Beauty products: Q&As

The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer guarantee that the farmers producing the Fairtrade ingredients in a beauty product are getting a better deal – receiving a fair and stable, minimum price and Fairtrade premium, receiving pre-financing where requested and benefiting from longer-term, more direct trading relationships. For beauty products, all companies wishing to certify a product with the FAIRTRADE Mark must also have a producer partnership plan outlining how they additionally seek to support the producers of the ingredients they are buying.

The Fairtrade minimum price is based on farmers’ actual costs of sustainable production and if the market price is higher than the Fairtrade minimum price then traders must pay the market price. An extra sum of money – the Fairtrade premium – is also paid to producer organisations and allows them to invest in social and environmental projects that benefit the community, or strengthen their businesses.

Fairtrade aims to improve the situation of farmers and workers at the bottom of supply chains who are at the sharp end of exploitation and injustice in international trade. Many producers in the developing world get their income from crops which are commonly used for beauty and/or food products, however in the conventional market they often have to accept prices below their costs of production and so do not have the ability to meet their families’ most basic needs. 

In Europe at least 5 billion beauty products are sold each year[1] using around 1.5 million tonnes of ingredients.[2] Opening the beauty market to Fairtrade labelling can provide potentially huge market opportunities to both existing Fairtrade certified producers (for example of shea nut butter, cocoa butter, sugar and honey) as well as producers of potential new Fairtrade ingredients (for example beeswax and coconut oil).  

Fairtrade also offers ordinary members of the public the opportunity to support sustainable development through their shopping.  In recent research, 31% of UK consumers indicated that they would be interested in purchasing beauty products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark. In addition, a survey of the market in 2007 indicated that over 50% of beauty products currently sold globally could contain Fairtrade ingredients.

The first farmers’ groups to sell their products into the beauty market include:

• Kasinthula Cane Growers Association, Malawi
• Conacado Cocoa Cooperative, Dominican Republic
• RONAP Brazil Nut cooperative, Peru
• UGPPK Union of Shea Butter Producers, Burkina Faso
• ITURBE Sugar, Paraguay
• APICOOP Honey, Chile,
• FLOR de Campanille Honey, Mexico,
• Cosatin Honey, Mexico
• Heiveld and Wupperthal, Rooibos tea, South Africa
• PFTPC Olive Oil, Palestine
• Kerala FT Alliance, India

For these organisations, the primary benefit of Fairtrade will be the development of long term and supportive trading relationships with the companies to whom they sell. While the Fairtrade minimum price and premium will help improve their stability of income and ability to reinvest in their communities, the Fairtrade system recognises that most beauty products are often heavily water-based and contain relatively small volumes of natural ingredients. The Fairtrade model for beauty products therefore seeks to add further value for producers by obliging companies to develop a partnership plan by which they commit to additional support for the producers of the raw ingredients. This could be additional financial support for producer business improvements or community projects, or technical support with market access, management or other needs, for example investing in value-added business activities, using UK expertise to assist producer organisations develop products for local market.

It is up to the farmers’ organisations to decide democratically how they wish to invest premiums they earn from Fairtrade. Some of the groups mentioned above have already been selling some of their crops under Fairtrade terms and so are already benefiting from the advantages that Fairtrade certification can bring. Conacado for example have used their Fairtrade premium for a number of projects including: providing training courses for farmers to help improve quality and yield; constructing a new school and contributing to school repairs in five regions; running a healthcare clinic for the community including free medical check-ups; and providing interest-free loans and credit to members.

Kasinthula Cane Growers Association, Malawi have provided safe, clean water to the three villages that had to collect water from the Shire River, risking water-borne diseases and attack from crocodiles. The first borehole was dug in the village of Kapasule in March 2004. The 500-plus villagers no longer have to use the river or make the 2.5 km walk to Siseu village to collect clean water. A second borehole was dug in Chinangwa village in 2005. Significant premium money has been used to make electricity available for the first time in two villages where Kasinthula members live. Pylons and transformers have been brought in and the villagers have connected their houses to the supply. For the first time the villagers will be able to work in the evenings, without having to struggle to read and see in the dark and working hours can be extended so they will be able to earn more.  

The increased sales that these producers will be able to make as a result of being able to access a new market sector will increase further the benefits that they, their families and communities will make from the sale of Fairtrade beauty products.

Our rules state that for a product to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark, all ingredients that can be certified Fairtrade, must be sourced from Fairtrade certified producers under Fairtrade terms. However, beauty products are usually made up of a combination of water, synthetic and natural (or naturally derived) ingredients and very often, natural ingredients make up a relatively low proportion of the overall volume of a product. Only the natural ingredients have the potential to be Fairtrade certified, therefore it is not possible for all ingredients of a beauty product to be Fairtrade.  

The cosmetics policy covers ‘leave-on’ products (e.g. lotions, body oils, face masks and lipstick) and ‘wash off’ products (e.g. shampoos, shower gels, soaps and toothpaste). For each product category there are threshold levels which specify the minimum proportion of Fairtrade content in the final product:

• ‘Leave on’ products must contain at least 5% Fairtrade certified ingredients
• ‘Wash off’ products must contain at least 2% Fairtrade certified ingredients

The threshold levels differ for leave on and wash off products in order to ensure that product performance is not affected.

In determining the minimum threshold our aim is to secure the best possible opportunity for Fairtrade producers. The threshold levels were established following extensive research and consultation with consumers, industry, producers and other key stakeholders, and are meant as a minimum only – we expect companies to use the highest levels of Fairtrade ingredients possible.  These levels open up the potential market for Fairtrade labelling to 53% of the total cosmetics and personal care market and will allow a wide range of products to be formulated, including the best-selling volume lines. Setting higher thresholds would limit the overall volume potential considerably and therefore limit the ultimate benefits back to producers.

Lots of ingredients in beauty products can already be sourced from Fairtrade certified producers. These include vegetable oils such as cocoa butter, shea nut butter, brazil nut oil and olive oil, as well as sugar, honey and vanilla.

We are also working with companies to ensure that these and other basic Fairtrade products can be processed and transformed into derivatives which can be used as ingredients. For example, Fairtrade herbs and spices such as rosemary and ginger cannot be used in their original form but are useable when transformed into essential oils and used as aromatherapy oils or fragrances. Processing Fairtrade ingredients into other ingredients will increase further the benefits back to producer organisations.

Fairtrade’s primary focus is to guarantee a better deal for producers in the developing world.  Fairtrade certification ensures that the farmers and workers producing the raw ingredients at the start of the supply chain receive fairer terms of trade and can improve their livelihoods but does not certify against labour standards at the manufacturing stage for beauty products. It is the retailer or brand’s responsibility to ensure that labour standards throughout the rest of their supply chains are maintained and monitored. The Fairtrade Foundation is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), which brings together companies, trade unions and NGOs to explore how labour standards throughout supply chains can be progressively improved, and we therefore do encourage companies to also engage with the ETI to improve practice in this area.

Parabens are ingredients that are used as preservatives in many beauty products. While some parabens occur naturally in fruits such as blueberries, they are often created synthetically in beauty products and foodstuffs to lengthen their shelf life. Some organisations have argued against their use, suggesting that there may be unintended health dangers, and indeed the use of synthetic parabens is prohibited in organically certified beauty products. However, the EC has examined the safety of using parabens and issued a Cosmetics Directive which permits the use of parabens and sets the maximum concentration at which they can be used.  This directive also covers all ingredients (both natural and synthetic) which may or may not be allowed in beauty products. Fairtrade standards are consistent with the EC Directive and do not currently prohibit the use of parabens.  It is therefore the responsibility of manufacturers to decide whether to include parabens in their formulation or not, and to ensure that their products are formulated in line with appropriate EU legislation and directives.

The EC Cosmetics Directive has banned the testing of finished beauty products and ingredients on animals since September 2004 and the marketing of any finished products or ingredients tested on animals was prohibited in March 2009.  All manufacturers are required to ensure that they are in line with this EC directive and as a result no beauty products containing Fairtrade ingredients will have been tested on animals.

Beauty products on sale in the UK already vary hugely in price depending on a range of factors including where you buy them, their quality and branding as well as economies of scale. Our aim is that there will be a range of Fairtrade certified beauty products available, including both premium and competitively priced brands. An average beauty product containing Fairtrade ingredients may not be the cheapest in the market but it does mean that shoppers can play their part in ensuring producers receive a fair price for their products, and have more opportunities to improve life for their families and communities.

The FAIRTRADE Mark certifies individual products and not entire companies. The Mark indicates that the products have complied with internationally agreed standards for Fairtrade certification. Fairtrade ingredients are sourced from producer organisations which are independently certified by our international body Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). All the traders in the supply chain have been registered with the Fairtrade system and work to our trading standards.  These include sourcing from certified organisations, paying the agreed minimum Fairtrade price and social premium, providing pre-financing where requested, committing to long-term, more direct trading relationships, and independent auditing of their supply chains. For beauty products, companies must also establish a trading partnership plan to support their producers. Any company that is able to comply with these trading standards for their products is eligible to apply for the FAIRTRADE Mark. 

Currently there are over 50 beauty products on the market which contain Fairtrade certified ingredients. These include body butters, lip balms, shower gels, face masks and body scrubs. The range of products is growing all the time and the details of all the products and the companies that sell them can be found on our website at www.fairtrade.org.uk/beauty.