Sainsbury’s has launched a new fund to help growers in developing countries to mark its fifth ‘Make the Difference’ day.
The Fair Development Fund, which will be run by Comic Relief, is designed to help producers in the developing world become part of the Fairtrade scheme. It will be kick-started with an initial contribution of £1 million from the supermarket, and will be used to support a number of Fairtrade initiatives over a four-year period.
It is hoped the fund will enable growers and farmers in some of the poorest countries to meet Fairtrade standards, as well as helping them to find new routes to market that will give them a better deal. It also means more of the world’s disadvantaged and marginalised producer communities will have the opportunity to receive the benefits Fairtrade can offer, such as a social premium to invest education or health.
Justin King, Sainsbury’s chief executive, said the new fund will help to dramatically extend the benefits Fairtrade creates to producers in areas that weren’t previously Fairtrade accredited.
“I’ve witnessed some of the Fairtrade projects created from customers buying our Fairtrade bananas, so I know what a difference it can make. The fund will overcome barriers for poor producers, enabling them to trade and therefore improve their livelihoods,” said King.
The supermarket has also announced that it has now completed the switch to 100 percent Fairtrade bananas.
Sainsbury’s, which sells 700 million bananas a year, has already created a social premium of around £4 million this year, which will be returned to the growers and their communities.
The supermarket said that its bananas have risen in popularity by five percent since it announced it would be switching to Fairtrade, accounting for an extra 35 million Fairtrade bananas consumed a year.
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