Naturland Fair
Our Motivation

Exploitative child labour, structural discrimination and prices that prevent farmers from making a living – do we really want to live in a world like this? There are still many challenges facing modern farming and indeed society as a whole. Here at Naturland, we want to help create a organic, social and fair world, and a level playing field for farmers on the international stage.

This is why we have partnered with committed fair trade organisations and companies such as Weltpartner eG, GEPA - The Fair Trade Company, BanaFair, Molkerei Berchtesgadener Land and many more, who campaign for a more sustainable world. With their help, we have developed the Naturland Fair certification, which puts fair, welfare-orientated, organic business practices at the top of the agenda. Naturland Fair combines the stringent Naturland standards with fair trade principles and is the highest organic and fair trade standard in the world.

At the heart of our commitment to fair trade are the many partner companies and producers who live and breathe Naturland Fair every day. By displaying the seal and modifying their ways of working, they demonstrate their commitment to ensuring a good life for farmers, cooperating as partners and treating the world's resources with care.

In addition to paying fair prices and fostering long-term trade relationships, social engagement is a core element of what they do for local people in their area. For example, Naturland Fair partners and farms participate in educational projects, support smallholders in developing local infrastructures and promote regional value chains. Their involvement is as diverse as the world’s population. Their commitment makes it possible for us to fill our kitchen cupboards with organic and fair-trade bananas, tropical fruits, cocoa, spices, tea, coffee, milk, bread, wine, olives and much more.

As an international organic association, we are members of the German Fair Trade Forum (FFH), through which we campaign for fair trade practices and transparent supply chains. After all, a fair world can only be made possible with a joint commitment from everyone, from consumers and politicians, to producers and retailers.

Naturland's international commitment began while working with GEPA in 1986. In the years that followed, the fair trade organisations WeltPartner eG and BanaFair became Naturland partners. The impact of these partnerships was felt in many areas of Naturland’s work. Incorporating more substantial social standards into the Naturland standards and ultimately adapting the Fair criteria to local circumstances were both logical consequences of these partnerships. Naturland started implementing their first fair trade projects in 2006 and eventually solidified its commitment in 2010 by launching the Naturland Fair certification.

We continuously work with fair trade organisations to expand and improve the Naturland Fair programme by incorporating topical issues, such as living wages, into our standards. While doing so, we always remain true to our core Naturland Fair values: organic, social and fair!