The Co-op has said it will no longer source carrots from Israel, along with several other products from “countries of concern” in order to “support peace and co-operation.”
The supermarket chain announced it will stop sourcing relationships with countries where there are “internationally recognised community-wide human rights abuses and violations of international law”.
This comes after Co-op members voted in favour of a motion earlier this year to cease trading with Israel and show “moral courage and leadership.”
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Israel was one of 17 countries of concern that Co-op has said it will stop sourcing products from. Other items on the list included Russian vodka and mangoes from Mali, the National reports.
Confirming its policy on Tuesday, the grocer said that, wherever possible, it will not use ingredients from the 17 countries in Co-op branded products or sell whole products sourced from there.
The full list of nations is:
- Afghanistan
- Belarus
- Central African Republic
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- Haiti
- Iran
- Israel
- Libya
- Mali
- Myanmar
- Russia
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Yemen
Products from these countries will be removed from Co-op shelves and products on a phased basis, starting this month. The policy has been approved by the Co-op Group Board.
The chain said it comes after a year of “detailed analysis” and was based on the following three criteria:
- Agreement across respected assessments of behaviour which would constitute community-wide human rights abuses or violations of international law
- The actions Co-op could take would make a difference to those affected
- The grocer’s actions would not negatively affect its integrity as a commercially successful business aligned with co-operative values and principles.
Debbie White, chairwoman of the Co-op Group Board, said: “This policy – which has been developed over the past year as a part of our Hate Divides Communities, Co-operation Builds Them campaign – is a clear demonstration of our co-operative values in action, where the voices of our members have been listened to and then acted upon.
“We are committed, where we can, to removing products and ingredients from our shelves which are sourced from those countries where the international consensus demonstrates there is not alignment with what happens in those countries and our co-operative values and principles.
“As a business, we have a long-standing legacy of doing the right thing, supporting Fairtrade and championing ethical sourcing, and this policy is a natural progression of this.”