Revolutionary Shift in Supermarket’s Strategy Increases Fairtrade Tea Sales in the UK by Nearly Half
Sainsbury’s has decisively moved away from its earlier controversial initiative to establish its own ethical standard by forming a significant agreement with the Fairtrade Foundation.
This strategic change means that all traditional teabags under the “by Sainsbury’s” label will now be Fairtrade certified. Kerrina Thorogood, the foundation’s director of partnerships, hailed this shift as a pivotal moment for the ethical tea market.
Why This Matters
Products bearing the Fairtrade mark ensure that producers are paid a minimum set price, along with an additional sum known as the Fairtrade premium. This extra funding is directed into a communal pot that workers and farmers can utilize according to their needs. Currently, the recognizable Fairtrade logo adorns over 6,000 products including favorites like chocolate, coffee, and bananas.
Ruth Cranston, the sustainability director at Sainsbury’s, notes that despite facing stiff competition from coffee, tea remains the UK’s drink of choice. “We sell more than 880 million teabags annually, making it a crucial product. However, tea production faces several challenges,” she commented. These challenges range from climate-related disruptions to issues concerning gender rights and wages in a workforce predominantly composed of women.
Thorogood points out that the adoption of Fairtrade by a major supermarket will boost the sale of Fairtrade tea in the UK by almost 50%. Last year, only 7% of tea sold was under Fairtrade terms, but projections suggest this could rise to 10% by 2026.
The commitment to Fairtrade is particularly significant for growers facing adverse conditions due to extreme weather events. For instance, last year’s harvests in Kenya and India, which together account for half of the UK’s tea supply, were severely impacted by a combination of heatwaves, droughts, and floods.
Furthermore, during January and February, Kenyan tea growers saw a 13.5% decrease in production compared to the same period in the previous year. Some smallholders in the western part of the Rift Valley experienced even sharper declines, with reductions reaching up to 24%.
The Fairtrade label will now be featured on an additional dozen products including Sainsbury’s Red Label tea, first introduced in 1903 and the oldest product of its kind still available at the store.
Historical Context and Future Directions
This significant shift comes after a previous attempt by Sainsbury’s to replace the Fairtrade label with its own “Fairly Traded” initiative in 2017 sparked controversy. At a time when other large corporations were pursuing independent ethical initiatives, this move was perceived by some as a potential threat to the future of the Fairtrade project.
Ruth Cranston defended the Fairly Traded initiative, which concluded in 2022, as a proactive effort to enhance partnerships with producers. “We have never abandoned Fairtrade, but we’ve explored various approaches in addressing the risks associated with tea production. The Fairly Traded scheme was part of an effort to improve our engagement with producers, and it brought considerable success and insights,” she explained.
In 2024, Sainsbury’s generated the highest Fairtrade premium of any UK retailer at £6 million, and the inclusion of its popular own-brand teabags is expected to contribute an additional £1 million from tea sales alone.
Thorogood underscored the significance of the new tea agreement and urged other brands to follow suit. She emphasized that on average, Fairtrade producers are only able to sell 4% of their produce under Fairtrade terms. “This agreement marks a critical turning point for Fairtrade tea, but the real difference will come when other brands and retailers commit in a similar fashion,” she stated.
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