Fairtrade Standards

This page provides key information about the Fairtrade Standards, including our product classification, geographical scope policy, hazardous materials list, secondary products, and access to the Standards themselves.

26491 Women Sorting Cocoa 870
Farmers from a Fairtrade certified cocoa cooperative in Côte d’Ivoire.
Image © Sean Hawkey

Use the links below to access the Fairtrade Standard, learn more about its applicability, and download related information.

Fairtrade product classification

This chart will help you understand which products are covered by the different product-specific standards.

Fairtrade Geographic Scope

Fairtrade's mission is to promote fairer trading conditions for disadvantaged producers. The geographical scope policy details the countries and territories where producers are eligible for Fairtrade certification.

In order to determine which countries can be included in the geographical scope, Fairtrade considers such factors as income per capita, wealth disparity, other economic and social indicators, and Fairtrade's own ability to support producers and achieve long-term impacts.

The geographical scope is also used to identify Fairtrade pricing regions for the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Premium (see the second tab of the map below for pricing regions).

Download the list of countries covered by Fairtrade, and further details on how they are selected:

EN | Fairtrade Geographical Scope Policy of Producer Certification

ES | Política del Alcance Geográfico para la Certificación de Productores de Comercio Justo Fairtrade

FR | Politique concernant la Portée Géographique de la Certification des Producteurs de Fairtrade International

PT | Política de Escopo Geográfico de Certificação de Produtor para o Comércio Justo Fairtrade

Hazardous materials list

Fairtrade International maintains a Hazardous Materials List (HML) of agrochemicals (including pesticides) that can be potentially hazardous in some form or other to human and animal health as well as to the environment and therefore should be used only under caution.

The Hazardous Materials List is divided into three lists – prohibited, restricted and flagged. The current version came into force on 1 January 2018 and applies to all Fairtrade certified producers and traders trading in Fairtrade products.

Current version

EN | Fairtrade Hazardous Materials List

ES | Lista de Materiales Peligrosos de Fairtrade

FR | Liste de matières dangereuses Fairtrade

PT | Lista de Materiais Perigosos do Comércio Justo Fairtrade

Reporting templates

EN | Fairtrade HML – Reporting Templates

ES | LMP – Plantillas para informe de Fairtrade

FR | LMD – Modèle de rapport

Hazardous materials list: additional information

EN | Explanatory note

Main changes from previous version

EN | HML Main changes

ES | LMP Principales cambios

FR | LMD Changements principaux

PT | LMP Mudanças principais

For information on the changes to generic standards related to HML, see:

EN | HML Changes: Trader standard | Hired Labour | Small Producer Organization | Contract Production

ES | Principales cambios: Criterio para Comerciantes | Trabajo Contratado | Organizaciones de Pequeños Productores | Producción por Contrato

FR | Changements principaux: Standard pour les Acteurs Commerciaux | les Organisations dépendant d'une main d'oeuvre salariée | les Organisations de Petits Producteurs | la Production Contractuelle

PT | Mudanças principais: Criterio do Comercio | Trabalho Contratado | Organizações de Pequenos Produtores | Produção Contratada

Secondary products

Secondary products and their derivatives have been included in the scope of Fairtrade certification. For further information on the definition, pricing rules and non-exhaustive list of secondary products and their derivatives please see the Explanatory Note for Secondary Products.

EN | Explanatory note

EN | Fairtrade Secondary Products List