Ethical trade and human rights
Our focus is to provide support for our suppliers, work collaboratively to protect the most vulnerable workers, and continue to champion resilient livelihoods for everyone in our supply chain.
Our commitment
We are committed to ensuring that the people providing our own-brand products are treated fairly, and that their fundamental human rights are protected and respected. These rights include international labour rights, such as the right to fair pay, safe and decent working conditions, and protection from forced labour, modern slavery and harsh or inhumane treatment.
Driving innovation in due diligence and transparency
We require all Co-op own-brand suppliers in our Food business to join Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), with tier 1 sites in high-risk countries needing an independent audit prior to approval.
We also use information raised by workers through grievance mechanisms and whistleblowing lines, such as Unseen, as well as suppliers and other independent sources of information
Embedding ethical trade into core business activities and winning hearts and minds
We work closely with our internal colleagues to ensure the ambitions and objectives of the Human Rights and Ethical Trade strategy are supported and embedded across all core business functions.
We provide internal ethical trade and human rights training as part of the induction programme and provide regular updates to the wider business.
Building capacity and resilience in our supply base
We recognise the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing within our supply chain to address the root causes of human rights issues.
That is why, in 2024, we continued partnering with organisations such as the Food Network for Ethical Trade (FNET), Responsible Recruitment Toolkit (RRT), Stronger Together, the Modern Slavery Intelligence Network, Unseen’s Helpline Business Portal & Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline, and the Seafood Ethics Action (SEA) Alliance.
Tackling modern slavery and mitigating human rights risks
This year, we furthered our efforts to meet our goal to eliminate illegal and unfair recruitment fees in our global supply chains. In 2024, we provided free access to modern slavery and responsible recruitment training for suppliers and labour providers in our supply chain though our sponsorship of Stronger Together and the Responsible Recruitment Toolkit.
This reached 3,135 delegates across 126 supplier events, representing 1,772 supplier sites
Empowering workers and enhancing livelihoods
Alongside other major UK retailers, we’ve signed IDH’s Living Wage Commitment to work together to close the living wage gap in international banana supply chains by the end of 2027. As a leading Fairtrade retailer, we are already taking significant steps to meet the living wage. However, we recognise collaborative industry action is needed to address wage gaps for all workers. In 2024, we have continued to work with UK retailers and IDH on the commitment roadmap and have submitted data to inform annual IDH report on progress.