Sainsbury’s misleading shoppers over Fairtrade logo, say charities
SAINSBURY’S is misleading shoppers by replacing Fairtrade labels on tea with its own ethical brand, charities have warned.
The supermarket giant is gearing up to ditch the Fairtrade logo from its own-brand produce by trialling a new “Fairly Traded” logo on boxes of tea. Sainsbury’s said it was looking to move away from the Fairtrade Foundation, suggesting its business model was two decades out of date and that it was failing to consider the impact of climate change on farmers.
Writing to today’s Daily Telegraph, the bosses of seven charities, including Oxfam and Christian Aid, have urged Sainsbury’s to reconsider the move, claiming it could undermine 25 years of progress towards fairer treatment of producers in third-world countries.
The letter warned: “The standards are unclear, and farmers and producers may no longer be able to decide themselves directly how money raised is spent to help their communities.
“We urge Sainsbury’s, currently the largest retailer of Fairtrade products, to reconsider their plans to launch an alternative scheme that as it stands does not promise a better deal for the world’s poorest farmers and workers.”
Sainsbury’s is not the first major brand to pull out of Fairtrade in recent times.
The move comes after Cadbury decided to ditch the Fairtrade scheme last year after seven years of displaying the ethical stamp of approval on its chocolate bars. It also replaced Fairtrade with its own sustainability programme – the “Cocoa Life” scheme. Sainsbury’s said the decision to switch to its own ethical scheme was in order to offer farmers support on adapting to climate change which is not offered by Fairtrade.
A Sainsbury’s spokesman insisted that the company did not stand to profit from the move. He said: “The Fairtrade model is 20 years old and we need to move with the times. Climate change is a perfect example of this as some teagrowing regions are now facing unprecedented effects.
“A tea farmer in Malawi could have his entire crop wiped out by climate change, which is bad for him and bad for UK consumers. Our new scheme will offer advice on how to mitigate such risks.”