Switzerland’s biggest retailer has pledged to only stock ethical bananas by the end of next year, following a new raft of new sustainability measures introduced by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) at South American plantations.
Up to this point the supermarket’s bananas had conformed to less-exacting Rainforest Alliance standards. But now the company has gone a step further in its efforts to protect the environment and support workers.
Thanks to a WWF pilot scheme that has introduced 300 additional measures on ethical growing at plantations in Colombia and Ecuador, Migros has opted to only sell bananas that have been cultivated in a socially and environmentally responsible way.
The so-called “Generation M Promise” will apply to the supermarket’s entire range of bananas and will not increase prices, the retailer has confirmed.
Under the new WWF regulations, farms will be regularly inspected by independent supervisors, checking that they adhere to certain standards in biodiversity, waste management, integrated plant protection, climate protection, water management and working conditions among other areas.
Migros will also ensure the traceability of its bananas with stickers that indicate the farm at which the WWF-accredited fruit was grown.
And the use of reusable plastic containers bananas transport will avoid over one million banana boxes being wasted each year. This will reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to 400 return flights from Zurich to New Zealand, Migros has calaculated.
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