Supermarkets: Fairtrade Initiative

(asked on 12th February 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department provides to Fair Trade companies as part of its work to tackle human and labour rights abuses in the global supply chains of UK supermarkets.


Answered by
Harriett Baldwin Portrait
Harriett Baldwin
This question was answered on 18th February 2019

The UK government is a strong supporter of the Fairtrade movement, which plays an important role in helping producers around the world improve their lives through receiving fair prices for their products. Between 2010 and 2018, the Department for International Development invested over £20.2m into Fairtrade and the UK was the first country to produce a National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

DFID has funded the development of Fairtrace, a technology-based supply chain mapping tool which has helped Fairtrade to broaden their commercial customer base. The tool has been used by major UK businesses such as The Co-op and Ben & Jerry’s. In 2017, Fairtrace helped 7 major brands to map their supply chains; illustrating journeys from over 191 producer groups in over 23 countries.

The UK government will continue to champion this agenda as part of our commitment to improving the lives of smallholder farmers and to a free, fair and transparent trade system that helps lifts developing countries out of poverty.

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