Memorandum submitted by the Co-operative
Group
1. The Co-operative Movement comprises 30
retail Co-operative Societies operating some 4,000 retail units
in communities throughout the UK.
2. The Co-operative Group is the largest
Co-operative Society in the UK operating as a consumer-owned co-operative.
Food retailing is core to our activities, providing almost half
of the Group's turnover with £3 billion of sales.
3. The Co-operative Group provides the Movement's
own label, Co-operative Brand, comprising some 4,000 lines. Through
the Co-operative Retail Trading Group, an organisation of Co-operative
societies, it provides the buying and marketing functions for
all these UK consumer-owned co-operatives with a combined turnover
of over £5 billion.
4. The Co-operative Group works closely
with the Co-operative College, which leads a consortium of co-operative
enterprises working with DFID under a Strategic Grant Agreement
(SGA).
BACKGROUND
5. The Co-operative Group is proud to be
the leading retail supporter of Fairtrade in the UK. We have pioneered
an award-winning approach to Fairtrade development, which focuses
on quality products and a strong campaigning stance that has brought
Fairtrade to the mainstream. We welcome other retailers following
our established lead in the UK Fairtrade market.
6. This year, sales of Fairtrade products
through Co-ops will exceed £40 million—a 25% share
of the Fairtrade grocery sector and we remain as committed as
ever to building on this. We will continue our investment in advertising,
promotions, product development, campaigning and support at community
level through our members.
7. The principles of Fairtrade are aligned
to our co-operative values and principles, which include democracy,
equality, concern for the community and social responsibility.
8. We have always supported Fairtrade and
we seek wherever possible to ensure that producers in developing
countries receive a fair reward and that workers have safe and
decent conditions to operate in.
9. Our strategy to grow the retail market
for Fairtrade products was developed in parallel with the launch
of the FAIRTRADE Mark by the Fairtrade Foundation over a decade
ago. Our Fairtrade strategy aimed to expand our range of Co-operative
Brand Fairtrade products, integrate Fairtrade into our retail
offer and focus on building awareness to raise the profile of
Fairtrade amongst our members and customers. Fairtrade products
are available in all of our 1,700 food stores.
10. Having pioneered the retail development
of Fairtrade, the Co-operative Group is delighted to see the growth
in the market and consumer awareness, which has led to an increase
in demand for Fairtrade products.
11. It has also been particularly encouraging
to witness the recent increase in Fairtrade activity in other
food retailers, something that the Co-operative Group has campaigned
for over many years. We continue to have a wider range of Fairtrade
products in more stores than any other retailer, improving consumer
access wherever possible to further drive sales.
OUR FAIRTRADE
HISTORY
12. In 1992 The Co-operative Group was the
first major retailer to sell Cafedirect coffee. Since then our
product range has expanded to more than 140 lines including a
diverse range of own brand Fairtrade products that includes: coffee,
chocolate, wine, honey, sugar, cakes, mangoes, bananas and ale.
13. The combination of typical commodity
lines, supported with creative and pioneering development in newer
areas has helped to maintain an ongoing interest in Fairtrade
and widening of the consumer base. Since 1998 our Fairtrade strategy
has underpinned our ongoing commitment to the development of the
Fairtrade market. This aimed to:
— Position us as the leading retail
supporter of Fairtrade.
— Bring Fairtrade into the mainstream
of UK retailing.
14. We believe that we have met these objectives.
The Co-operative Group has been recognised as pioneers of Fairtrade
and are proud of our many "Fairtrade Firsts" including:
— first to bring Fairtrade bananas
into the UK;
— first to launch an own brand FAIRTRADE
Mark product;
— first to convert our entire own brand
range of coffee and chocolate bars to Fairtrade;
— first to launch fairly traded wines,
helping develop standards leading to the launch of FAIRTRADE Marked
wines; and
— first with products such as pineapples,
mangoes, grapes and peanuts.
ENGAGING WITH
OUR MEMBERS
AND CUSTOMERS
TO INCREASE
AWARENESS OF
FAIRTRADE PRODUCTS
15. The Co-operative Group is committed
to developing a knowledge and awareness of Fairtrade at a local
level. Our members are critical to raising awareness in their
local area through campaigning activity and helping out at Fairtrade
events.
— Since 1998 we have been established
as the leading retail supporter of Fairtrade Fortnight. Our support
has included in-store promotional features, which are supplemented
by our members calling for voluntary membership action in-store
to help raise consumer awareness of Fairtrade. During Fairtrade
fortnight the Co-operative Group will once again be offering a
discount of 20% off all Fairtrade products.
— The Co-operative Group has launched
a Fairtrade towns guide, a useful tool kit that gives practical
help to consumers, members and relevant organisations to campaign
together to achieve Fairtrade Town status for their community.
In 2000, for instance, the Co-operative Group was instrumental
in supporting Garstang to become the World's First Fairtrade Town.
We were delighted that in 2005, we were able to support Manchester
and Salford in becoming the joint 100th Fairtrade Town.
— In October 2005 the Co-operative
Group, in partnership with the Co-operative College launched a
"Make your School Fairtrade Friendly" guide for primary
schools. This guide recognises the importance that primary schools
can play in the development of Fairtrade and is designed to help
teachers and pupils gain an understanding of what Fairtrade is
and how they can promote and support it. The Co-operative Group
has worked with many schools in developing a Fairtrade agenda
and is inviting up to 10,000 children into stores at Fairtrade
Fortnight to learn about both the social and health benefits during
special Fairtrade fruit tastings.
