In 2025, the U.K.’s second largest retailer Sainsbury’s announced its entire own-brand black tea range was becoming Fairtrade certified. The move, made with the partnership of Fairtrade and long-time supplier Finlay Beverages, is expected to generate an additional £1 million in Fairtrade Premium annually (on top of the £6 million Sainsbury’s contributed in 2024 through sales of its own-brand products).
To understand the motivations behind this shift, 1750 sat down with Helen Buckley, Sainsbury’s Director of Technical - Grocery and General Merchandise, who shared her insights into the journey to this landmark move, and why she’s calling on the wider industry to follow their lead.
The light-bulb moment
Sainsbury’s is one of Fairtrade’s largest retailer partners, contributing over £6m per year in Fairtrade Premium across its own-brand range. But until this year, this didn’t include black tea, which had been Rainforest Alliance certified since 2021.
The seeds of change were planted during a Finlays-hosted visit to Kenyan tea farms in 2024, where the Sainsbury’s cross-functional team saw what an impact Fairtrade can have with the producers.
“Seeing first-hand the challenges within the supply chain was a real lightbulb moment, where we realised how we could do more through Fairtrade,” Helen explains. “You can hear about these issues from the U.K., but nothing substitutes seeing them on the ground.” The visit helped solidify the tangible benefits a move to Fairtrade could have and highlighted the need for a multi-stakeholder, long-term approach to supporting tea producers, not just in Kenya, but globally.
Facing the Challenges Head-On
When it comes to the need for greater resilience, there are many areas to choose from in the tea industry – from climate change and fluctuating commodity prices to gender inequality and child rights. “Climate change is a big one,” Helen notes. “Producers need to think more long-term, but are often focused on immediate challenges. And gender rights are a major concern – tea is a predominantly female workforce, and that comes with its own set of challenges. There are some big challenges which we can't fix overnight.”
Fairtrade certification offers a framework to address these issues more holistically, empowering producer groups to decide how best to invest the Premiums they receive. “The producer groups need to be driving that decision,” Helen says. “We can support them by helping to highlight the salient risks, but the autonomy must be theirs.” The additional £1 million in Fairtrade Premium that growers will receive each year represents a significant investment in the future of tea-growing communities. “We know that we can drive significant impact on the back of that additional Fairtrade Premium,” Helen adds.
Building Resilience
The bigger picture to Sainsbury’s move to Fairtrade for tea comes in the form of its Resilience Building Initiative (RBI), set to launch in 2025. This will bring together producers across tea, coffee and bananas to help create more robust and sustainable supply chains, and ensure the benefits of Fairtrade drive long-lasting, positive impacts. “It’s a new concept”, explains Helen “that we developed with Fairtrade – and Finlays have been instrumental as well. Through the RBI we’re trying to work across key supply chains to share knowledge, insight, and learnings. By working together, we can help build a more sustainable and resilient food system.”
Over a century of partnership
Sainsbury’s Red Label tea has been enjoyed by people across the U.K. since 1903, and is still on shelves today. Finlays Beverages have been a partner for even longer, supplying Sainsbury’s since 1902, something Helen sees as an asset when it comes to ensuring greater resilience in supply chains. “The length of partnership is such a strong foundation to leverage,” she says. “We wouldn’t have been able to move to Fairtrade without Finlay Beverages. Their knowledge of supply chains in tea and coffee is essential to what we’re doing.” Helen also notes the importance of working with suppliers whose sustainability strategies align with their own. “There's a real commonality with the positions of Sainsbury's and Finlays on sustainability, which is exactly the way you want it to be. These are challenging things to work on, so you need to be collaborative to really drive the right level of positive change.”
A transformative impact
Thinking to the future, Helen is keen to encourage other retailers and brand owners to follow Sainsbury’s lead in moving to Fairtrade. “We want more of the market moving to Fairtrade,” she says. “We can’t do this alone. But if others step up with us, the impact on the tea industry could be transformative. There's always more we can do and by joining together, we can make a bigger impact through synergies in our supply chains. Through collaboration, we can create a more sustainable and resilient food system.”
