Setback for farmers’ friend Fairtrade

Fairtrade, the foundation set up to provide farmers around the world with better terms of trade, and give a genuine choice to consumers who care, has lost its tea contract with Sainsbury’s, the British supermarket chain which was one of the first retailers to sell Fairtrade products, and which became the world’s largest retailer of these ethically certified goods over the past 20 years.

Fairtrade Foundation chief executive Michael Gidney accused Sainsbury’s of leaving 229,000 tea farmers in the lurch by launching its own ethical label. However, Sainsbury’s said it will pass more money to farmers instead of giving it to Fairtrade to use its logo.