Fair Rubber – What does the label stand for?
1. What is Fair Rubber?
Fair Rubber campaigns for better working conditions as well as social and ecological improvements in rubber cultivation. The association comprises companies that use rubber, and civil society organisations committed to bringing about improvements in the rubber sector. Companies that purchase natural rubber and pay the Fair Rubber Premium may display the Fair Rubber label on their products, to indicate that a corresponding quantity of rubber has been sourced under Fair Rubber conditions. The label refers specifically to the rubber cultivation stage and does not certify other materials, components, or production stages of the product. The Fair Rubber Premium benefits the people who tap the rubber and meet the Fair Rubber Standard.
2. Why was Fair Rubber founded?
World market prices for natural rubber are very low, and working conditions for rubber tappers are often poor. Furthermore, rubber cultivation frequently has a negative impact on the environment, for example through the use of pesticides. Therefore, committed individuals associated with the Fair Trade movement founded Fair Rubber. Through a cultivation standard and a premium, the association aims to improve conditions in natural rubber-growing regions.
3. What is the difference between Fairtrade and Fair Rubber?
Fairtrade is a well-known and widely recognised label for fair trade. Fairtrade has no standards for natural rubber. Inspired by Fairtrade, Fair Rubber has therefore developed a cultivation standard and the Fair Rubber Premium.
4. What does ‘Fair Rubber certified’ mean?
Plantations and groups of smallholders receive Fair Rubber certification provided they meet the Fair Rubber Standard. The requirements relate to working conditions, environmental aspects, management, and the Fair Rubber Premium. The plantations and groups are visited by an independent certification body at least every three years and assessed for compliance with the Fair Rubber Standard. An overview of the certification rules sets out all details as to how the certification process works.
5. What does the Fair Rubber Standard say?
The Fair Rubber Standard is a cultivation standard. It must be met by the plantations and smallholder groups that seek certification. The Fair Rubber Standard consists of 82 requirements, relating to working conditions, organization, management of environmental aspects, and the management of the Fair Rubber Premium.
6. What is the Fair Rubber Premium?
The Fair Rubber Premium is €0.50 per kilogram of dry rubber content (DRC). Companies that purchase natural rubber pay the premium to the Fair Rubber Association. The association forwards the premium to smallholders and rubber tappers who meet the Fair Rubber Standard.
7. Who benefits from the Fair Rubber Premium?
The premium goes to those people who actually work on the rubber plantations themselves: workers and rubber tappers on the plantations as well as smallholders who grow rubber. Plantations and smallholders receive the Fair Rubber certification provided they meet the Fair Rubber Standard relating to working conditions, organization, management of environmental aspects and the management of the Fair Rubber Premium. They decide for themselves – in accordance with democratic principles – how to use the premium money.
8. How are decisions made regarding the use of the premium?
Smallholders and rubber tappers decide for themselves on how to use the Fair Rubber Premium. The prerequisite is that smallholders form groups and that plantation workers form a so-called ‘joint body’ with the management. In this way, they decide collectively how the premium should be used to improve their living and working conditions.
9. What does the Fair Rubber label mean?
The Fair Rubber label indicates that a Fair Rubber Premium has been paid for natural rubber – the raw material used in the product – benefiting smallholders and rubber tappers, who decide, according to democratic principles, how to use it to improve their living and working conditions.
Because certified and non-certified rubber are usually mixed during processing, it is not possible to guarantee that the specific rubber in an individual product comes from certified sources. Instead, the Fair Rubber Premium is paid for a quantity of rubber equivalent to the company‘s use for their Fair Rubber labelled products. This system is called “mass balance.”
10. Why does Fair Rubber use mass balance?
By making use of mass balance, even companies that purchase or process only small quantities of rubber can work with Fair Rubber and support smallholders and tappers as part of their rubber procurement. Furthermore, the system is very slim and requires only little administrative effort. This means that many smallholders and tappers, even those with small plantations, can benefit from Fair Rubber.