Sales of ethical Fairtrade goods at supermarket chain Sainsburys have risen by 27 per cent over the past year, the company has reported.
The UK’s third largest grocery retailer announced yesterday that sales of its Fairtrade products have reached £276 million, despite increasing pressure on household budgets.
Sainsbury’s, which claims to be the world’s largest retailer of Fairtrade products, also announced that it will source all of its Fairtrade cotton from a cooperative supplier in India.
The initiative will benefit around 1,200 small and marginal farmers based in the state of Gujarat, giving them a guaranteed annual income.
Liz Jarman, Sainsbury’s head of Fairtrade, said: ” Clothing is a major feature of Sainsbury’s Fairtrade offer and we are proud to be supporting cotton farmers in a way which has not been seen before.”
Since 2007, the retailer has converted all of its own-label bananas, tea, coffee, hot chocolate and sugar lines to the Fairtrade mark.
Sainsbury customers can also buy 100 per cent Fairtrade cotton t-shirts and Fairtrade Kenyan roses .
