Sainsbury’s will display the Fairtrade logo on its own label black tea for the first time in eight years, after agreeing a new partnership with the Fairtrade Foundation.
The switch marks a reversal after Sainsbury’s controversially dropped the label from its tea lines in 2017, in favour of its own – now ditched – ‘Fairly Traded’ accreditation pilot scheme.
Sainsbury’s will move 11 of its By Sainsbury’s black tea products back to Fairtrade. As a result, tea suppliers will receive an extra £1m annually through the Fairtrade premium. Sainsbury’s will pay a “minimum secure price” for every kilogram of tea it buys.
“We know that when it comes to their morning brew, our customers want a tea that blends great taste and tradition with high quality standards, that is sourced sustainably and supports the communities at its heart,” said Sainsbury’s sustainability director Ruth Cranston.
“By converting all of our By Sainsbury’s black tea to Fairtrade, our customers can be confident that they are contributing to minimum prices for producers and better living conditions for farmers, while also helping to promote sustainable farming practices that protect the environment for future generations.
“We’re committed to playing our part in building a more sustainable and resilient food system, and are excited to continue building on over 20 years of partnership with Fairtrade to achieve this.”
Sainsbury’s ended its controversial Fairly Traded scheme in 2022, transitioning supply chains for its Red and Gold Label teas to the Rainforest Alliance.
When it launched the pilot in 2017, Sainsbury’s claimed Fairly Traded would provide a lower-priced alternative to Fairtrade while ensuring a “secure and sustainable supply chain” for farmers. It also argued the scheme would ensure premiums were spent more effectively, as the supermarket retained more control over how they were allocated to farmers.
The decision sparked protests from shoppers and campaign groups at the time, who warned it could start “a race to the bottom” for working conditions in supply chains and took control away from farmers over how allocated funds were spent. The retailer was also rapped by the ASA in 2018 over how it displayed Red Label tea online, which the ad watchdog said could “confuse” customers into thinking they were buying Fairtrade accredited tea.
Speaking to The Guardian this week, Cranston defended the decision as a “bold move”, highlighting that Sainsbury’s had continued to partner with Fairtrade – including a move last year to bring commitments to pay all workers within its banana supply chain a living wage forward by three years by 2027.
“We have never pulled away from Fairtrade, but we’ve talked about the risks in tea, and have trialled different things… There was lots of success and learnings from the scheme,” she said. Sainsbury’s generated an estimated £6m towards the Fairtrade premium in 2024, the highest of any retailer in the UK.
“We’re very excited today by Sainsbury’s announcement that it will convert all of its By Sainsbury’s black tea to Fairtrade,” said Kerrina Thorogood, partnerships director at the Fairtrade Foundation.
No comments yet