Sainsbury’s has been accused of undermining the Fairtrade movement by experimenting with dropping the ethical mark for its own label tea.
A series of shareholders and campaign groups criticised the supermarket group for dropping Fairtrade at its annual meeting in London on Wednesday, in an increasingly fraught exchange with the company’s board. Outside the event, protesters carried placards expressing their concern at the development.
The protests follow Sainsbury’s recent pilot in which it no longer labels its own-brand teas as Fairtrade, badging them “fairly traded” instead. The company said it was running a pilot with its tea products – but those opposing the change fear it will be extended to other products, including bananas and coffee.
