Now it will only be Fairtrade tea and coffee in Marks and Spencer

Tue, 07 Mar 2006
 
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To further emphasize their commitment to ethical sourcing, Marks and Spencer is to change their entire stock of tea and coffee to Fairtrade tea and coffee.

The British retail chain say that by switching to Fairtrade tea and coffee will increase the value of Fairtrade coffee sold in UK supermarkets by 18 per cent and the impact on the value of Fairtrade tea will be 30 per cent.

However Marks and Spencer are not stopping there as they will be stocking a range of Fairtrade cotton clothing in 36 of their stores and their online shop. T-shirts and socks will be priced from £4 and there are further plans to develop a men’s range of Fairtrade cotton suit shirts and a range of Fairtrade organic cotton clothing for newborn babies.

A recent survey commissioned by the store found that many consumers are choosing products that ethically produced. Out of those surveyed 78 per cent said they would like more information about how the goods were made, 59 per cent said they already buy Fairtrade products and 18 per cent said they would buy Fairtrade product if they had a wider availability.

The origins of Fairtrade date back to the late 1980s in the Netherlands where growers in developing countries are paid less for their coffee beans, tea leaves or bananas than the cost to produce them.

The concept of Fairtrade is to buy from farmers directly by giving them better prices which in turn helps to strengthen their organisations. What they are paid is reinvested to improve social conditions or the economic infrastructure in the community.

Over the years the amount of Fairtrade produce had increased. There are now 1,500 products that carry the Fairtrade mark.

Marks and Spencer is not the only supermarket to promote Fairtrade products. Asda, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco already stock Fairtrade products but Marks and Spencer is the first company to sell Fairtrade products exclusively.

Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation said, "Marks and Spencer has demonstrated the level of its commitment to Fairtrade and set a new pace which we hope other retailers will follow, by switching whole categories, by pioneering the development of new categories such as cotton, and by working closely with the producers that supply them.

"By buying products carrying the Fairtrade mark, we can all play our part in enabling farmers and workers to make poverty history for themselves."

Stuart Rose, Marks and Spencer chief executive added, "Our customers have told us they care about how our products are made and we want to help them make Fairtrade part of their retail habit.

"We have only been able to make these major commitments because of the high ethical standards we have across our supply chain and close partnerships with our suppliers and the farmers they work with."

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