Calderdale MP's concerns after Nestlé pull out of KitKat Fairtrade deal
Halifax's MP Holly Lynch has raised concerns after Nestlé pulls out of its Fairtrade relationship for KitKats today.
Ms Lynch is the Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fairtrade in Parliament and set up a Fairtrade steering group for Halifax, which she still chairs.
However, the decision by Nestlé comes as part of the confectionery company's decision to transition from Fairtrade certification to the Rainforest Alliance.
Ms Lynch said: "Nestle is ending its relationship with Fairtrade and so will stop purchasing cocoa from Fairtrade farmers today.
"This means that KitKat will no longer be Fairtrade. Halifax is a Fairtrade Town and Yorkshire is the first Fairtrade region with two of Nestle’s biggest factories in York and Halifax.
"Fairtrade campaigners will be handing in a Change.org petition to Nestle in York today with nearly 300,000 signatures."
The issue saw the Halifax MP, York MP Rachel Maskell, Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney and Patrick Grady from the SNP raise the petition at the Chamber of Commons yesterday on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fairtrade.
A Nestlé spokesman said: “This petition, which has been circulating since June, carries a number of inaccuracies that we have tried to correct with the petition starter but to no avail.
"It means many of those who signed the petition in good faith did so on the basis of a false premise.
“We would ask anybody who has signed this petition to look at the mission of Rainforest Alliance and the work we're doing through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan.
"It all serves to underline that we want to help further improve the lives of cocoa farmers through a number of different initiatives and by increasing our overall investment in sustainable cocoa."
100% of Nestlé's products made in Halifax including Quality Street, After Eight and our Easter Eggs are certified by Rainforest Alliance and have never been Fairtrade certified according to the confectionery firm.
The KitKat transition only affects two specific products made in other factories and is being made so they are brought in line with Nestlé's certification arrangements on the rest its confectionery range – including Halifax.
The spokesman said: “All of our cocoa in the UK & Ireland will be certified by Rainforest Alliance bringing these two KitKat products into line with the rest of Nestlé’s confectionery range.
"Before we made this decision, and throughout our notice period with Fairtrade, we have listened carefully to farmers.
"We have used their input to create a comprehensive package to support their needs through the transition.
“We now have a solid and consistent platform to make cocoa more sustainable and, ultimately, that’s what everybody wants to achieve.
"Meanwhile, we continue to work closely with Fairtrade elsewhere in our portfolio where we believe the partnership helps us reach the right outcomes.”