Co-op moves to 100% Fairtrade South African wine
The Co-op has moved all of its branded and own-label South African wine to Fairtrade.
The move means the retailer now stocks 57 Fairtrade wines, 45 being of which are from South Africa.
Due to the South African wine industry being hard hit by the impact of Covid-19, the Co-op has also invested £800,000 through donations and social premium into a start-up winery, Fairroots, in Olifants River South Africa. The funding will enable Fairroots to develop an education centre and environment and financial training. The winery spans over 34 hectares, and has eight permanent workers, plus additional seasonal producers. The Co-op will eventually sell wine from here in its stores.
Edward Robinson, Co-op Fairtrade wine buyer, said: “At the Co-op we have been involved in the sale of Fairtrade wine right from the beginning and for us the last seventeen years or so has been a journey towards forging closer relationship with our suppliers, providing better quality and value for our customers and – most importantly of all – doing everything we can to support the most important people in the chain: the vineyard workers and their families. With this in mind we are incredibly proud to be announcing that all our South African wines will now be made according to Fairtrade standards.”
Latest figures from the convenience retailer reveal that it sold 14.5 million litres of Fairtrade wine in 2020.
Mike Gidney, chief executive at The Fairtrade Foundation, added: “Over the past year, we have continued to see growth in the Fairtrade wine category and retailers providing consumers with more and more choice, and we hope this industry-first move by Co-op will inspire even further businesses to grow their Fairtrade wine offering.”
