Godalming campaigners protested Sainsbury's decision to replace the Fairtrade Foundation scheme with its own initiative for some of its teas.

Activists met outside the super market chain's super store in Godalming on Saturday (October 28) morning to "raise awareness" of the change.

Sainsbury's will replace the Fairtrade mark, belonging to the Fairtrade Foundation, with its own pilot scheme: Fairly Traded.

Online petitions urging the supermarket giant to abandon the switch have gained more than 130,000 signatures.

The Godalming protesters wrote 20 letters to the store manager in which they expressed concerns that farmers could "lose control of the social premium" - money fair trade tea growers receive in addition to their profits.

The foundation's premiums can be spent by farmers as they see fit and are intended to benefit their community and business.

But a Sainsbury's spokesman said farmers could still "make their own decisions, with our support, on how to spend their premiums".

The spokesman added: "Our Fairly Traded tea pilot will deliver even more benefits to farmers in Africa than the current Fairtrade model.

"We should be judged on the benefits we can bring to some of the most deprived communities in the world - not by which logo is on the packet of our tea."

The activists are campaigning against Sainsbury's decision to switch fairtrade schemes for some of its own-brand teas

The organiser of the protest, Jo Lewry said: "We are concerned that tea farmers will lose control of the social premium they would earn under Sainsbury’s alternative scheme, with suppliers instead having to apply to a UK-based board for their funding.”

Mr Lewry is also a long time volunteer of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) - a founding members of the Faritrade Foundation.

He added: "We also worried that standards will be controlled by Sainsbury’s, and are not set independently.

"Tea farmers will not be represented in the scheme’s governance – a stark contrast to Fairtrade certification where producers are part of deciding how standards are set, monitored and reviewed.”

But the spokesman for Sainsbury's said: "We’ve listened to what farmers across the world value most and put this into practice.

"Seeing the potential benefits this will bring above and beyond current systems, we’re very pleased to say that our farmers have welcomed the trial."

The retailer said an advisory board led by an independent chair and independent development experts will oversee the fair trade program.

Sainsbury's Godalming store

Sainsbury's said the Fairly Traded label would ensure that farmers receive at least the same amount of money for their crops as with the foundation's scheme.

Growers will also have "access to a direct route to the market" and the chain would commit to a minimum volume of tea it purchased from farmers while farmers were still able to sell their products to competitors.

The company said it would offer long term contracts and vouched to support farmers in building skills and their businesses.

Meanwhile, the protesters hope the retail giant will revert its decision to abandon the Faritrade Foundation scheme.

Sainsbury's is the biggest retailer of Fairtrade products worldwide and British tea drinkers buy three quarters of the planet's Fairtrade tea.

The Godalming protest is part the nationwide campaign Don't Ditch Fairtrade by the non-profits CAFOD, Christian Aid, The Women’s Institute, Traidcraft Exchange and Tearfund.

The foundation is a non-profit and is part of Fairtrade International, a conglomeration of NGO's that licenses products making up some of the world's £1.65 billion fairtrade market.

Martin Brown, CAFOD community participation coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, including Godalming, said: “Sainsbury’s have been a leading retailer of Fairtrade products, making a real difference to the lives of tea farmers and their families in some of the world’s poorest countries.

"We’d like them to reconsider this decision to remove the Fairtrade mark from their own-brand tea.”

A Sainsbury's statement promised the scheme would be "totally transparent".

"We expect to be held to account. We know and accept our responsibilities," the retailer wrote.

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