Fazer
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 3 sources
Family-owned Finnish food company known for Karl Fazer milk chocolate.
Fazer can't show that the people who grow its cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire and Ecuador earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
Better-graded chocolate
Graded higher than Fazer, selling the same kinds of things.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Fazer? Send a right of reply.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its cocoa is grown in Ecuador, Nigeria and Indonesia, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listRuns its own factories
- Not met: Finds and fixes child labour on cocoa farms (Fairtrade, Fair for Life or its own published monitoring), and traces other high-risk ingredients (hazelnuts) where they're a major part of its range
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Fazer's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
- A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its cocoa is grown
From Fazer's own disclosure: it runs its own factories and says where its cocoa comes from. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where cocoa is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Côte d'Ivoire | Regular violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| GhanaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | Well below a living wage | Low |
| Ecuador | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Nigeria | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| CameroonUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: an estimated 1.5 million children work on cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and most cocoa farmers earn well below a living income.
- Owns or runs its own production
- Invests in worker and farming communities
- Traces all of its hazelnuts to the country of origin or beyond, or buys all of them certified
- It doesn't show that it checks cocoa farms for child labour and fixes what it finds.
Research notes In 2025, 44% of Fazer's cocoa was certified and the rest came through its own farmer programmes in Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador and Nigeria or Barry Callebaut's Cocoa Horizons programme. No split by country is published, so the three programme countries are listed without shares and do not cover all its cocoa. All hazelnuts are certified and palm oil use is down 86% since 2019, the rest RSPO segregated. It publishes no child labour case data, farm audits or farmer income figures. No Australian stockist is listed.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate Scorecard | Unclear | Fazer scored 45% (24th) in the 6th edition of the Chocolate Scorecard (2025); the 2026 (7th edition) result for Fazer could not be confirmed. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not listed | Fazer is not among the companies named in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 3
Show all 3 sources
- Karl Fazer Milk Chocolates (Crema) · search the archive · Fazer milk chocolates made in Finland with responsibly produced cocoa and no palm oil
- Fazer Milk Chocolate Hazelnuts Bar, 4 Pack (Touch of Finland) · search the archive · Hazelnut versions of the Fazer milk chocolate bar are sold alongside the plain bar
Published by Fazer or its owner
- Fazer Group Annual Report 2025 · search the archive · 5,630 staff; all chocolate made in Vantaa; 44% of cocoa certified, rest via own programmes (CI, EC, NG) or Cocoa Horizons; no split by country; 100% hazelnuts certified
Company details
- Headquarters
- Finland
- Employees
- About 5,630
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Fazer ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/fazer, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Fazer.