The Fairtrade Foundation and Waitrose have announced a collaborative partnership that will see the organisations share best practice and build on sustainable supply chain models, and ensure more Fairtrade-certified products are sold in Waitrose supermarkets.

20 February 2015 – The Fairtrade Foundation and Waitrose have today [20 February 2015] announced a new partnership – the first of its kind between a retail business and the Fairtrade Foundation – in the run-up to the annual Fairtrade Fortnight campaign (23 February – 8 March 2015).

The partnership establishes a new and collaborative way of working together whereby Fairtrade and Waitrose will share best practice, experiences and a joint ambition to build upon sustainable supply chain models.

At Waitrose, it will mean that as well as its wide and ever-growing range of Fairtrade-certified products, the work of the Waitrose Foundation will be recognised and validated by the Fairtrade Foundation – the first time the organisation will verify a third-party scheme.

The Fairtrade Foundation will 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, said: “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”, says Michael Gidney, Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation.

“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, said: “Treating people fairly is at the heart of everything we do and – whether it’s our customers, our Partners, the communities we operate in or the suppliers we work with – we endeavour always to behave responsibly.

“We’re celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Waitrose Foundation this year and it’s a great accolade to have Fairtrade Foundation support our work.

“By combining Fairtrade’s expertise in this area with our retail operation, we believe we will be able to deliver greater benefits to the producers and suppliers with whom we both work and together demonstrate the future of fair trading.”

The Fairtrade Mark is the most recognised ethical label in the UK market and is the only independent assurance which pays a minimum price to farmers that aims to cover the cost of sustainable production, as well as an extra Fairtrade Premium. Farmers and workers can invest this additional amount as they choose, in their business or in social projects that benefit their community.

As well as supporting Fairtrade products, Waitrose launched its Foundation ten years ago to help improve the lives of workers and the communities supplying products such as citrus fruits, avocados, mangoes and flowers. The initiative democratically shares profits from Waitrose, the importer and exporter to support educational, social and healthcare projects and is active in communities in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa with plans for the supply chain collaboration model to expand. Over 450 programmes have been launched. For example in Kenya, re-used shipping containers have been used to open two hairdresser and community shop businesses in Kenya as well as solar street lighting, allowing local businesses to open longer and the community to feel safer at night.

There is also good evidence to suggest that with a strengthened partnership with Fairtrade will be popular with Waitrose shoppers. A recent customer survey found that 84 per cent of shoppers attribute the Fairtrade Mark with high product integrity and 83 per cent believe it demonstrates trustworthy provenance.

“It is encouraging to see that retailers with vision are exploring new and innovative ways of working with the Fairtrade Foundation in order to benefit producers in developing countries and embedding these practices into a ‘business as usual’ approach. Research shows that the British public want retailers to do the right thing by their suppliers, so we look forward to this journey with Waitrose and hope that it may set a precedent that other companies will wish to emulate,” says Michael Gidney.

For further information, please visit www.fairtrade.org.uk or www.waitrose.com