Fair Trade by Definition Fair Trade: contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers.

For the Fashion Industry that means:
• Work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency
• Empower producers and workers as stakeholders in their own organizations
• Actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.
• Pay workers a living wage
• Do not hold or force the workers into overtime
• Subject the workers to a safe and healty working environment
• Do not employ child labor.

With many fair trade organizations out there to monitor production, it is important for both designers and consumers to understand both the meaning and certification.  Most agricultural items can be certified by the Transfair.  For Cotton (as in Edun, American Apparel and many others) certification can come from Fairtrade Labeling Organization.

Certified Organic is an entirely different label.  There are no real rules and regulations for clothing. There are USDA standards for certifying cotton plants and the cotton fibers that they produce as being organic because cotton seeds and cotton oils are also important food products. So your favorite cotton shirt can be made from 100% certified organic cotton even though the cotton fabric might be full of chemical finishes and heavy metal dyes.  Please look to the following organizations when trying to get organic textile certification in your country of origin: the Organic Trade Association (OTA) in the U.S., the Soil Association in the U.K., the International Association Natural Textile Industry (IVN) in Germany, Demeter in Europe and internationally, KRAV in Sweden and the Scandinavian countries,  and the Japan Organic Cotton Association (JOCA).  Each of these organic trade associations has developed standards for defining and regulating what constitutes organic and sustainable fabrics, textiles and garments.

Sustainable textiles might just be materials made from an old diner banquet.

Please log onto Certified Organic to register in terms of cotton

In order to get your collection certified for either fair trade of certified organic, you need to research and appeal to these organizations, otherwise you will become just another person on the sustainable bandwagon.