Innocent Drinks was once very proud of its use of Rainforest Alliance certified bananas.
Its customer phone line is even called the ‘banana phone’ in honour of the claim (It’s true, someone genuinely answers: “Hello, Innocent banana phone” when you ring it – although perhaps not as enthusiastically as its creators intended).
But, as we reported yesterday, that banana phone can no longer claim the happy green frog logo of the Rainforest Alliance.
A promotional video published in 2016 showed idyllic farms and happy harvest workers as the narrator purred: “We’ve always wanted to build a business we can be proud of, and we soon realised that sourcing bananas from Rainforest Alliance certified farms would help our goal.
“The banana industry was once infamous for clear-cutting rainforests, polluting waterways and using dangerous agrochemicals. But Rainforest Alliance certified banana farms are forging a path to a better future.
“We’re very proud to have sourced Rainforest Alliance certified bananas for over 10 years now.”
That is now very much a thing of the past, as Innocent has stopped using the bananas in its smoothies, after more than 20 years.
Self-certification
Innocent insists it only sources from farms that meet its own standards, asserting “there isn’t a single scheme that covers it all”. Every single one of its farmers, it says, follows the required social and environmental practices, with the majority being silver or gold level in line with the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative’s Farm Sustainability Assessment.
It did not, however, specify which standard or scheme is followed for the banana farms from which it now sources, or whether it is subject to the same independent assessment that Rainforest Alliance farms sign up to.
This is not the first time brands have changed or dropped accreditation schemes.
Mondelez dropped its Fairtrade chocolate certification from Cadbury in 2016, in favour of its own Cocoa Life programme.
Companies’ own schemes don’t hold as much sway with consumers, though. After criticism of its Fairly Traded scheme, Sainsbury’s switched back to Fairtrade for its own-label tea earlier this year.
Might financials have had a sway in the decision? Innocent’s most recently available accounts showed operating losses of £3.7m in 2023, a marked improvement on prior years. There’s been internal upheaval too, as in June the business named Nicki Garland as UK & Ireland managing director, the third person to hold the role in just over a year.
Risky business
Innocent’s decision also comes at a delicate time for the Rainforest Alliance as it prepares to roll out a new certification scheme based for regenerative agriculture, which it says raises the bar around things like soil health, biodiversity and climate resilience.
Innocent continues to say supportive things about the Rainforest Alliance and uses its certified bananas in products in both France and Denmark, but has extended its own investment into separate regenerative projects with its Farmer Innovation Fund grants.
For a brand that ties itself so closely to health and ethical credentials, ditching a recognised scheme is risky. It is perhaps more likely to be taken at its word than a Mondelez or Sainsbury’s – but then again, it banked that trust as an early adopter of the Rainforest Alliance.
And remember this wasn’t announced – it was a quiet change to the back of pack. Doing things quietly and hoping no one will notice was never the Innocent way.
Bananas are an emotive fruit. They are the most purchased fruit in UK supermarket with a huge supply chain behind them. Campaign groups point out that in the global south many large plantations damage the environment and deny workers a wage high enough to meet basic needs.
The Rainforest Alliance uses third party audits to meet standards on sustainable agriculture and farmers rights and packaged it all up with its green frog stamp of approval.
Will the person at the other end of the Innocent banana phone be as convincing about its own scheme?
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