Waitrose has announced plans to double sales of Fairtrade products over the next year ahead of the start of Fairtrade Fortnight next week.

The accelerated growth will be driven by increasing the Fairtrade options available for a number of core shopping-basket lines, according to the retailer.

Waitrose will be the first UK supermarket to switch all its banana lines to Fairtrade on February 28.

The chain will also launch the largest range of Fairtrade roses in any supermarket, with the aim to ensure that 100 per cent of all rose bunches sold in its shops are Fairtrade-marked, the retailer said.

Waitrose managing director Steven Esom said: “Customers are increasingly thinking about the origins of the food they buy and the Fairtrade mark is a widely recognised way of ensuring that communities in the developing world are getting a fair deal.

“We are confident that our Fairtrade sales will double within the next financial year, as ethical spending becomes a mainstream consideration on customers’ shopping lists.”

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