global poverty
The Co-operative is tackling global poverty to make life good for everyone
When undertaken equitably, trade has an unparalleled capacity to lift people out of poverty and enhance the quality of lives across the world. However, business pressures and the demand for cheap goods can mean that workers in the developing world are often denied the basic living standards that most of us in the UK take for granted. We recognise that our activities have an impact on international development, and we believe that we can make this impact a positive one.
We know that ethical trading is a priority for our members – over a quarter of those responding to the Food Ethical Policy consultation highlighted it as their most important ethical issue.
Read the International Development and Human Rights section of our latest Sustainability Report.
The Co-operative Group has been the UK’s leading supermarket supporter of fair and ethical trade for over 160 years and has demonstrated commitment to the FAIRTRADE Mark since its inception back in 1994.
Through ongoing campaigning, product innovation and leadership we have helped develop the UK as the largest Fairtrade markets in the world, supporting millions of growers and producers in developing countries.
In 1992, we were the first major retailer to sell Cafédirect coffee, which became one of the first FAIRTRADE Mark products in 1994. In 2000, we were the first major retailer to bring Fairtrade bananas to the UK and to launch an own-brand Fairtrade product – our Co-operative Divine Milk Chocolate. We were the first major retailer to sell Argentinian Fairtrade wine in 2006 and the first to convert our entire own-brand hot beverage range to Fairtrade in 2008. Most recently, The Co-operative became the first supermarket to stock Fairtrade Palestinian olive oil – the first Palestinian product to receive Fairtrade certification.
Read about more of our Fairtrade achievements.
Our Fairtrade Strategic Development Manager travelled to Colombia in 2008 to find out how Fairtrade is making a real difference to the lives of coffee growers. Read the Colombia blog.
Find out more about our Fairtrade products.
Watch our films about Fairtrade chocolate, coffee, tea, sugar, bananas and wine.
Ethical trade
We are committed to managing labour standards in the supply chain, and to the principles of sound sourcing (which is the term the Group uses to describe its approach to labour standards management). We were a founding member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), an alliance of companies, trade unions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working together to improve working conditions in supply chains.
In 1999, we established our
Sound Sourcing Code of Conduct for our trading business. This Code articulates base-line labour standards and the commitment to working with suppliers to drive improvements to working conditions on a continuous improvement basis.
In addition, The Co-operative Retail is a member of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex) which enables suppliers to share audit reports with multiple customers, and aims to reduce duplication and improve auditing standards. Additionally, emphasis is placed on collaborative work and helping own-brand suppliers build skills and knowledge (via supplier training sessions for example) to support more long-term and sustainable improvements.
Charitable products
Charity credit cards
The Co-operative Bank offers a range of credit cards in support of development and human rights charities, including Action Aid, Amnesty International, CAFOD, Children in Crisis, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund, and WaterAid. Together these have raised over £4.7m to date.
Find out more about our charitable credit cards.
Ethical water
In 2007, we became the first retailer to launch an own-brand ethical water. Every time a customer buys The Co-operative Fairbourne Springs water, The Co-operative makes a donation to The One Foundation to help fund the installation of a PlayPump (TM) Water system in Africa. To date, the Fairbourne donation has already funded over 110 water systems, providing clean water to around 280,000 people.
Visit The Co-operative ethical water campaign website
Watch a film about our ethical water (link opens in new window)
Could yours be the next One Big Idea?
One condoms
In 2008, the Co-operative Group became the first high-street retailer to sell ethical One condoms. These are the first of their kind in the UK and help fund HIV and AIDs awareness projects in Africa. A donation is made from the sale of each pack of condoms, which goes towards funding HIV testing and for outreach teams of doctors, nurses and councillors to visit rural communities to help educate and raise awareness of AIDs and HIV-related issues.
Find out more about
One condoms
Mobile phone recycling
By helping our customers to recycle their old mobile phones, we have raised over £290,000 for Oxfam. Working handsets, worth around £5 to Oxfam, are refurbished for resale, while broken handsets are recycled within Europe. Recycling bags are available in Co-operative Food, Bank, Travel and Pharmacy stores.
Find out more about
recycling your mobile phone
Carbon offsetting
We offer carbon offsets with certain products and services which provide both environmental and social benefits. We pay Climate Care – an organisation dedicated to helping to combat climate change – to deliver carbon offset projects in the developing world. We have built offsetting into our mortgages and car insurance services, and also offer The Co-operative Travel customers the opportunity to offset the emissions produced by their flights. The projects we fund all take place in the developing world, so bring additional social and developmental benefits to local communities.
Find out about some of the carbon offset schemes we help to fund
Ethical finance
Microfinance
We believe people should be given the opportunity to trade their way out of poverty. So, The Co-operative Bank has created a US$50m microfinance fund which provides loans to small business in poor countries around the world.
Find out more on our microfinance blog
Watch a film about the benefits of microfinance
Ethical Policies of The Co-operative Bank and The Co-operative Insurance
The Co-operative Bank’s Ethical Policy states that through its investments, the bank will seek to support poverty reduction. In line with this, it will not finance organisations that fail to implement basic labour rights; take an irresponsible approach to the payment of tax in the least developed countries; impede access to basic human necessities; or engage in irresponsible marketing practices in developing countries.
Find out more about The Co-operative Bank’s customer-led Ethical Policy
The Ethical Engagement Policy of The Co-operative Insurance and The Co-operative Investments states that they will seek to protect workers from exploitation; support poverty reduction; advocate an end to trade which fuels conflict or undermines human rights; and encourage the promotion of co-operative enterprise.
Find out more about the Ethical Engagement Policy
Engagement
Campaigns
We have a long tradition of successful high profile international development campaigning, for example Landmines (1996), Third World Debt (1999), Cluster Bombs (2002), Trade Justice (2005), and most recently ‘Defending Human Rights’ (2008).
As part of the ‘Defending Human Rights’ campaign, The Co-operative Bank financed the production of ‘Everybody’, – a short film using animation and live action to bring human rights to life - which was screened in 150 Vue and Picturehouse cinemas across the UK for two weeks in November 2008, as well as being shown in school assemblies in the run up to International Human Rights day on 10 December 2008.
The Co-operative is supporting
The Wave - the most important day of action on climate change for billions of people around the world. The Wave takes place days before the crucial UN climate change talks in Copenhagen. It will send a strong message to world leaders that a
safe and
fair deal must be agreed to avoid dangerous levels of climate change and protect the world’s poorest.
Find out more about
our campaignsWatch the short film,
‘Everybody’ (link opens in new window)
Outreach
We are using increasingly innovative communications channels – such as theatre and film – to generate support and drive change amongst our members and the wider general public on international development issues. For example in 2007, the Group premiered the film
Black Gold, renewing the case for trade justice, and regional membership teams across the UK arranged a total of 18 screenings of the film. Additional 2008/09 screenings included
The Great African Scandal,
The Burma Play: A Comedy of Terror,
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and a preview of
Slumdog Millionaire.
The Co-operative.tv
We have launched a new online digital TV channel that offers instant access to video content about our ethical projects, which before now had not been accessible online, including: The Co-operative’s Fairtrade films (about bananas, tea, chocolate, coffee, sugar, wine and Fairtrade in schools); highlights from The Burma Play A Comedy of Terror; and the short film, ‘Everybody’, funded as part of the Customer's Who Care ‘Defending Human Rights’ campaign. The channel can be accessed at www.co-operative.tv
Fair and Square
Fair and Square is a food and development awareness programme aimed at informing members and consumers about issues such as Fairtrade and ‘Fairmiles versus Foodmiles’, to aid decision-making. The Co-operative College manages the project with support from the Co-operative Group.
Find out more about Fair and Square
Fairtrade schools packs
In February 2009, the Co-operative College, with support from the Co-operative Group and the Enterprise Network, developed the Co-operative Group’s ‘Make Your School Fairtrade Friendly’ pack into an expanded and enhanced free teaching and resource pack for primary schools called ‘Co-operate for Change! Fairtrade in your school’. The pack includes a CD-Rom containing classroom activities and supporting resources specifically designed to introduce Fairtrade to key
stage two pupils.
Find out more about the Fairtrade schools packs and order your copy.
Community projects overseas
Development uplift for producer communities in Malawi
From 2009, we are funding a project over three years in Malawi, to deliver substantial development uplift for our Fairtrade sugar producers and wider communities (10,000 people in total) providing access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene education, and renewable energy.
Find out more about
our sugar producers
Tea co-operatives in Kenya
From 2009, we are helping support a project, with match-funding from the government, to assist 8,000 tea smallholder farmers in Kenya to organise into co-operatives, enabling the farmers to better negotiate the terms of trade, benefit from increased market opportunities and pursue Fairtrade certification. Additionally, the project includes plans to support farmers to diversify into other crops and potentially supply to The Co-operative and other export markets.
Agroforestry and tree planting in Malawi
We are supporting a project in southern Malawi to improve access to food and wood for poor families and those affected by HIV and AIDS, and also to reduce deforestation. The project, in partnership with Oxfam and co-ordinated on the ground by a number of local NGOs, helps support 3,000 poor and vulnerable households in 150 villages cultivating on marginal lands.
It involves planting trees and shrubs to grow in association with crops, as a cheap sustainable way to improve soil fertility and increase crop yield, and to increase access to wood for vulnerable households. In total around 15,000 individuals will benefit from the project.