Working Towards A Fair & Sustainable Banana & Pineapple Trade
  • Newsletters
  • Resources
  • Video
  • Contact Us
Banana Link
  • What We Do
    Our ObjectivesOur AchievementsEUROBANWorld Banana ForumRethinking Value ChainsInternational Alliance for Sustainable Family FarmingMeet The TeamWork for us
  • Why We Exist
    All About BananasThe Problem With BananasGood Practices In The Banana IndustryAll About PineapplesSustainability Standards & Certifications
  • Where We Work
    CameroonColombiaCosta RicaDominican RepublicEcuadorGhanaGuatemalaHondurasPeruThe PhilippinesWindward Islands
  • Our Projects
    BananEx (TR4)Banana Occupational Health and Safety Initiative (BOHESI)Education & Empowerment In West AfricaGender Equity Across Supply ChainsImproving & Increasing Women’s EmploymentMake Fruit Fair
  • Trade Unions
    Union-To-Union ProgrammeGMB International Solidarity FundCOLSIBACameroonColombiaCosta RicaDominican RepublicEcuadorGhanaGuatemalaHondurasPeru
  • Gender Equity
    Women In The Banana TradeWorld Banana Forum & Gender EquityPractical Progress to Gender EquityGender Equity Across Supply ChainsImproving & Increasing Women’s Employment
  • News & Blog
  • Donate

Lidl goes Fairtrade bananas in Germany and Switzerland

Thursday, September 27th, 2018 in: News

German discount supermarket Lidl has announced that they will only sell Fairtrade bananas in their German and Swiss stores. They have said they will change to 100% Fairtrade bananas in their stores in Germany starting with 330 stores in the South of the country in October 2018 and then expand it to other regions. They will sell a mix of conventional and certified organic Fairtrade bananas.

Lidl has over 10,000 stores in Europe and the US, with over 3000 of them in Germany and around 100 in Switzerland. By comparison, they have around 700 stores in the UK, where their current policy is to sell a mix of Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified bananas. The Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are the only UK supermarket chains that currently sell only Fairtrade or organic bananas.

The Europe-wide Make Fruit Fair campaign, in which Banana Link is a leading partner, had, in 2016, called upon Lidl to ensure fair salaries, health protection and respect of trade-union rights on its suppliers’ plantations. 75,000 EU citizens signed a petition in support of this call.

Banana Link National Co-ordinator, Jacqui Mackay said:

“Lidl’s 100% commitment to Fairtrade bananas in Germany and Switzerland is a fantastic step towards better livelihoods for thousands of farmers and workers, and a great response to the 75,000 consumers who called on Lidl to ‘Play Fair’ as part of our Make Fruit Fair campaign. We are keen now for Lidl to now become the fourth supermarket in the UK to offer only Fairtrade bananas in its stores!”

And in another welcome move, Lidl in Ireland announced recently that they are to remove the plastic packaging on the 2.5 million Fairtrade Organic bananas they source from the Dominican Republic.  Plastic packaging will be replaced with biodegradable banding, with a natural adhesive, completely eliminates plastic and holds the product in bunches. This follows a similar initiative announced recently by the Iceland supermarket chain in the UK.

Recent Posts

  • Peruvian farm workers’ and farmers’ organisations reject agribusiness friendly tax reforms
  • Panama banana workers’ union government talks bring agreement to end Chiquita strike  
  • Blog: A just transition in agriculture: putting workers at the centre
  • Plantation workers among those whose rights have collapsed across the world
  • Panama strike latest: Chiquita announces mass sackings of striking workers
  • Panama banana workers to continue strike at Chiquita despite threats
  • ILO programme provides impetus to work towards Living Wages for plantation workers
  • Fifteen workers poisoned on Costa Rica pineapple farm
  • Costa Rica closes in on ratification of ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment as we mark May Day
  • New centre to strengthen workers’ rights through human rights due diligence laws

Categories

  • Banana Trade Blog
  • News

More News
From Banana Link

13th June 2025 Peruvian farm workers’ and farmers’ organisations reject agribusiness friendly tax reforms

12th June 2025 Panama banana workers’ union government talks bring agreement to end Chiquita strike  

6th June 2025 Blog: A just transition in agriculture: putting workers at the centre

Get Involved

Newsletter
Donate
Contact Us
Banana Link  

51 Colegate
Norwich
NR3 1DD
United Kingdom

Navigation

  • Home
  • About Us
  • All About Bananas
  • All About Pineapples
  • Trade Unions
  • Gender Equity
  • News & Blog
  • Our Partners
  • Our Projects
  • Newsletters
  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settings Read More
ACCEPTREJECT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT