Sainsbury's have announced a pilot of their own 'fairly traded' initiative to replace the recognised 50% farmer owned and proven Fairtrade Mark. This will start in June and may roll out across coffee , bananas and other Fairtrade products. The Fairtrade Foundation have refused to back the scheme. Oxfam say it 'risks being a regressive step' and 'potentially confusing for consumers'. But most notably almost a quarter of a million African farmers have protested in an open letter to Sainsbury's CEO stating that the model will 'bring about disempowerment'. They say 'We are extremely concerned about the power and control that Sainsbury's seeks to exert over us...We see the proposed approach as an attempt to replace the autonomous role which Fairtrade brings and replace it with a model which no longer balances the power between producers and buyers'. Let's stand by our Fairtrade farmers and add our voice to theirs. Surely if UK shoppers make a stand they will think twice about rolling out the pilot?