Roger Cowe
SAINSBURY and the Co-op signalled the start of a new era in British high-street retailing last week when they launched a project to transform their trading relationships with Third World producers.
The two grocery groups have teamed up with the Fairtrade Foundation to develop codes of conduct that should result in improved conditions for workers making their own- label products.
The six-month pilot project includes purchases of flowers from Kenya, tea from India and electrical goods from China. Sainsbury aims to get commitments to a code of practice from all its developing country suppliers by March 1998.
Wendy Wrigley, head of brand and corporate marketing for the CWS, said the interest in fair trade stemmed from the Co-op’s “responsible retailing” initiative two years ago.
“As a consumer-owned organisation, our agenda is driven by consumer concerns, not by the City,” she said. “This is about a basic set of standards which customers can expect from us as a retailer.”
Sainsbury’s Petrina Fridd said the chain’s interest also came from shoppers’ concerns.
The supermarkets will develop codes based on a Third World suppliers’ charter launched last week by the Fairtrade Foundation, which is backed by charities such as Oxfam and Christian Aid.
The charter incorporates minimum standards laid down by the International Labour Organisation, covering areas such as child labour and working conditions.
The pilot projects will also work out methods of monitoring conditions on the ground. Phil Wells, the foundation director, urged UK buyers to take responsibility for improving conditions.
The Charter:
* Responsibility for suppliers’ working conditions
* Commitment to decent conditions
* Widely accepted standards
* Monitoring by or on behalf of the UK buyer
* Involvement of workers
* A continuing trading relationship
* Conditions to be a key factor in selecting suppliers
* Sub-contractors to be included
* Standards to develop with changing conditions
* Independent auditing