A quick guide to fair trade and fashion

Describing an item of clothing as fair trade is often shorthand for saying that a product was ethically produced - in particular, that the workers who helped produce it had safer working conditions, fairer pay, and other workers' rights.

Our Ethical Markets report showed that demand for fair trade products continues to grow - sales of fair trade products increased by nearly 14% between October 2019 and October 2020.

However, since any company can describe a product as fair trade or fairly traded, it can be hard to know how meaningful the term is and whether buying clothing labelled as fair trade actually benefits workers.

What does fair trade mean in fashion?

Fair trade is not a protected term (unlike for example organic - to be labelled ‘organic’ a product must be produced using at least 95% organically farmed ingredients, and the definition of organically farmed is defined by the government).

As such, while the general idea of fair trade is fairer conditions for workers, in the fashion industry the term can be used loosely to mean a range of things.  

This creates ample opportunity for greenwashing - companies marketing clothing as ethical and fairly traded, when in fact they might not know (or care) about the conditions of workers who help make their clothes. 

Our Supply Chain Management rating helps consumers to know which companies are supporting the livelihoods of people making their clothes. Many companies with a best rating ensure the materials they use are fairly traded (even if they might not market their products as ‘fair trade’).

Certification is the best way of ensuring that clothing is truly fair trade, making brands more accountable and assuring consumers that the extra cost associated with fair trade clothing is being used to ensure fair working conditions.

Fair trade fashion labels

Fairtrade Mark

Fairtrade International’s ‘Fairtrade Mark’ - the blue, green and black icon of a person raising an arm (see above) - is the world’s most recognisable fairtrade certification logo.

If a garment features this original Fairtrade Mark (without any extra arrows, words, or different colours) then this means that all of its contents are certified by Fairtrade International. All of the ingredients or materials in the product are fully traceable - kept separate from non-certified products from field to shelf.

There are however variations on this Fairtrade logo, which indicates that not everything in the product is certified - just some elements of it are.

Fairtrade Mark with an arrow

If you see the Fairtrade Mark with an arrow next to it, it means that all of the materials that can be sourced under Fairtrade conditions were done so (though it may contain some materials that Fairtrade International does not certify). To feature the Fairtrade Mark with an arrow the garment must have at least 20% certified Fairtrade content.

Fairtrade Textile Standard

If a product is certified under the Fairtrade Textile Standard then the whole piece of clothing must meet Fairtrade standards, including the cotton. 

Own-label fair trade

Some companies create their own fair trade standards instead of Fairtrade International’s certification. 

For example, Sainsbury’s used to be the world’s largest retailer of Fairtrade certified products but then in 2017 it decided to withdraw many of its products from certification and instead launched its own ‘Fairly Traded’ scheme.

Fairtrade International highlighted the key issue of companies setting up their own fair trade schemes:

“Fairtrade is a fully independent and transparent system supported by the third party organisation” while “Sainsbury’s Sustainability Standards are established by Sainsbury’s, which means that Sainsbury’s will in future carry responsibility for their implementation, review and performance”.

The obvious downside of companies creating their own fair trade standards is that they can decide what does and does not count as fair trade criteria (which may on occasion align more closely with corporate interests than workers’ rights), and it will likely have a less independent third-party enforcement mechanism than established certifying bodies.

Are organic products fairly traded?

There is a small overlap between organic and Fairtrade requirements. 

For example, organic farming can benefit farmers and workers who may otherwise suffer health impacts due to harmful chemicals in pesticides and herbicides. 

Organic certifications might also include some workers’ rights requirements, such as The Soil Association, whose certification includes brief clauses on involuntary and child labour.

Some major brands (such as Nobody’s Child) say their cotton must be organic, Fairtrade, recycled, or Better Cotton Initiative certified, but don’t specify what percentage is Fairtrade. 

Organic cotton is less risky in terms of workers’ rights because it requires a physically certifiable supply chain, and recycled produce is less likely to be directly funding unethical practises too. 

However when it comes to workers’ rights Fairtrade certification is the most robust. Fairtrade certification and explicit supply chain policies on the company website are much more likely to guarantee that workers’ rights are respected than organic or other types of certification. 

Where to buy fairly traded clothing

If you want to buy fairly traded clothing, where should you look? In our guides to high street clothing and ethical clothing we highlight which brands specialise in or sell fair trade clothes. We've included more information about some of the companies below.