Siid Podcast Series

Recently, companies that had supported the Fairtrade label through retail partnerships have decided to step away from this engagement. Cadbury one of the main supporters of the Fairtrade label has launched its own label “Cocoa Life”, although Fairtrade claims to be supporting this initiative. Similarly, Sainsbury the world’s biggest retailer of Fairtrade certified products has decided to replace the Fairtrade label for its tea’s with its own “Fairly Traded” label. Sainsbury promises to improve the Fairtrade practice of providing a minimum price guarantee and a social premium with additional benefits such as long term commercial relationships which it acknowledges are missing from the Fairtrade system. Sainsbury in presenting its rationale for making this change brings out the problem with the Fairtrade system. Despite having been around since 1992, the Fairtrade label has not translated into sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers despite having made some progress in improving livelihoods. This is du