— In 2005 we launched a website dedicated
to giving customers as much information as we could about the
Fairtrade products they were buying. www.co-opfairtrade.co.uk
highlights the people behind the products and encourages consumers
to help by showcasing individual beneficiaries of Fairtrade.
LABELLING OF
FAIRTRADE PRODUCTS
AT THE
CO-OPERATIVE
GROUP
16. Clear labelling plays a vital role in
helping people know exactly what they are buying. In an increasingly
crowded ethical marketplace we recognise that consumers buying
Fairtrade products need a clearly displayed Fairtrade label which
gives them a guarantee that the product meets international Fairtrade
standards.
17. The Co-operative Group believes that
the FAIRTRADE Mark awarded by the Fairtrade Foundation is the
only independent consumer guarantee for individual products, which
meet international Fairtrade standards regarding terms of trade
and conditions of production.
18. Distinctive packaging, together with
the FAIRTRADE Mark, readily identifies the diverse range of products
in the Co-operative Brand range, which meet the criteria of the
Fairtrade Foundation.
19. We are concerned about the growth of
copycat labelling initiatives, which are not as rigorous as the
FAIRTRADE Mark.
FAIRTRADE IN
ACTION
20. It is clear that consumers are motivated
to purchase when the benefits of Fairtrade are highlighted to
them. We provide as much information as we can to maintain this
"grower-consumer connection". From our cocoa growers
in the Kuapa Kokoo co-operative in Ghana, the coffee co-operatives
in Central America who provide our beans, or the sugar farmers
in Malawi, we maintain strong direct links and communicate to
customers just how their purchases are helping.
21. Fairtrade wines guarantee small-scale
farmers a fair price for their grapes and an additional premium
generated from the sales helps to improve the working and living
conditions of the community as a whole.
22. Our most significant development in
2006 has been the work within the wine category and establishing
partnerships that will really make a difference to so many people.
23. The Co-operative was the first supermarket
to launch an own brand fairly traded wine with The Co-operative
Chilean Carmenere in 2001.
24. Back then there was no formal accreditation
for wines from the international Fairtrade movement so, in partnership
with Traidcraft, the UK's largest independent fair trade organisation,
we pioneered a fair and supportive trading relationship with Los
Robles Co-operative to produce our first fairly traded wines.
At the same time we began to help develop the international Fairtrade
wine standards that eventually gave rise to the first FAIRTRADE
Mark wines—initially from South Africa, but since then includes
Chile and more recently Argentina.
25. In Argentina, the growers in the co-operative
receive a Fairtrade premium for the grapes used in each case of
wine and the Co-operative Group has matched this premium—effectively
doubling the social premium. A committee, made up of producers
and winery workers meets regularly and decides democratically
how the extra revenue from the social premium is spent to benefit
the whole community.
26. The first project agreed will help a
community of workers in the village of Tilimuqui. Nearly 100 people
live in this area, and presently there is no regular water supply
to the houses. The social premium will be spent on renovating
an old water supply with the addition of a well and pump so that
each household will have access to regular, clean water. This
is the first time that the community has had this kind of opportunity.
27. In South Africa, The Du Toitskloof Cellar
production supports over 780 people, 350 of who are children.
All employees have their own homes and 85% have running water
and electricity but there are still improvements to be made to
the living and working conditions of the employees and their families.
28. In 2004, 10 grape producing farms achieved
Fairtrade accreditation and in 2006 the Co-operative Group agreed
a five-year contract guaranteeing the purchase of wine until 2010.
This long-term commitment gives the growers and producers the
financial security to plan for the future, make investment in
their vineyards and winery as well as in their communities.
29. For every case of wine sold, the Du
Toitskloof Cellar receives a Fairtrade premium, which the Co-operative
Group is matching for this project, thereby doubling the money
the growers receive.
30. The majority of the money generated
in the first year of the project (over £64,000) went towards
three new cre"che facilities, which were officially opened
in June 2006. These new facilities give 210 toddlers and infants
between the ages of three months and five years education and
development facilities prior to going to school.
31. The next stage of the project will focus
on adult education, particularly HIV/Aids awareness, alcohol abuse,
foetal alcohol syndrome and young motherhood.
ENGAGING OUR
COLLEAGUES
32. As a leading UK employer we believe
that we have a responsibility to provide our colleagues with access
to Fairtrade products.
33. In 1997 The Co-operative Bank switched
its vending machines to Fairtrade coffee (Cafédirect),
and in 2001 to Fairtrade tea. It was the first company in the
world to distribute Fairtrade coffee in its vending machines,
making it the largest UK workplace consumer of Fairtrade products.
The Co-operative Group has since added Fairtrade drinking chocolate
to all of its vending machines. Every month our staff drink more
than 200,000 cups of Fairtrade tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
34. In addition, Fairtrade certified chocolate
bars, including Green & Blacks Maya Gold, snack bars, apple
and orange juices, as well as cookies, are on sale in all Co-operative
Financial Services staff restaurants.
35. A Fairtrade Costa Coffee bar was also
opened in 2004 at the CIS head office in Manchester, serving Fairtrade
tea, coffee and orange juice. This has now been expanded to the
Co-operative Group head office in Manchester.
FUTURE FAIRTRADE
DEVELOPMENT
36. In 2007 we will continue to develop
our commitment to Fairtrade through the development of our products
and raising awareness of Fairtrade through promotions and events.
The Co-operative Group will continue to be the leading retail
supporter of Fairtrade Fortnight.
February 2007
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