Sainsbury’s to sell only Fairtrade bananas

Sainsbury’s has announced that all its banana supplies will be Fairtrade certified. This is the biggest ever commitment to date by a single company anywhere in the world. Sainsbury’s sells 2,000 tonnes of bananas (equal to 10 million individual bananas) each week. Once this move is completed, this will more than double the volume of Fairtrade bananas bought by Britain’s shoppers and extend the benefits of the Fairtrade guarantee to thousands more farmers and workers.

Producer organisations will receive a stable price, covering their full costs of production plus a Fairtrade premium. As a key part of its commitment, Sainsbury’s has also strengthened its commitment to maintaining long-term relationships with Fairtrade certified small-scale farmers in certain areas.

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. Nearly seven years since the first Fairtrade bananas were sold in Britain, the announcement showed that Fairtrade was moving even further into the mainstream. It also demonstrated the rising level of public consciousness about the necessity for trade to be sustainable, and of the desire to make a difference through their shopping choices.

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk