Bananas

‘Every little help makes a big difference’ is one of the core values of our business - from the little things we do every day in the thousands of communities around the world where we operate and the bigger global initiatives in which we are involved. Our Little Helps Plan outlines how we plan to help customers enjoy good quality, sustainable products, at affordable prices. We have already done a lot of work to certify our bananas and cocoa, as well as improve the life of tea workers. Coffee is next in our sustainability journey for our top 20 products and ingredients.

Tea

Tea was the first product sold by Jack Cohen and is therefore an important part of Tesco’s heritage. It’s also a very popular product for our customers in the UK. However, tea supply chains globally face a number of challenges. Low wages, gender discrimination and poor living conditions are issues commonly faced by tea workers and smallholders. This is why, for a number of years, we have been working actively and collaboratively to address these complex issues. As a starting point, all our UK Own Brand black, green and Rooibos tea is 100% Rainforest Alliance certified. In addition, Tesco is an active member of the Ethical Tea Partnership, a not-for-profit membership organisation that has been working with tea producers and tea companies to improve the sustainability of the tea industry since 1997. We also work in partnership with industry and NGOs in key regions, such as Assam in India, Malawi and Kenya, to help address the root causes of the many challenges these tea producing countries face.

Cocoa

Tesco is committed to improving working conditions within our supply chains and empowering workers. In the cocoa industry, challenges of child labour are well documented and high levels of poverty combined with limited access to education increase the risk of labour exploitation. In recent years, there has also been a greater focus on cocoa as a driver of deforestation.

Coffee

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide. It is also one of the world’s most traded commodities, and is the economic backbone of countries throughout Latin America, Asia and Africa. Smallholder farmers produce much of the world’s coffee and we’re committed to helping support them and ensuring their human rights are protected.