Trust Providers are social sector organizations that verify or certify the sellers, producers, and products on WorldofGood.com.
Key general concepts
Definition of a Trust Provider
A Trust Provider is an organization with a stated mission of promoting social or ecological good. Trust Providers encourage transparency within supply chains, promoting ecological sustainability, economic empowerment, or ethical business practices.
In order to be a Trust Provider, an organization must meet all of the following criteria:
- A Trust Provider operates with a clearly stated, public set of standards for verification, certification, or monitoring of its members or products.
- Trust Providers:
- verify and endorse the business practices of their members, OR
- certify members’ production processes, OR
- certify members’ products or their ingredients.
- Compared to conventional practices, Trust Providers’ standards must exceed and have a greater benefit to the people and environment.
- Trust Providers must be third parties verifying the activities of independent producers or sellers (i.e., no self-certification).
- An organization must be in operation for at least one year before it is eligible to be a Trust Provider on WorldofGood.com by eBay.
There are three kinds of Trust Providers. Some Trust Providers screen organizations for more than one level:
- Product-level Trust Providers certify individual products. Often you'll see their logo on the product packaging, which ensures that the product meets the organization's strict standards.
- Producer-level Trust Providers work with producers, cooperatives, and their communities to develop and verify People Positive or Eco Positive methods of production.
- Seller-level Trust Providers work with retail businesses to verify that their sourcing standards and business practices are People Positive, Eco Positive, or both.
Learn whether a Trust Provider verifies its members or affiliates at one, two, or all three levels.
Definition of Trustology
The Trust Providers who stand behind a listing are reflected in the Trustology. Sellers are responsible for accurate Trustology in every listing. Buyers can click each link in the Trustology to learn more about that Trust Provider. Listings could have Trustology for the seller, producer, product, or all three.
Key concepts for buyers
WorldofGood.com buyers look at the logos in each listing’s Trustology section to see which Trust Provider organizations stand behind the item’s seller, producer, product, or all three. Each logo is automatically linked to that Trust Provider’s WorldofGood.com profile, where buyers can learn more about the Trust Provider and find links to other listings the organization verifies. Each Trust Provider has hundreds or even thousands of active members, all of whom are automatically eligible to be part of the selling process on WorldofGood.com. To find all the listings verified by a particular Trust Provider, find the Trust Provider in our Trust Provider Directory, then click the See All link in the My Products section of the organization's profile.
Key concepts for sellers and producers
Sellers and producers on WorldofGood.com are required to be members or affiliates of at least one Trust Provider organization.
If you’re already a member of a Trust Provider you can apply to sell or to have your products sold on WorldofGood.com.
Find a Trust Provider
If you’re not yet a member or affiliate of a Trust Provider – or you’re not sure whether your trade association or social sector business support organization is in the program – search the Trust Provider Directory. You will need to contact the organization directly to apply for membership, because WorldofGood.com doesn’t handle memberships in Trust Provider organizations.
Join a Trust Provider
You can apply for membership or affiliation in any Trust Provider whose business practices match your own. Once you’re approved, to expedite your eligibility to sell on WorldofGood.com, have the Trust Provider contact us as follows:
- Send an email to trust.provider@worldofgood.com
- Put "Verify Member" in the subject line
- Include your name and email address, the date you affiliated with this Trust Provider, the Trust Provider's name and contact information, and a note about whether you are a seller, producer, or product affiliate.
Suggest a Trust Provider
If you want to suggest an organization for the program, contact us with the following information: name and website of the organization; name, email address, and phone number of a contact person at the organization; and your own contact information.
Become a Trust Provider
Becoming a Trust Provider can help a social sector organization create business opportunity for its members and associates as it grows. There is no fee to become a Trust Provider or to participate in the program.
Requirements for the Trust Provider program
- A social sector organization with a clearly stated vision for promoting social good
- In operation for at least one year
- Working to create opportunity for marginalized groups, or preserving cultural tradition, or creating sustainable livelihoods
- Operating under a clear set of standards
- Providing a transparent system of verification and monitoring of your members or products
Benefits of the Trust Provider program
When a seller lists your organization in its listing, we perform a safe, secure, automatic check of your active member list to ensure that the connection is valid. Every quarter, we’ll send you a written report of any irregularities we found. We provide marketing assistance, web banners, dedicated pages in the WorldofGood.com Community, quarterly reporting of WorldofGood.com activity by your members, safe and secure automatic verification that you’re accurately represented in our listings, WorldofGood.com experts to present at your events, and much more.
Contact us to apply or for more information
Marketplace Access Program (MAP) Agents and Trust Providers
Trust Providers don’t get directly involved with their members’ selling process. But when Trust Provider members or affiliates need help getting their goods onto the WorldofGood.com marketplace, the WorldofGood.com Marketplace Access Program can help.
MAP Agents are sellers who work with producers that otherwise wouldn’t be able to sell on WorldofGood.com because of issues with distance and infrastructure. MAP Agents aren’t required to be members of a Trust Provider organization (though many are). However, the products or producers they represent must have a Trust Provider affiliation.
Learn more about the Marketplace Access Program.
