Equo Garantito
Equo Garantito is an Italian non-profit association that operates the sole certified guarantee and monitoring system for Fair Trade organizations in Italy, serving 65 member importers, World Shops, and producers with WFTO-recognized certification, training, and advocacy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersRome, RM, Italy
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Equo Garantito does
Equo Garantito is an Italian non-profit association (formerly AGICES, founded 2003, rebranded 2014) that operates the sole certified guarantee and monitoring system for Italian Fair Trade organizations. Its core product is an eight-requirement monitoring framework applied to importers, World Shops (Botteghe del Mondo), and Italian producers, comprising three steps—organizational self-assessment, internal verification by qualified evaluators, and external audit by CSQA Certificazioni. The association is the custodian of the Carta Italiana dei Criteri del Commercio Equo e Solidale and holds authorization to use the WFTO (World Fair Trade Organisation) logo, providing international recognition for its guarantee system.
The organization's technology stack consists of a registry (Registro Equo Garantito) that licenses the certified brand mark for product placement, the FairShare e-learning platform for training on Fair Trade and responsible consumption, and a participatory monitoring system that allows any stakeholder to submit compliance reports. Equo Garantito also publishes the Quaderni di Equo Garantito educational booklets and organizes the annual Cont-ACT B2B event for ethical and sustainable trade. Member network comprises 65 non-profit organizations operating nearly 200 World Shops across 12 Italian regions, with over 29,000 individual members and nearly 4,000 volunteers.
Revenue mechanics combine annual subscription-style membership fees from member organizations with European project funding (Erasmus+, EU co-financed programs, ActionAid/Fondazione Realizza il Cambiamento grants). The association has 5 named professional staff and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors currently led by President David Cambioli (elected May 2022). Headquartered legally in Rome (Via Arezzo 6) with operations in Vicenza, Equo Garantito sits at the intersection of certification, advocacy, and capacity-building for the Italian Fair Trade ecosystem.
Equo Garantito firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Equo Garantito
- Legal name
- Equo Garantito
- Website
- https://equogarantito.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Equo Garantito is an Italian non-profit association that operates the sole certified guarantee and monitoring system for Fair Trade organizations in Italy, serving 65 member importers, World Shops, and producers with WFTO-recognized certification, training, and advocacy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Equo Garantito industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fair Trade Certification Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social Compliance & Labor Standards Certification (SMETA/SA8000) (AFALAMAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Social, Ethical & Sustainability Audits for Food Supply Chains (SMETA/SA8000, ESG-linked) (AFALABAL)
Keywords
Where Equo Garantito is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rome, RM
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Equo Garantito business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: Revenue from annual membership fees paid by Fair Trade organizations (World Shops, importers, Italian producers) that join the Equo Garantito network and use the certified guarantee system.
- European Project Funding: Funding from EU Erasmus+ programs and other European projects (GLOKERS, FaiRevolution, Fashion Forward) for Fair Trade promotion, education, and youth engagement activities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Botteghe del Mondo (World Shops) membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Importers membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Italian Producers membership |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | FairShare E-learning Platform |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Equo Garantito product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Equo Garantito operates a certified guarantee and monitoring system that audits Italian Fair Trade organizations (importers, World Shops, and Italian producers) against 8 Fair Trade criteria through self-assessment, internal verification, and external audit by CSQA. Certified members gain rights to use the Equo Garantito brand mark on their products and inclusion in the official Registro Equo Garantito. Complementary offerings include the free FairShare e-learning platform, the annual Cont-ACT B2B event, and educational publications for promoting responsible consumption.
Product overview
Equo Garantito is the Italian General Assembly of Fair Trade, representing approximately 70 Fair Trade organizations in Italy. Its core offerings consist of a certified guarantee and monitoring system for Fair Trade organizations (Botteghe del Mondo, importers, and Italian producers), a free e-learning platform called FairShare for education on Fair Trade and responsible consumption, and various educational publications including the Quaderni di Equo Garantito booklets and an introductory opuscolo on Fair Trade principles. The organization also organizes the annual Cont-ACT B2B event, maintains the Equo Garantito product mark for certified organizations, and operates a participatory monitoring system for stakeholder reports. The portfolio is unified under the organization's guarantee system, which connects physical and online retail (Botteghe del Mondo) with monitoring, education, and advocacy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Equo Garantito Guarantee and Monitoring System (Sistema di Garanzia)
- FairShare E-Learning Platform
- Cont-ACT Annual B2B Event
Quantifiable outcome
- 80% of nearly 67 million EUR revenue comes from Fair Trade product sales
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Equo Garantito
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Equo Garantito technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Equo Garantito partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- WFTO (World Fair Trade Organisation)coreInternational Fair Trade organization that sets global standards and recognizes Equo Garantito's guarantee system. WFTO authorizes Equo Garantito to use its logo, confirming the organization meets international Fair Trade criteria.
- Fairtrade InternationalcoreOver 25 certification brand organizations affiliated with Fairtrade International. Both systems are complementary, responding to different needs while sharing the same 10 Fair Trade principles.
- CSQA CertificazionicoreExternal independent certification body that certifies the Equo Garantito monitoring system, verifying the functioning of procedures used by Equo Garantito on its members.
- WFTO-EuropecoreEuropean arm of WFTO, working on advocacy and policy at EU level for Fair Trade.
- Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO)coreAdvocacy office representing the European Fair Trade movement, coordinating policy positions and campaigns at EU level.
- Fairtrade ItaliacoreItalian branch of Fairtrade International, managing product certification in Italy.
- Associazione Botteghe del Mondo (AssoBdm)majorItalian association of World Shops, representing and supporting Fair Trade retail organizations.
- Abiti Puliti (Fair Campaign)majorCampaign for clean clothes and ethical fashion, addressing labor rights and environmental issues in the textile industry.
- Polish Fair Trade Association (PFTA)majorLead partner in GLOKERS project (Erasmus+), coordinating international youth engagement for environmental sustainability across Italy, Poland, and Portugal.
- Equação (Portugal)majorPortuguese partner in GLOKERS and Fashion Forward Erasmus+ projects, collaborating on youth-led sustainability initiatives.
- Espacio Geranios (Spain)majorSpanish partner in Fashion Forward project, working on sustainable and ethical fashion with youth.
- Project School (Italy)minorItalian partner in GLOKERS project, contributing to youth environmental activism.
- MEUS (Spain)minorSpanish partner in GLOKERS project focused on sustainability education.
- FAIR / Abiti PulitimajorCampaign translating Clean Clothes Campaign materials to Italian, addressing fast fashion exploitation.
- ISFID PRISMAminorTraining and consulting organization providing professional training for Equo Garantito members in Veneto region, funded by Regione Veneto - European Social Fund.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Equo Garantito competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Banca Etica: Italian ethical and solidarity finance bank that partners with Equo Garantito within the same ethical-economy ecosystem. Not a certification peer, but part of the broader Italian alternative-economy network with overlapping values and constituencies.
- CSQA Certificazioni: Italian certification body that currently provides external independent certification of the Equo Garantito monitoring system. A direct enabling partner rather than a competitor, but operating in the same Italian third-party certification ecosystem.
- ICEA (Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale): Italian ethical and environmental certification body that originally certified Equo Garantito's guarantee system in 2009 before CSQA took over. It is an adjacent Italian ecosystem player in ethical certification.
Broad incumbents
- Rainforest Alliance: Major international sustainability certification body (formed via merger with UTZ in 2018) operating across agriculture, forestry, and tourism. Comparable as an established third-party ethical/sustainability certifier but with much broader global scope.
- World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO): International umbrella for Fair Trade organizations that authorizes Equo Garantito to use the WFTO logo and recognizes its guarantee system as meeting international Fair Trade criteria. WFTO operates at a global scale that Equo Garantito does not.
- Fairtrade International: Global Fair Trade product certification body operating the internationally recognized FAIRTRADE Mark. Equo Garantito's organization-level guarantee system is explicitly positioned as complementary but coexists with this dominant consumer-facing label.
Emerging players
- B Lab: Global non-profit certifying B Corporations for social and environmental performance. Comparable as a third-party ethical-business certification body, though focused on overall corporate impact rather than Fair Trade supply chains specifically.
Regional players
- Fair Trade USA: The leading US-based Fair Trade certification body, structurally analogous to Equo Garantito but serving the North American market. Comparable in mission (Fair Trade certification and supply chain verification) but non-overlapping in geography.
Direct peers
- Fairtrade Italia: The Italian branch of Fairtrade International, managing product-level Fairtrade certification in Italy. It is the most direct competing Fair Trade label operating in the same Italian geography and overlapping member/retailer base as Equo Garantito.
- WFTO-Europe: European arm of WFTO coordinating Fair Trade policy and advocacy across EU member states. Equo Garantito is a member and direct participant in WFTO-Europe activities, making it a peer in European Fair Trade advocacy and standards work.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Equo Garantito social profiles
Digital presenceEquo Garantito compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Equo Garantito financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Equo Garantito leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Equo Garantito funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Equo Garantito M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Equo Garantito
What does Equo Garantito do?
Equo Garantito operates a certified guarantee and monitoring system that audits Italian Fair Trade organizations (importers, World Shops, and Italian producers) against 8 Fair Trade criteria through self-assessment, internal verification, and external audit by CSQA. Certified members gain rights to use the Equo Garantito brand mark on their products and inclusion in the official Registro Equo Garantito. Complementary offerings include the free FairShare e-learning platform, the annual Cont-ACT B2B event, and educational publications for promoting responsible consumption.
Is Equo Garantito a public or private company?
Equo Garantito is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Equo Garantito founded?
Equo Garantito was founded in 2003. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Equo Garantito based?
Equo Garantito is headquartered in Rome, RM, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does Equo Garantito make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are european Project Funding.
Who are Equo Garantito's main competitors?
Others on record are Banca Etica, CSQA Certificazioni and ICEA (Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale). Broad incumbents are Rainforest Alliance, World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and Fairtrade International. B Lab is listed as an emerging player. Fair Trade USA is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Fairtrade Italia and WFTO-Europe.
Does Equo Garantito have an API?
No public API is recorded for Equo Garantito.
What industry is Equo Garantito in?
Equo Garantito's product category is Fair Trade Certification Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFALAMAM, Social Compliance & Labor Standards Certification (SMETA/SA8000), with a secondary code of AFALABAL, Social, Ethical & Sustainability Audits for Food Supply Chains (SMETA/SA8000, ESG-linked).