Here you can learn about Fair Trade standards and Principles as given by the Fair Trade Organization:
General Standards
 The problems experienced by poor producers and workers in developing countries differ greatly from product to product. The majority of coffee and cocoa, for example, is grown by independent small farmers, working their own land and marketing their produce through a local co-operative. For these producers, receiving a fair price for their beans is more important than any other aspect of a fair trade. Most tea, however, is grown on estates. The concern for workers employed on tea plantations is fair wages and decent working conditions.
To address this there are two sets of generic producer standards; one for small farmers and one for workers on plantations and in factories. The first set applies to smallholders organized in co-operatives or other organizations with a democratic, participative structure. The second set applies to organized workers, whose employers pay decent wages, guarantee the right to join trade unions and provide good housing when relevant. On plantations and in factories, minimum health and safety as well as environmental standards must be complied with, and no child or forced labor can occur.
 As Fair trade is also about development, the generic standards distinguish between minimum requirements which producers must meet to be certified Fair trade. Process requirements also encourage producer organizations to continuously improve working conditions and product quality, to increase their environmental stability of their activities and to invest in the development of their organizations and the welfare of their producers/workers.
Trading standards stipulate that traders must:
- pay a price to producers that covers the costs of sustainable production and living
- pay a 'premium' that producers can invest in development
- make partial advance payments when requested by producers
- sign contracts that allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices.
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