Setback for farmers’ friend Fairtrade
Fairtrade, the foundation set up to provide farmers around the world with better terms of trade, and give a genuine choice to consumers who care, has lost its tea contract with Sainsbury’s, the British supermarket chain which was one of the first retailers to sell Fairtrade products, and which became the world’s largest retailer of these ethically certified goods over the past 20 years.
Fairtrade Foundation chief executive Michael Gidney accused Sainsbury’s of leaving 229,000 tea farmers in the lurch by launching its own ethical label. However, Sainsbury’s said it will pass more money to farmers instead of giving it to Fairtrade to use its logo.
Sainsbury’s, the largest retailer of Fairtrade products, confirmed its own-brand tea will no longer be Fairtrade-certified, but Sainsbury’s will continue to offer a premium range of Fairtrade-certified teas, own-label Fairtrade bananas, coffee, chocolate, flowers, and sugar.
However, many expect the retailer will expand its new sustainability standards to cover many other crops and ingredients. Sainsbury’s said switching to its own ethical scheme will enable it offer farmers support on adapting to climate change.
Hence the pilot scheme decision to replace its Fairtrade-certified own-brand Red Label and Gold Label teas with its own Fairly Traded label.
Sainsbury’s will pay tea farmers a guaranteed minimum price and a social premium.
The setback follows Mondelez, owner of the Cadbury brand, announcing a new partnership last November with Fairtrade.
Last November, Cadbury pulled out of the Fairtrade scheme after seven years.
However, the Fairtrade Foundation supported the Cadbury’s move, which makes Fairtrade a partner for the company’s internal Cocoa Life sustainable sourcing programme.
Fairtrade works with 1.66 million farmers and hired workers, and requires producers and traders to meet Fairtrade standards designed to address the imbalance of power in trading relationships, unstable markets and the injustices of conventional trade.
