Herbs and herbal teas

Product Standard for hired labour organizations

This Standard covers the purchase and sale of herbs and herbal teas.

The Fairtrade Standard for Herbs and Herbal Teas for Hired Labour applies to all herbal products indicated in the Fairtrade Herbs and Spices list as “HL and SPO"and to all countries inside Fairtrade's geographical scope. Itdoes not apply to spices. Spices are indicated as “SPO only” in the Fairtrade Herbs and Spices list.

Hired Labour companies are allowed to produce and sell fresh and dried herbal products as Fairtrade. Fresh herbs are only allowed for culinary purposes and for processing into essential oils. Dried herbs are only allowable for tea products.

Please see the Fairtrade Herbs and Spices list; note that spices are not included for hired labour organizations.

Herbs consist of leaves, flowers, stems and roots from a variety of herbaceous plants. They include, for example: lemon verbena, dill, water mint, lemongrass, orange leaves, camomile, lemon balm, peppermint, borage, basil, celery, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme.

Herbs are used either in fresh or dried form, mainly to flavour foods but also for other food and non-food applications.

For the camelia sinensis plant please refer to the Fairtrade Tea Standard.

Standard for Hired Labour

This product standard applies to hired labour operators (employing workers) as explained here. Together, the Fairtrade Standard for Hired Labour and the product standard above define the terms of trade. Please read both documents for further guidance.

Does your company want to trade this Fairtrade product?

Aspects of this product standard also apply to companies that wish to trade with producers. The product standard above works in conjunction with the Fairtrade Trader Standard to outline the terms of trade for this product.