What is fair trade?
The fact that many raw materials such as palm oil, coconut oil or Shea butter are cultivated for cosmetics in the developing countries as monocultures has disastrous effects on the environment to a degree and at the same time, the plantation workers are often poorly paid. Fair trade originated as a strategy for the fight against poverty. Through fairer trade relations, the situation of the underprivileged producer families in Africa, Asia and South America is to be improved, the domestic economy strengthened and unjust global economic structures reduced in the long term.
What is the difference between fair trade and organic?
Fair trade is not to be confused with organic, even though many fair trade products come from organic farming at the same time. Not each producer, however, is able to practise organic farming. An excluding factor, for example, is when synthetic pesticides or gene technology are used in the direct vicinity of farming (without a properly enforced buffer zone).
New fair trade substances for the beauty industry
The Swiss company Botanica offers different fair trade plant extracts for use in cosmetic products, among them green tea, ginger, dates, rice, cinnamon or lemon grass. Botanica has been offering such products for 2 years and demand is increasing steadily. Crodarom will also be offering two new fair trade ingredients for cosmetics from now on which have been cultivated in Bolivia and Laos: black quinoa and lilac rice. Quinoa contains many saponines and has an anti-inflammatory effect; lilac rice has excellent antioxidant characteristics.
Is there a fair trade cosmetics label?
Up until now, only organisations in France and Great Britain have awarded fair trade labels for cosmetics. Some certified products are obtainable in Germany, e.g. at Lush. A minimum proportion of 2% fair trade ingredients which are washed off and 5% for products that remain on the skin suffice for certification in Great Britain. Products in France are subject to much more stringent requirements. At least half of all substances of the ingredients or an essential substance which makes up at least 20% of the product has to be fair trade-certified. As for the question of active substances (preservatives), neither the French nor the English fair trade label prescribes a set of specific regulations.
Based on the relatively lax provisions up until now, no fair trade label has been formally introduced in Germany for beauty products just yet.