Shoppers at Nakumatt supermarket. The retailer will offer consumers ethical shopping options on key products. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Nakumatt Holdings will work with Fairtrade East Africa to promote ethical trading practices and raise awareness of injustices of conventional trade, specifically in agriculture.
Fairtrade is a global movement that supports sustainability and development through trade.
Products that meet certain criteria are awarded the Fairtrade Mark, which has become a trusted brand among consumers that want to “do good” with their spending.
If you worry about who makes all the money when you shop and what impact your spending has on the planet, you’ll want to read this.
Nakumatt Holdings has partnered with a fair trade organisation and will soon offer consumers ethical shopping options on key products.
The Sh52-billion supermarkets chain will work with Fairtrade East Africa to promote ethical trading practices and raise awareness of injustices of conventional trade, specifically in agriculture.
Fairtrade is a global movement that supports sustainability and development through trade. Products that meet certain criteria are awarded the Fairtrade Mark, which has become a trusted brand among consumers that want to “do good” with their spending.
“Fairtrade (will) connect Kenyan consumers and farmers via a product label,” said Fairtrade Eastern Africa Director Rachel Wandia.
“This mark enables Kenyans to make a positive difference to their country through their everyday shopping.”
Fairtrade works with farmers who grow a variety of crops like coffee, tea, cocoa, flowers and fresh fruits amongst others and “helps them secure better deals”.
Protecting the environment
“Consumers in Kenya are able to buy products with the Fairtrade label in their supermarket or café,” Ms Wandia says. “Not only can they be assured that Kenyan and African farmers receive a fair price for their goods, but they will also be contributing to protecting the environment as we promote sustainable agricultural practices.”
Nakumatt Special Initiatives co-ordinator Veronicah Waithira said the supermarkets chain will begin by educating the public, with Fairtrade staff deployed to outlets in Nairobi and Thika.
The chain will also sell products like Dormans Fairtrade Safari coffee and Kericho Gold Fairtrade tea “at a fantastic offer price”.
Countries in East Africa have the highest numbers of farmers in Fairtrade certified producer organizations, Wandia says.
By the end of 2012, there were more than 1.4 million farmers and workers in the Fairtrade system as a whole. Sixty one per cent of all farmers and workers in the Fairtrade system live in Africa and the Middle East and 19 per cent of them (229,600 people) are now found in Kenya.
In 2013, global sales of Fairtrade products hit 5.8 billion Euros (KShs666 billion). Kenyan Fairtrade producers received approximately 4.2 million Euros (KShs482 million) in premiums for 2011-2012 sales.
“The support of Fairtrade in Kenya by Nakumatt not only ensures that existing Fairtrade producers an excellent distribution channel, but also challenges suppliers who are currently not using Fairtrade products to re-think their sourcing strategies,” said Mrs Waithira.
Preliminary results from a 2013 survey of supermarket shoppers in Nairobi show that, when Fairtrade is explained to them, 86 per cent said they would look out for the label and buy certified products.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
