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The availability of ethically sourced products in British supermarkets further increased last month as Sainsbury’s announced that its own-brand range of tea will become Fairtrade-certified during the next three years, followed by its roast and ground coffee.
The retailer claims this will triple the amount of Fairtrade-certified tea sold in the UK and will increase the Fairtrade premiums paid to growers in developing countries each year by £2million ($4.07m).
The decision will make Sainsbury’s the largest retailer of Fairtrade tea and coffee, and render its share of the Fairtrade market larger than that of all the other major UK supermarkets combined.
The first drink to be licensed to carry the Fairtrade mark, from early 2008, will be Sainsbury’s Red Label tea, one of the UK’s biggest-selling tea brands. The retail price of tea and ground coffee will remain unchanged, as the company says it will absorb the extra costs.
Sainsbury’s sells 6000 tonnes of own-brand tea and 2000 tonnes of own-brand ground coffee every year. It recently converted all its bananas to Fairtrade and sent 14 employees, including checkout staff and customer services assistants, to visit Fairtrade producers in Kenya and Tanzania.
The supermarket has also established the Sainsbury’s Fair Development Fund, run by the Comic Relief charity, to make it easier for farmers – especially in Africa – to find new routes into the fair trade market. The Fairtrade Foundation, Traidcraft and Oxfam are also involved in the £1m fund.
The retailer claims this will triple the amount of Fairtrade-certified tea sold in the UK and will increase the Fairtrade premiums paid to growers in developing countries each year by £2million ($4.07m).
The decision will make Sainsbury’s the largest retailer of Fairtrade tea and coffee, and render its share of the Fairtrade market larger than that of all the other major UK supermarkets combined.
The first drink to be licensed to carry the Fairtrade mark, from early 2008, will be Sainsbury’s Red Label tea, one of the UK’s biggest-selling tea brands. The retail price of tea and ground coffee will remain unchanged, as the company says it will absorb the extra costs.
Sainsbury’s sells 6000 tonnes of own-brand tea and 2000 tonnes of own-brand ground coffee every year. It recently converted all its bananas to Fairtrade and sent 14 employees, including checkout staff and customer services assistants, to visit Fairtrade producers in Kenya and Tanzania.
The supermarket has also established the Sainsbury’s Fair Development Fund, run by the Comic Relief charity, to make it easier for farmers – especially in Africa – to find new routes into the fair trade market. The Fairtrade Foundation, Traidcraft and Oxfam are also involved in the £1m fund.
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