#WorldFairtradeDay – How We Responsibly Source Our Confectionery

This month marked World Fairtrade Day, an event that provides us with an opportunity to evaluate and examine where our food comes and whether its responsibly sourced.

As one of Europe’s leading innovators and manufacturers of toppings and inclusions, we know that we also have a responsibility to lead the industry when it comes to sustainably sourced products.

In our latest blog, we explore World Fairtrade Day and what it means for a product to be Fairtrade, as well as looking at the ways in which we strive to ensure that we’re responsibly sourced.

What is World Fairtrade Day?

World Fairtrade Day serves as an opportunity for individuals, organisations and businesses to be given a platform to express their support for fair trade and push for a more equitable trading system.

The event seeks to promote the importance of fair wages, adequate working conditions, environmental sustainability and empowering producers across the world but particularly in developing countries.

How does Fairtrade help producers?

Being Fairtrade refers to a specific certification and labelling system on food products that aims to ensure fair and ethical trade practices for farmers and workers in developing countries.

The system is designed to address social, economic, and environmental issues associated with conventional trade by promoting sustainable livelihoods and empowering producers.

Indeed, a large proportion of the revenue generated from Fairtrade product sales is used as a means of ensuring that workers receive fair wages, work in safe conditions and have access to key social services.

Increased demand for fair trade products helps to empower farmers and workers, improve their livelihoods, and promote sustainable development in their communities.

Some of the key Fairtrade elements include:

·      Price of the product covers the average costs of producing crops sustainably.

·      Adequate working conditions

·      Security for producers and strong relationships with buyers

What DOES IT MEAN TO BE responsiblY sourcED?

When a food company claims to be responsibly sourced, it generally means that they’ve taken steps to ensure that the ingredients they source have been produced in a way that minimises carbon output by workers operating in good conditions.

Responsible sourcing hinges on there being visibility and transparency in each stage of the supply chain and it’s the role of the company to ensure that they work closely with their suppliers to ensure that ingredients are being produced in a socially and environmentally sustainable way.

It’s also important that food companies align their practices with the government’s Sustainable Food and Farming Framework, which provides guidance for suppliers and food companies on how to produce food sustainably.

If food cannot be sourced locally or domestically, it’s important that the ingredients are supplied from a foreign producer in accordance with Fairtrade regulations.

How we responsibly source our confectionery

Supply chain

We’ve been able to build transparent relationships with our suppliers to ensure that our suppliers adhere to fair-trade principles and produce ingredients in a responsible way.

This means we have full knowledge of an ingredient’s origins, understand the production processes, and verify that key responsible certifications are in place, which helps us to provide our customers and, subsequently, consumers with peace of mind that their products have been produced in a responsible way.

We also aim to prioritise purchasing fair-trade certified ingredients, such as fair-trade cocoa and sugar for our toppings and inclusions. By doing so, we can support fair prices and better working conditions for farmers and workers in the supply chain.

Our commitment to supply chain responsibility is backed up by our BRC AA site which recognises that the raw materials we use, have been sourced responsibly.

Our policies

The policies we have in place as a business and with our suppliers provide transparency within the supply chain and foster collaboration between different parties to ensure that products are produced in a sustainable way.

Where possible we prioritise sourcing our ingredients from producers here in North Wales to ensure that we’re playing our part in promoting the local economy. By supporting local producers, we can contribute to reducing the environmental impact associated with long-distance transportation.

Our suppliers must be willing to work collaboratively to drive down the environmental impact of their operations by using resource efficiently and to minimise waste, so that we can protect our local and global environment.

Producers that we work with must also consider the social impact of their ingredient sourcing and ensure that workers’ rights are respected, and fair working conditions are in place.

By collaborating with our suppliers, we can help to ensure that our supply chain operates in a way that is both socially and environmentally sustainable and ultimately, guarantee that we can responsibly source our confectionery.

If you would like to discover more about Meadow Inclusions and sample our ingredients, you can do so by contacting our customer service team. Or keep up to date on the latest industry and company news on our LinkedIn.