The petition of the residents of the United Kingdom,
Declares disappointment in Nestlé’s decision to end its ten year relationship with Fairtrade, switching sugar and cocoa sourcing for KitKat from Fairtrade to Rainforest Alliance accreditation; notes that up to 27,000 farmers in Côte d'Ivoire, Fiji and Malawi stand to lose their Fairtrade Premium; and further declares that these farmers will have less say on how money from that Premium is spent, at a time when those producers are facing unprecedented uncertainty.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to reaffirm its commitment to Fairtrade and urges Nestlé to ultimately reconsider their decision, in order to provide support to producers during a period of considerable uncertainty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Holly Lynch, Official Report, 30 September 2020; Vol. 681, c. 453 .]
[P002600]
Petitions in the same terms were presented by the hon. Member for Glasgow North (Patrick Grady) [P002601]; the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) [P002602] and the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) [P002604];
Observations from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (James Duddridge):
The UK Government have been a long-time supporter of the Fairtrade movement with support dating back over a decade. Between 2010 and 2018, they invested over £20.2 million into Fairtrade and are currently funding the Fairtrade Foundation to support Kenyan flower workers and Ghanaian cocoa farmers to recover from the impact of covid-19. The UK Government will continue to be a vocal champion of Fairtrade's work to ensure fair treatment of farmers in global supply chains.
The UK Government are supportive of business choices to enter partnerships with credible sustainability standards. The UK Government are unable to comment on the specific decision by Nestlé to end its relationship with Fairtrade.