FairWild Application Procedure
Dear FairWild applicant,
The FairWild Foundation would like to welcome you as a potential new FairWild-certified producer. This form
provides you with the information necessary to guide you through the application process. For informal
enquiries and advice, please contact the FairWild Foundation Secretariat.
The FairWild Standard Version 2.0 applies to wild plant collection operations wishing to demonstrate their
commitment to sustainable collection, social responsibility and Fair Trade principles.
The FairWild Standard is designed to be applicable to the wide array of geographic, ecological, cultural,
economic, and trade conditions in which wild collection of plant resources occurs. In order to cover the
widest possible range of production scenarios but still to keep the standard applicable, the FairWild
Foundation has decided to classify targeted plants according to a range of criteria as explained in this
application form.
Steps for application
1. Interested applicants need to contact the FairWild Foundation approved certification body
(herein after called Certifier) and submit the last part of this form, at least 4 months before the
estimated start of collection season. The form must contain the required information about the
targeted species, the operation and scope of the collection.
2. The Certifier will respond to the applicant by communicating the preliminary indication of the
FairWild Foundation regarding the classification of submitted species into low, medium or
high risk status. If there is insufficient information available about the targeted species to determine
the risk status, the applicant will be so informed.
3. The applicant then decides if the classified species is/are still targeted for FairWild
certification, and contacts the Certifier accordingly.
4. The applicant receives an offer for inspection and certification from the Certifier plus related
documents for preparation of the audit. The cost of the FairWild inspection depend on the number
and extent of species to be certified, their classification into low, medium or high risk species, and
the number of days needed for travel, inspection and certification. The offer includes the costs of
conducting the full risk assessment for the target species, which is carried out by the FairWild
Foundation.
5. The applicant can accept or reject the offer. If accepted, the applicant must make the
prepayment specified by the Certifier (typically at least 80 % of the offer amount), and sign the
contract for inspection and certification.
6. On receipt of the said payment by the Certifier, the FairWild inspection is planned together with
the applicant.
7. Within the agreed time frame inspection is conducted by a qualified FairWild inspector, who
writes a report and gives immediate feedback to the inspected company.
8. The inspector sends the report to the Certifier where evaluation and – if the company is compliant
with the FairWild Standard Version II- also certification is finalized.
9. The company receives the results of evaluation plus eventually a list of corrective measures
which need to be implemented. Possible results of evaluation are:
a. The company fully complies with all requirements => the FairWild Certificate is sent to the
company which owns the certificate (the “mandator”, the company that has paid for inspection)
b. The company complies with most requirements but there are some points for improvement =>
the FairWild Certificate is sent to the company which owns the certificate, together with
indication of corrective measures
c. The company does not yet comply with the minimum requirements => the company receives a
list of corrective measures but no certificate. The company has the chance to still receive the
FairWild Certificate by implementing the suggested corrective measures.
d. Evaluation results show that certification of the targeted plants is not at all possible => the
company receives the results of evaluation, but certification is not possible. The FairWild
Foundation may also suggest certain field activities to bring the status of species to a level after
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which the company may place the application for certification again.
10. FairWild requires an annual audit. The FairWild certificate is valid for one year from the time of
issuance of the certificate until inspection of the following year. By beginning of the year after first
certification, the certified company or its mandator receives an offer for certification. Then Steps 5
to 9 above are repeated.
11. Should new/additional plants be targeted for FairWild certification, the company needs to submit the
list of plants plus related information to the FairWild Foundation, where steps 1 to 3 are repeated.
Risk classification of target plants
The level of attention and special efforts needed to ensure a sustainable collection greatly depends on the
availability and the conservation status of a targeted plant, the plant parts collected and geographical
distribution. For widely available plant species and populations with a high likelihood of sustainable wild
harvest (“low risk plants”) less precision, accuracy and documentary evidence will be required for inventory,
monitoring and management.
For plant species and populations with a very low likelihood of sustainable harvest (“high risk plants”) the
minimum requirements for certification are higher in certain aspects than for plants with very high or medium
high likelihood of sustainable harvest.
Following a simplified categorisation, three risk categories are therefore used for the purpose of FairWild
certification.
Low risk
Medium
risk
High risk
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





high likelihood that collection is sustainable,
relatively low complexity of monitoring and management required
medium likelihood that harvest is sustainable
careful attention to monitoring and management required
low likelihood of sustainable wild harvest, high risk that collection is not sustainable
more rigorous/precise monitoring and management  higher minimum requirements for
certification than for low and medium risk plant parts.
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FairWild Application Form
We herewith would like to receive further information on the procedures of FairWild inspection and
certification, including provisional cost estimation for the following project:
(Please fill in the following document and send it back to the FairWild Foundation-approved Certification
body).
Issue
General Information (to be filled in by applicant)
Mandator
(The company
which will pay for
certification):
Company, full address, phone/fax, email, person in charge
Operator
(The company
which will be
inspected and
certified, can be
identical with the
mandator):
Company, full address, phone/fax, email, person in charge
Attn.:
Tel:
Fax:
Email:
Attn.:
Tel:
Fax:
Email:
Location of Project Where is the wild collection area / operator(s) situated? What is the travel time from the
closest airport, and how can the site be reached?
Additional
operation units/
Subcontracted
operators
Does the operator subcontract (or own) any additional operation units which will handle the
products (e.g. subcontracted collectors, processors, warehouses, drying at the collectors’
homes?). If yes, please list them here and indicate their location and numbers.
Purchase centres
How many purchase centres are used in the operation? How far away (in km and travelling
time) are the purchase centres located from each other?
Collectors
How many collectors are involved in wild collection for the operator? Please list the total
numbers per collection area here and indicate their location.
Brief History of
Project
Since when has the collection operation been operating? Does the operation hold other
existing (or previous) certification(s)? Any previous training or experience in certified wild
collection? If applicable, how much staff is involved in processing?
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Issue
Information on Target Plant(s): (to be filled in by applicant)
Target Species for
FairWild
Indicate the Latin names of the collected target species for FairWild and the collected plant
parts.
Please indicate for each species the abundance:
Is the target species

Abundant –found in many locations in large and dense populations

Common or frequent – a few large populations or numerous small populations

Occasional or rare – usually small populations or a few plants in a few specific
locations
Please indicate for each species the availability for wild collection:
Is the target species or the part collected
 Always more available than the amount required for collection
 Sometimes more available, sometimes more limited than the amount required for
collection
 Always more limited than the amount required for collection
Collected / purchased quantity in the past five years, if the collection has been from the
proposed area.
Collection Area
Please characterise the geography of the collection area in terms of size, homogeneity and
land use, and list potential sources of contamination.
In how many different collection areas are the products harvested? What is the distance (in
km and travelling time) between them?
Signature:
Date:
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