Our Fair Trade Standards

Made By Survivor Certification standards are Fair Trade standards designed for producers who’s primary social purpose is slavery or trafficking survivor rehabilitation, or slavery or trafficking prevention.

We use international fair trade standards as a starting point for our certification requirements, but go beyond those standards due to the particular needs of our target population: in many cases
rescued former slaves or high risk people who have suffered significant trauma and have resulting medical, social, and psychological issues which have to be factored into employment conditions.

We insist that all the NGO partners providing products for us observe the following standards:

• No child labor. In
  controlled and inspected environments we allow teen survivors (14-18) to work
  part-time primarily for therapeutic purposes (art therapy). These teens must be receiving other
  significant benefits like rehabilitation, formal or informal education, job
  training, lodging and food, and healthcare. This option is typically for those most
  recently rescued survivors.
• We require a clean, ventilated, sufficiently large,
  safe, and comfortable working environment.
  We visit and inspect all facilities and spend time with the
  survivor/artisans in their workplace to ensure compliance.
• Employees work no more than 8 hours a day and are
  allowed local rest days, vacation, and sick leave. In many cases, the women need to work many fewer
  hours than that because of extensive family and home responsibilities. We make allowances which allow women to
  participate who would not be eligible for employment in the open market due to
  their home responsibilities and limited availability for work.
• 
  Employees are paid a fair living wage for full time
  work, in accordance with fair trade standards in their home country. Many of the survivors work part-time at
  shelters and community centers, where they also receive a full range of services
  free of cost. In these cases, participation
  in the work program must be voluntary and the survivors must receive some
  wages, but the wages may be lower than market because of the value of other
  services they receive.
• Participation in work programs must be entirely
  voluntary. Survivors and high risk women
  living either at shelters or at home in high risk communities should be given a
  range of educational, job training and employment options, to the fullest
  extent possible given the economic circumstances of the community and NGO
  resources.
• Other services should be provided to employees, with
  the goal of assisting and empowering them to be become fully functioning
  members of society. These services may
  include, as needed: medical care and/or insurance, non-formal education
  (literacy, numeracy and computers) counseling, social and peer support, housing
  or housing assistance, and legal aid.
• To prevent participants from being further stigmatized
  (particularly survivors of slavery for sexual exploitation) their privacy must
  be protected in the workplace. To this
  end, wherever possible, the workplace should ideally be separated (physically
  and in name, branding etc.) from NGOs who are locally known to be dealing with
  slavery/prostitution.
• Survivors must have complete control of their name,
  personal information, and image. All
  groups providing or selling Made By Survivors products get approval to use any
  images or names of survivors.
• 
  Access to microfinance and opportunity to advance in
  leadership within the workplace must be offered to those who are interested and
  able, wherever possible. We encourage
  the organizations to plan for and implement the creation of survivor-owned
  and/or managed businesses outside of the sponsoring NGOs.