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Fairtrade Standard for Traders

This standard applies to traders who buy and sell Fairtrade products, and/or handle the Fairtrade price and premium. It defines rules around the product composition, traceability, and use of the FAIRTRADE Mark. It also includes requirements and voluntary best practices to ensure that Fairtrade products are traded in fair and sustainable ways.

Principles underlying this Standard

  • Transparency: All terms and conditions of Fairtrade transactions are detailed in contracts signed by the producers and buyers.
  • Fair price: Producers receive at least a Fairtrade Minimum Price, which aims at covering average costs of sustainable production, or the market price, whichever is higher.
  • Fairtrade Premium: On top of the price, producers receive a Fairtrade Premium, which they can invest in their own development, according to their needs.
  • Market information for planning: Producers receive sourcing plans and information about market prospects, to enable them to better plan their activities.
  • Pre-finance: Producers have access to pre-finance, to help them fund their operations.
  • Trading with integrity: Operators along the Fairtrade supply chains do not engage in unfair trading practices.
  • Labour and environment: Traders in Fairtrade supply chains comply with labour and environmental law.
  • Standards related to use of materials from the Hazardous Materials List (HML)
  • Fairtrade International requires that all Fairtrade certified traders in addition to the Trader Standard are compliant with national law. In France in particular, the law requires that, in order for a trading relationship to be declared as Fair Trade, a trader must commit to source for three or more years from the same producers. This is to support cooperation, information sharing and joint planning, benefitting both parties, which is also in line with the voluntary best practice requirements in this Standard.

Download the Trader Standard

Product-specific standards

Additional Standards apply to companies trading particular products. These work in combination with the Trader Standard.
If you're sourcing from a small-scale producer organisation or contract production organisation, view the product standards here.
If you're sourcing from a hired labour organisation, view the product standards here.

Fairtrade Minimum Prices and Premiums

Look up prices and premiums for all products in the Minimum Prices and Premiums Database.

Are you looking for previous standard versions or additional documents? Please contact us