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The news that Marks & Spencer is switching key clothing ranges to Fairtrade within its new sustainability programme is the latest in a line of major decisions by retailers which sends a clear message to the whole of the retail industry.

Ian Bretman, Deputy Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said, “The announcement from Marks & Spencer that 20 million cotton garments available at its stores will be Fairtrade certified is the latest in a series of groundbreaking moves by major retailers, showing how Fairtrade is moving ever-further into the mainstream. Marks & Spencer is providing leadership to the rest of the retail industry, showing how businesses can put Fairtrade and ethical issues at the heart of what they are doing.”

Working closely with the Fairtrade Foundation, the store also pledged this week that it will offer Fairtrade jams & preserves and bagged sugar, following the overwhelmingly positive response from its customers to last year’s switch to 100% Fairtrade coffee and tea in store.

Mr Bretman said: “We welcome this announcement as another sign of retailers picking up the ball on Fairtrade and running with it. Consumer research and actual sales trends have consistently shown, there is a groundswell of support in this country for Fairtrade that has pushed it up the agenda and retailers are responding to this. People are aware of the huge benefits Fairtrade can bring and they like being able to make a difference when they go shopping.”

The Marks & Spencer initiative follows Sainsbury’s announcement just before Christmas that all its bananas will be Fairtrade-certified – amounting to ten million individual Fairtrade bananas each week. The move, when completed, will more than double the volume of Fairtrade bananas bought by Britain’s increasingly Fairtrade-minded shoppers and extend the benefits of the FAIRTRADE Mark’s guarantee to thousands of additional farmers and workers in Central & South America and the Caribbean.

Earlier in 2006, Waitrose became the first supermarket to offer loose Fairtrade bananas, rather than bananas in pre-packed bags, attracting many more consumers. Upon hearing of the Sainsbury’s announcement, Waitrose immediately announced that it too was moving to 100% Fairtrade on bananas.

Fairtrade “category shifts” were pioneered by the Co-op which has been offering Fairtrade as the norm on all its own brand coffee and chocolate for more than three years. Fairtrade is also being embraced by coffee shops with hundreds of outlets now offering Fairtrade, without customers having to specifically request it. These include the AMT Coffee bars found at stations, airports and shopping centres.

“These decisions show how far Fairtrade and ethical issues are being embraced,” said Mr Bretman. We are not talking about token products on shelves but a deep and far reaching commitment to Fairtrade. They bring increased opportunities for more farmers to sell on Fairtrade terms and they also have a deepening impact on the farmers already working within the system. These farmers will be able to sell more of what they grow to the Fairtrade market, bringing additional benefits to their families and communities.”

Mr Bretman added: “The Fairtrade Foundation is delighted that Fairtrade features prominently within Mark’s & Spencer’s sustainability programme. This is an important step forward and we hope other retailers will take note of Marks & Spencer’s lead and invest further in Fairtrade so that we can offer a better deal to more farmers in developing countries.”

Ends

1. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body that awards the FAIRTRADE Mark to products which meet international Fairtrade standards set by FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International) the umbrella organisation that unites national initiatives across Europe, Japan, North America, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand. This independent consumer label appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than five million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
2. The full range of Fairtrade products is: coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, apples, pears, grapes, plums, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, lychees, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, fruit juices, smoothies, quinoa, peppers, green beans, coconuts, dried fruit, rooibos tea, green tea, ice-cream, cakes, biscuits, honey, muesli, cereal bars, jams, chutney, sauces, herbs, spices, nuts, nut oil, wine, beer, rum, flowers, sports balls, rice, yoghurt, babyfood, sugar body scrub, cotton wool and cotton products.
3. The estimated retail value of sales of Fairtrade products in the UK in 2005 was £195m, a 40% increase on 2004. The Fairtrade Foundation expects sales of products with the FAIRTRADE Mark to at least maintain the pace of recent years, doubling every two years. A recent survey by Mintel said British shoppers will spend £2bn on Fairtrade, organic and locally sourced products this year, an increase of 62% since 2002. It also found Fairtrade to be the fastest growing of these sectors with a 265% growth since 2002.

For further information, phone 020 7440 7686/7695 or mobile 07770 957 451 or email eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk or martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk.

The Fairtrade Foundation,
Room 204, 16 Baldwin’s Gardens,
London EC1N 7RJ.