Further Fairtrade product ranges at Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s has announced that 100 % of its own-brand tea will be converted to Fairtrade, followed by 100 % of roast and ground coffee and in a separate move, certified cotton will be sourced for its best-selling T-shirt in the TU range.

This move will triple the amount of Fairtrade certified tea sold in the UK, increasing the total volume from 3,000 to 9,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to 10 % of the total UK tea market. This is considered to be the largest volume commitment to Fairtrade tea so far. For the first time, tea farmers and estates in Malawi will sell their tea under Fairtrade terms.

In addition, almost 2,000 tonnes of Sainsbury’s Fairtrade roast and ground coffee will be bought by shoppers each year.

By extending the range of clothes made from Fairtrade certified cotton in the TU range, cotton farmers in Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Mali, who have also seen their livelihoods destroyed by falling prices on the world market, can now look forward to a brighter future thanks to the growing UK Fairtrade market.

This move by Sainsbury’s is the latest example of a trend that has seen sales of Fairtrade products double every two years since the start of the decade. Fairtrade will move further into the mainstream and this will be a big step in meeting rising consumer demand for products produced and traded with respect and fairness.

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk