Transparency is a foundational principle for Fair Trees. All parts of the Christmas tree production are characterized by transparency – from seed to the fully grown tree.
Through the use of external, third-party audits, we provide consumers with a guarantee that they are purchasing Fair Trees products in compliance with the highest standards of Fair Trade.
At the Georgian cone picking facilities, external third-party audits are also used for the approval of the working conditions and the quality program. All Fair Trees Christmas tree producers have a Global G.A.P. or similar certification.
The Fair Trees Fund is an NGO based in Georgia, established in 2009, with the vision to give the people of the Racha region a better everyday life with improved safety, health, education, equality, and prosperity, while protecting the natural forest resources through sustainable management and harvesting. We do this by improving the livelihood of Georgian cone pickers, their families, and their community through various social investments. The funds for the social investments are raised through the sales of Fair Trees Christmas Trees around Europe.
Committed to the 10 Fair Trade principles, our work is securing better and safer working conditions, guaranteeing workers’ rights and fair salaries, and improving healthcare, education, and infrastructure with sustainable investments in the Racha region. Our organization consists of local employees in Georgia who work with project implementation, stakeholder relations and various other tasks. We have board members and volunteers who are employed in various organizations around Europe, such as Fair Trade Denmark and the German retailer toom baumarkt, one of the largest reseller of Fair Trees Christmas Trees in Europe. We also employ freelancers when a particular set of skills is required, for instance for the annual climbing training for cone pickers, where leading international climbing experts are involved.
As an NGO, we work primarily for our stakeholders, not our employees, and we structure our organization in a way that can best fulfil the mission and strategy. We are therefore dedicated to making sure that our organization at any point is shaped in such a way, that we can most efficiently benefit the most people within our target group, without spending our funds unnecessarily outside our mission.