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Further information:

Responsible sourcing:

www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/ourresponsibilities

Waitrose Foundation:

www.waitrose.com/food/originofourfood/foundation.aspx


Trading fairly

We remain committed to bringing our customers the best products at the best prices in a sustainable way. This requires us to trade fairly with our suppliers and support established schemes, such as Fairtrade, that contribute to the sustainable development of the communities where farmers and workers live.

To promote the increasingly wide range of Fairtrade products we sell in our shops, cafés and restaurants, the Partnership again supported Fairtrade Fortnight in March 2009. John Lewis’s ‘Make a difference’ campaign promoted Fairtrade items alongside other environmentally responsible products (see page 11), while Waitrose produced materials to educate customers on how the Fairtrade premium helps farmers in developing countries. Waitrose Managing Director Mark Price also visited Rwanda to see the work of the Fairtrade Foundation first-hand and to forge stronger links.

John Lewis is also dealing with increasing numbers of suppliers, across several product areas, such as Traidcraft and People Tree, that are trading fairly and making a difference to the lives of those involved in manufacturing.

Waitrose Foundation

The Waitrose Foundation is based on the principle of returning a percentage of profits from our sales to the farm workers who grow the produce. The first Foundation, based in South Africa, was launched in 2005 and, in its first four years, has been involved in funding over 100 projects. These are chosen by the farm workers themselves, and cover areas such as education, sport, social and skills development, and healthcare. In 2008, we launched education bursaries for the children of the farm workers, and these are currently helping four students to study chemical engineering, financial management and human resources management.

During 2009, Sam Cliff, a Waitrose placement student, spent six months in South Africa, setting up the Foundation website and quarterly newsletter, which updates both the farms and our Partners with news and progress. Sam also wrote a blog on the Waitrose.com website and a series of articles in our internal magazines, the Chronicle and the Gazette.

The Waitrose Foundation has raised over £2 million since it was launched and has touched the lives of more than 16,000 farm workers and their families. Building on this success, we launched two further Foundations in 2009: one in Ghana for prepared fruit, and another in Kenya covering flowers and vegetables. With the inclusion of Ghana and Kenya, there will be over 100 products in the Foundation range, including wine and marmalade. The increased funds generated will enable us to help more communities to build a better future.


300

Total number of Fairtrade products available in Waitrose and John Lewis (including seasonal product lines)


Great Scot:

To support the UK’s best small food and drink producers, Waitrose launched the Made in Britain Awards with Country Living magazine. 2009’s Food Champion of the Year was Alistair Barge, who owns Gigha Halibut, one of only two halibut farms in the UK. Alistair (pictured middle, with Waitrose Managing Director Mark Price and Country Living Editor Susy Smith) has been farming Atlantic halibut for four years on Gigha in the Hebrides, and his innovative, land-based fish farm, powered by a community-owned wind farm, now accounts for 80% of all halibut produced in Scotland and is conserving this species which is endangered in the wild. Alistair won £10,000 and the chance to supply Waitrose supermarkets.


16,000

Farm workers and their families benefiting from community projects funded by the Waitrose Foundation