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Fairtrade Fortnight is focusing on producers

Last year’s Fairtrade Fortnight had a very specific focus – to make the price of bananas ‘fair’ – but this time around there’s a much wider scope to the Fairtrade Foundation’s activities.

The two-week campaign is concentrated on asking shoppers to ‘choose products that change lives’, aiming to tell the story of the producer and the profound difference that buying Fairtrade can make. The focus might be particularly on cocoa, tea, coffee and sugar, but the wider impact of the message is expected to have a halo effect on sales of fruit and vegetables.

The sector certainly needs a lift: the estimated value of Fairtrade sales at retail fell by 3.7 per cent in 2014 to £1.67 billion, according to the Fairtrade Foundation, representing a blow at a time when the economy is in recovery. The intense price competition among supermarkets is being particularly blamed for the disappointing figures, with cheaper ‘value’ lines often taking centre stage.

There has been some good news though, with Fairtrade banana sales – boosted perhaps by last year’s campaign and Tesco’s decision to relist a product line – growing three per cent year on year, and one particularly eye-catching move announced this week suggests further appetite to support the movement.

Waitrose and the Fairtrade Foundation revealed they have established a new partnership in which the two sides will share best practice, experiences and a joint ambition to build upon sustainable supply chain models.

The two sides announced the plan at the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, which kicked off on Monday. For Waitrose, it will mean that as well as adding further Fairtrade lines in store, it will also have the work of its Waitrose Foundation recognised and validated by the Fairtrade Foundation. It is the first time the organisation will have verified a third-party scheme.

The Fairtrade Foundation will in turn provide guidance to the Waitrose Foundation as it expands the trading model into countries and regions where it does not currently operate, but where Fairtrade has experience.

Michael Gidney, chief executive of the Fairtrade Foundation, says the objective of the new partnership is to work together to “increase the social and economic impact of our respective supply networks, recognising the vital role that business now plays within the international development agenda”.

“We are proud to work with Waitrose, which has been a pioneer of fair and ethical trading and has a long track record of stocking Fairtrade products, regularly extending and refreshing its Fairtrade offering.”

Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose, adds:“Treating people fairly is at the heart of everything we do and – whether it’s our customers, ourpartners, the communities we operate in or the suppliers we work with –we endeavour always to behaveresponsibly.”

Partnerships between the food industry and retailers would seem to hold the key to long-term sales growth for Fairtrade products. The likes of Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and The Co-operative are long-time supporters, of course, so the question now is whether the other chains will follow suit.