Co-op tea and coffee go 100% Fairtrade

More than 100,000 members of the Co-operative Group have responded to a poll in which they list their greatest shopping concerns as ethical trading, animal welfare and the environment. The Co-op has acted quickly on this and announced that it's now converting its entire own brand tea and coffee ranges and the rest of its chocolates to Fairtrade.

It has also banned the sale of eggs from caged hens, added 66 pesticides to its prohibited list and pledged to reduce the weight of wine packaging drastically.

The Co-operative's poll was the world's largest consumer poll on ethics, and while we of course completely agree with the results, we must say we're pleasantly surprised by the scale of ethical enthusiasm shown by so many people. And the outcomes of the Co-op's changes have big-scale potential, too.

The retailer estimates its new lightweight wine packaging will save 450 tonnes of glass annually.And, as its hot beverage range is worth £16 million per year, quite substantial Fairtrade premiums are in sight for tea, coffee and cocoa farmers in Africa and India.

Peter Marks, the chief executive of the Co-operative Group, gives us hope that some retailers will listen to and act on consumers' concerns, saying: "Our members have endorsed our ethical approach to business and provided us with some real challenges going forward. We have listened to what they have had to say and are taking action in key priority areas now and not at some far off or unspecified point in the future."

What's not so great, however, is that only four per cent of people listed climate change as a great concern. But Marks assures us the Co-op will continue reducing its carbon footprint regardless.

Good on you, Co-op.

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