Growth across five product categories
The report puts the increase in Fairtrade tea sales at 35%, or roughly 549 million additional cups. Coffee sales climbed 7%, equivalent to about 138 million more cups, while cocoa recorded estimated growth of 20%.
Fairtrade banana sales rose 4%, representing an additional 44 million bananas. Flowers posted a 41% increase, equivalent to nearly four million more Fairtrade bouquets.
The foundation says the figures reflect more people choosing Fairtrade than ever before. It argues, however, that stronger demand must be accompanied by more businesses paying farmers adequately, especially as extreme weather puts production under pressure.
Climate pressures and the cost of adaptation
Research commissioned for the foundation found heightened concern about food security following the summer's record heatwaves and drought in the UK and Europe. Among British adults, 84% said they were concerned about the effect of climate change on the UK's food supply, including 26% who described themselves as "much more concerned" than before.
Among respondents ages 16 to 24, 69% said the summer had increased their worries about climate impacts on food. The research also found that 74% of people supported paying tea, coffee, cocoa and banana farmers more to help them respond to climate change.
The foundation cited damage already experienced by producers over the previous year: flooding affected Fairtrade coffee growers in Sumatra, strong winds damaged Colombian banana plantations, and hailstorms reduced tea yields by about a third for some smallholders in Kericho, Kenya.
Farmers earning poverty wages cannot afford measures such as irrigation, shade trees, soil restoration and crop diversification, Fairtrade says. It presents fair pay as both an issue of fairness and a requirement for a stable food supply.
Eleanor Harrison, CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: "The British public can see what's happening to our food system, and they're right to be worried. Farmers on the front line of the climate crisis are being asked to adapt and build resilience while not being paid fairly for what they grow. That isn't sustainable and it isn't fair. Lidl and Co-op are showing what's possible when businesses commit to paying farmers properly for the long term – but this cannot be left to a handful of companies. Every retailer needs to commit to fair pay for farmers. For fairness and for our food security."
Co-op's sourcing commitments and Lidl's tea payments
The foundation highlighted two retailers' approaches as examples for the wider industry. Co-op's Fairtrade partnership dates to 1994, and the retailer has moved seven core ingredients entirely to Fairtrade sourcing. It was the first UK grocery retailer to make all its own-brand block chocolate Fairtrade and the first to source only Fairtrade roses. In 2001, it introduced the UK's first own-brand fairly traded wine.
Lidl's Way To Go! tea uses a payment model intended to narrow the gap between farmers' earnings and a living income. For tea sourced for the product from the FINTEA Co-operative in Kericho, Kenya, Lidl pays an additional amount per kilogram above the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Premium. The payments use a Fairtrade-calculated Living Income Reference Price and aim to help growers afford a decent standard of living for their families.
Lidl GB's Way To Go! Single Origin Kenyan Tea reached stores at the end of September 2026 during Fairtrade Fortnight, priced at £1.99 for 80 bags. Lidl describes it as the first UK retailer product to pay a Fairtrade Living Income Reference Price in the Kenyan tea sector. The company says the launch builds on its retailer-first Human Rights Impact Assessment of Kenyan tea, conducted in 2020.
The income gap affects many Kenyan tea growers: according to the Fairtrade Foundation, only one in five earns enough each month to cover their family's essentials. Kenya also supplies about half of Britain's black tea, according to the tea-sector publication THIRST's October 2026 news roundup.
That roundup reported objections from some industry stakeholders to the product's £1.99 (US$2.66) price for 80 teabags. While acknowledging that Lidl's business model enables low prices, critics argued that the shelf price gives consumers a misleading signal about what tea needs to cost to cover sustainable production.
Lidl says its Fairtrade partnership spans more than 16 years and over 100 certified products. Its Fairtrade sales generated more than £1.9 million in Fairtrade Premium for producers in the previous year. The retailer also says all raw material used in its own-brand tea range, including black, green and rooibos teas, is certified to Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade standards.
An industry-wide appeal during Fairtrade Fortnight
The sales figures were published during Fairtrade Fortnight, which ran from September 21 through October 4, 2026, under the theme of Fair Pay. Their release preceded Together for Fair Pay, a London event scheduled for September 30 with around 50 decision-makers and professionals working in sustainability and buying.
Co-op was due to explain what more than 30 years of Fairtrade commitments had meant for its supplying farmers and cooperatives, while Lidl was scheduled to present its tea payment model. The foundation planned to use both retailers' examples to encourage others to act.
The event was intended to secure business commitments to fairer pay for farmers and workers producing popular UK goods, supported by long-term investment in communities and supply chains. Speakers from Co-op and Lidl were also expected to urge collaboration across supply chains to address challenges facing the food system. Fairtrade says commitments by a small group of retailers are not enough.
Campaign demands and a new due diligence pledge
Together for Fair Pay forms part of the foundation's broader Fair Pay Campaign, launched during Fairtrade Fortnight 2026. Alongside better pay for farmers and workers, the campaign seeks stronger UK requirements for responsible business conduct, including Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence legislation.
On November 4, 2026, Jonathan Reynolds, UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, announced plans to legislate for mandatory human rights due diligence. His written statement to Parliament said the regime would cover services across the UK and goods in Great Britain.
The proposed requirements would apply to UK businesses with global turnover above £350 million and non-UK businesses with UK-generated turnover above £350 million. Those businesses would have to identify, assess and address risks of human rights abuses and labor exploitation within their operations and supply chains. The regime would also provide powers to remove goods made with forced labor from the Great Britain market.
