Taste a fair world!
Fair Trade with Southern producer groups is a matter near to our heart! Therefore, our benefit is of a different kind: any surplus is exclusively re-invested in Fair Trade! Profit maximization and profit distribution are not in line with our principles – and those of our shareholders, the relief organizations and youth federations of the major churches.
Facts and Figures
Download our infosheet “Facts and Figures” and our business reports to learn more about GEPA - The Fair Trade Company.
Our benefit is of a different kind – and we pass it on to you!
For more than 50 years, we have been going new ways as Fair Trade pioneers – serving the interests of our Southern partners: We offer help for self-help – this includes assistance to enter the local market. We are part of an international Fair Trade network: many people and organizations help to give trade a human(e) face! Together with numerous committed people we have played an important role in shaping public awareness with regard to social production conditions, also those in Germany – this we are proud of and this is our benefit!
Your benefit:
- Quality: high-quality products, mainly organic
- Transparency: transparency regarding the ingredients / components of your products, production and value chain
- Your share of a whole: as a consumer of fairly traded products you are a member of a world-wide movement for more justice in international trade!
Quality, competence and partnership
The GEPA logo stands for:
Partnership
Our trading partners are 108 cooperatives, marketing organizations and committed private enterprises in 43 countries of Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. Long-term business relationships (averaging 17.6 years) under fair conditions, long-standing and trustful cooperation as well as transparency of our commercial chains are typical of our relationships with our partners. We trade with partners – not with suppliers!
Quality products
Our products offer a wide range of ca. 350 food products – and ca. 400 handicraft articles, that are subject to regular and comprehensive quality controls. We generate 89.6 percent of our revenue from certified organic products, in accordance with the EU Organic Regulation or Naturland guidelines. Due to direct co-operation and controls, there is a constant quality improvement to our products. Promoting organic cultivation helps to preserve natural resources.
Fair Trade
We know the people we are trading with!
This means:
- maintaining direct and long-term trading relationships (averaging 17.6 years) on equal terms;
- achieving market access also for smaller producer organizations;
- paying fair prices for quality products and / or additional services rendered by our partners;
- pre-financing: As a Fair Trade organisation, we provide our partners with a loan on request before we receive the goods from them – either directly or through ethical lenders;
- offering assistance and product development;
- avoiding unfair intermediate trade;
- caring for transparency of all our trading channels and activities.
Fair prices
Our trading partners in the South are entitled to fair prices and services – that is what we committed ourselves to!
In doing this, we do not make ourselves dependent on short-lived market trends.
An example of our services with regard to Coffee:
- Product advice
- Minimum prices
- Development premium in accordance with Fairtrade International standards
- Organic premium
- Advance payment
- Long-term trading relationships
bio & fair
Whenever possible, we encourage producers to practice organic cultivation and pay them an organic differential. We generate 89.6 percent of our revenue from certified organic products, in accordance with the EU Organic Regulation or Naturland guidelines. In accordance with the legislation governing organic products, we do not accept genetically modified ingredients. As a matter of principle, we also refrain from using them in the few products that are not certified organic.
Further information
The GEPA Climate Justice Focus
#ClimateJusticeNowGEPA is strongly committed to the climate justice movement – because there is no climate justice without justice in trade. Learn more in our article from „GEPA AKTUELL“ No 2/21 September 2021.
Allocation of Fairtrade Order Volumes
GEPA’s internal regulations and processes for allocating Fairtrade volumes to trading partners