Knowledge Base › Compliance › Flag international orders containing hazardous materials like camping gas, batteries, or aerosols
Hazmat Check✓✗

How to flag hazmat items in international WooCommerce orders

Flag international orders containing hazardous materials like camping gas, batteries, or aerosols

Automatically badges international orders that contain items from hazmat-adjacent categories (Camping Gas, Batteries, Aerosols) so your team can verify shipping restrictions, arrange ground transport, or block the shipment before it leaves the warehouse.

Compliance critical
Part of: How to enforce compliance checks on WooCommerce orders
The problem

Hazardous materials such as pressurised gas canisters, lithium batteries, and aerosol sprays are restricted or prohibited on air freight. When these items appear in an international order, they may need ground-only routing, special documentation, or may not be shippable at all. Without a flag, these orders are dispatched normally and risk carrier rejection, customs seizure, or safety incidents.

The solution

OrderBadger can flag international orders that contain hazardous material categories like camping gas, batteries, or aerosols, giving your team time to verify shipping compliance.

Who this is for

Outdoor, sports, and camping retailers who sell gas canisters, battery packs, or aerosol products and also ship internationally. Also relevant to hardware and DIY stores with similar product lines.

At a glance
Camping Gas, Batteries, or Aerosols categories International shipping only Severity: critical with 3-hour SLA Cleared/Blocked interaction buttons Badge: Hazmat Check (red)
People also search for
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How it works

Checks whether any item belongs to the Camping Gas, Batteries, or Aerosols category AND the order is shipping internationally. When both conditions are true, a critical badge appears and the order is routed to the inbox with a 3-hour SLA and Cleared/Blocked interaction buttons.

Review the order against your carrier's dangerous goods policy. Use 'Cleared' if the items can ship via ground or an approved route, or 'Blocked' if the shipment must be cancelled or split. Contact the customer proactively if items cannot be shipped to their destination.

Rule template

Plain English rule At least one product is in the Camping Gas, Batteries, or Aerosols category and shipping is international

Write this (or something similar) in the OrderBadger rule builder. The AI compiler turns it into executable logic automatically.

Make it yours

Adjust thresholds
  • Edit 'Camping Gas, Batteries, or Aerosols' to add other restricted categories your store carries, such as 'Fireworks' or 'Flammable Liquids'.
  • Change the SLA from 180 minutes to a shorter window (e.g. 60 minutes) if your team needs to clear hazmat orders faster to meet same-day cut-offs.
Add or remove conditions
  • Remove 'and shipping is international' to also catch domestic hazmat orders that need ground-only routing within your own country.
  • Add 'and total quantity is more than £5' to focus the critical badge on bulk hazmat shipments while letting small single-canister international orders through with less urgency. …atteries, or Aerosols category and shipping is international and total quantity is more than £5

Badge preview

Default: Hazmat Check✓✗
Passed: Hazmat Check✓
Failed: Hazmat Check✗

This badge appears in the WooCommerce order view with action buttons. Your team can respond directly from the badge pill.

When this rule matches

Camping Gas International Us
Ship to: US
Order contains a Camping Gas item and ships internationally to the US - both conditions met.
Batteries International De
Ship to: DE
Order contains a Batteries item and ships internationally to Germany.
Aerosol International Fr
Ship to: FR
Order contains an Aerosols item and ships internationally to France.

When this rule does not match

Camping Gas Domestic
Ship to: GB
Order contains a Camping Gas item but ships domestically - international condition not met.
Non Hazmat International
Ship to: US
Order ships internationally but contains no hazmat categories - only Footwear.
Hazmat Adjacent Category Domestic
Ship to: GB
Order has a Batteries item but ships domestically - only the hazmat condition is met, not international.

Workflow

This rule includes workflow features that help your team act on flagged orders.

Inbox
Yes
Interaction
Cleared / Blocked
SLA
3h (from created at)

Good to know

  • The rule relies on products being assigned to the correct hazmat categories in WooCommerce. Miscategorised products will not be caught.
  • Domestic hazmat shipments are not flagged by this rule. Create a separate rule if domestic hazmat handling is also required.
  • The rule does not distinguish between different hazmat classifications (e.g., Class 2 gases vs. Class 9 batteries). All three categories are treated equally.

Frequently asked questions

  • Why is this rule set to critical severity with an SLA?
    Shipping restricted hazardous materials internationally can result in carrier rejection, customs seizure, fines, or safety incidents. The 3-hour SLA ensures your team reviews the order before it enters the dispatch queue.
  • What do the Cleared and Blocked buttons mean?
    Use 'Cleared' when you have confirmed the items can ship via an approved route (e.g., ground-only international service). Use 'Blocked' when the items cannot be shipped to the destination and the order needs to be cancelled or the hazmat items removed.
  • Can I add more categories to the hazmat check?
    Yes. Edit the rule text to include additional category names. For example, you could add Fireworks or Flammable Liquids to extend the check.
  • Does this rule catch domestic hazmat orders too?
    No. This rule specifically targets international shipments where air freight restrictions apply. For domestic hazmat flagging, create a separate rule that checks for the hazmat categories without the international condition.

Related rules

How to automatically flag international orders in WooCommerce

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