Fairtrade urges UK shoppers not to abandon it in ‘race to the bottom’

theguardian.com:

Shoppers are being urged to keep on buying Fairtrade products amid fears of a “race to the bottom” as struggling Britons look for ways to save money during the cost of living crisis.

Anna Barker, head of responsible business at the Fairtrade Foundation, said the organisation had not seen a shift in spending away from the ethical brand but was worried about how people would react to the worsening squeeze on their finances.

UK inflation hit 9% in April, its highest level for 40 years. It is feared consumers will be less concerned about sustainability and will instead focus on searching for the cheapest products.

“Farmers are going through a cost of living crisis, too,” said Barker.

“If there was a race to the bottom during a time like this it will have long-term consequences for the way that we consume. You are going to see farmers consider whether they’re in the right industry if they’re not able to sell their products at a price that covers the cost of production.”

The Fairtrade label guarantees that the producers get a set minimum price, as well as a financial bonus, and its famous logo is now stamped on more than 6,000 products, including chocolate, coffee and bananas.

Willy Paredes, a producer representative from Fairtrade’s Latin American and Caribbean network who works with banana growers, says they are suffering “two hits”. “One is on the cost of living and the other is on the cost of production.”

Paredes, who is based in Peru, says that – like UK farmers – growers are struggling to manage a dramatic jump in the cost of key products such as agricultural chemicals. “Bananas are harvested 52 weeks of the year so the farmers have felt it a lot more because they need to buy these inputs permanently during the year.”

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