Co-op’s new ethical initatives

Following a six-month consultation period, during which over 100,00 members responded to a poll on ethics, The Co-operative Food has laid down a range of measures in relation to consumers’ priorities around ethical trading, animal welfare and the environment.

Twenty-seven per cent of members identified ‘ethical trading’ as their greatest concern, so the Co-op’s hot beverage range - worth over £16 million annually - will switch to Fairtrade.

Peter Marks, The Co-operative Group’s chief exec, said: ‘More than one in four of our members cited ethical trading as their priority, and in particular support for Fairtrade, so we’re converting our entire range of own-brand tea to Fairtrade. By the middle of this month all tea produced under The Co-operative label will be Fairtrade. Alongside our Fairtrade coffee and hot chocolate, this means that all our own-brand hot beverages benefit producers in developing countries.’

Animal welfare was the top priority for 25 per cent of those polled, and the Co-op has responded to these concerns by banning - with immediate effect - the sale of eggs from caged hens. All eggs on sale at the Co-op are now free range or organic.

For 22 per cent of respondents, ‘environment’ was their top priority, and the Co-op’s response is clear cut. ‘On the environment, members have said that they want to see action on packaging and waste, so today we’re announcing a major reduction in the weight of our wine packaging, as glass accounts for half of all of our packaging by weight,’ explains Marks.

Following it’s launch last year of the ‘world’s lightest whisky bottle’, the same glass will now be used for the bottles of 26 different wines, which amounts to 8.2 million bottles, or a saving of 450 tonnes of glass, each year.

The retailer is also showing it’s got substance by increasing the number of chemicals on its prohibited list from 32 to 98. This move on pesticides promotes non-chemical methods to its own-brand growers and suppliers.

The Co-op’s findings and initiatives show there is a demand for more ethical and eco products on the shelves, and consumer priorities and profits can develop together.