PLM - ON-THE-FIELD EXPERIENCES
Fairtrade,
the growing awareness of Italian chains After more than 25 years of collaboration with large-scale distribution labels in Italy, the international certification takes stock of relationships and initiatives during the most difficult year of all times.
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s much as 436 million euros is how much Italians spent on products with at least one Fairtrade certified ingredient last year in Italy. In addition to fresh fruit, such as bananas and pineapples, coffee, chocolate, breakfast cereals, bars, cookies, dried fruit, cut flowers, cotton clothing and many more can also be labelled with Fairtrade Marks. This has emerged from the annual report by Fairtrade Italia ‘Fairtrade’s response to the challenges of change’, a snapshot of global certified fair trade in 2020. Thanks to Fairtrade sales in Italy, farmers' and workers' organizations in Asia, Africa and Latin America have received over 3 million euros to be invested in technical and productive development, such as the purchase of fertilizers or other products and machinery for agriculture, as well as, for the construction of classrooms and school facilities, clinics, and so on. In the large-scale distribution channel, Fairtrade products have consolidated their presence thanks to its historic collaboration with Coop Italia, which, in 2020, doubled the assortment compared to the previous two years. Moreover, the discount chains that are Fairtrade partners have shown great dynamism and growing commitment: Lidl, In's Mercato and Aldi have collectively added dozens of new products. Other brands in the retail sector are working to widen the range of products offered and increase sales. We spoke about it with Thomas Zulian, FairTrade Commercial Director. Can you take stock of 2020 with respect to your collaboration with Gdo? 2020 was a difficult year for consumers and companies in our country. However, our partners had the courage to further bet on Fairtrade, significantly expanding their product supply. This makes us happy and confirms that a proposal of strong social value is increasingly in line with the demands of a growing number of citizens, and an opportunity for companies to develop their business. 20
