Tell Sainsbury’s: don’t ditch Fairtrade

Sainsbury’s has taken the globally-known Fairtrade mark off its tea and replaced it with its own lesser scheme, ‘Fairly Traded’. It’s a test, already spotted on shelves in some stores, and if it works, Tesco is reported to be ready to do the same.

Fairtrade producers in Africa have written Sainsbury’s an open letter of protest. “We are extremely concerned about the power and control that Sainsbury’s seeks to exert over us”, they say. “Your model will bring about disempowerment”. One African producer told The Guardian: “We feel that our rights are being taken away from us, this feels like colonialism.”

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