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Ethical Supermarkets

Which is the most ethical UK supermarket?

Ethical and environmental rankings for 12 supermarkets, with best buys and which to avoid.

Investigating policies from animal welfare to workers' rights, palm oil, food waste, packaging, and tax. We also look at what action supermarkets are taking to reduce their climate impact. Plus tips on how to shop ethically if using supermarkets. 

About Ethical Consumer

This is a shopping guide from Ethical Consumer, the UK's leading alternative consumer organisation. Since 1989 we've been researching and recording the social and environmental records of companies, and making the results available to you in a simple format.

Learn more about us  →

What to buy

What to look for when buying from supermarkets:

  • Could you get it from a more ethical shop? Buying what you can from local wholefood shops or veg boxes helps minimise our use of supermarkets. See our new guide to ethical food shops

  • Is it Fairtrade? Fairtrade International certification ensures that workers get higher-than-average pay for their products.

  • Is it organic? Organic produce is better for biodiversity, ecosystems, and animal welfare.
     

  • Is it plant-based? Buying animal-free is a key way to reduce our individual carbon emissions. Plus, all supermarkets have abysmal records on animal welfare.

Subscribe to see which companies we recommend as Best Buys and why 

What not to buy

What to avoid when buying from supermarkets:

  • Does it have poor tax conduct? Avoid supporting businesses that are likely not paying their fair share of tax. See how each company scores in the tax conduct category.

  • Is it failing on packaging? Some supermarkets are taking little concrete action when it comes to packaging including plastic. See how each supermarket scores in our packaging category.

  • Is it addressing its climate impact? Now is the time for strong carbon-reduction targets. See how each supermarket scores in our climate category.

Subscribe to see which companies to avoid and why

Score table

Updated live from our research database

← Swipe left / right to view table contents →
Brand Score(out of 100) Ratings Categories

Our Analysis

Supermarkets are associated with a lot of unethical practices, yet they’re hard to avoid, with most of us using them regularly. Product ranges of supermarkets are vast, from clothes to banks, phone contracts, and furniture.

But it’s food that most of us depend on them for, and that’s what we’ve focused on in this guide. 

Finding the most ethical supermarket

Although this guide doesn't have many high scoring brands, there are some clear differences between those at the top and those at the bottom of the ethical scoretable.

If you do have a choice of supermarkets locally, it's possible to make a difference on a number of ethical issues, like workers' rights, animal welfare, packaging and climate action.

In this guide we don’t shy away from the troublesome practices of UK supermarkets. Examining these makes it clear why it is better to opt for local wholefood shops, veg box schemes, and other ethical alternatives if possible (see our new guide on ethical food shops for these alternatives).

But we also provide tips on how to make more social and environmental choices if you do buy from the mainstream supermarkets, and draw attention to brands with slightly better practices and product ranges. 

And if you want to move away from the big brands, look at our new guide on eco supermarkets which covers mainly online ethical companies.

Which supermarkets are in this guide?

We have included all the mainstream UK supermarkets from the budget brands like Aldi and Lidl, to multinational companies like Asda and Tesco, along with other brands like Co-op, Iceland, Morrisons and Sainsbury's, and the slightly pricier Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.

For the first time we've also included Amazon Fresh in the supermarket guide. But as our ongoing boycott campaign against Amazon explains, it's not a brand we recommend!

And alongside this guide to mainstream supermarkets, we have a new guide to ethical food shops, where nearly all of them score more highly than any of the supermarkets here!

Top tips on how to shop ethically in supermarkets

Supermarkets aim to make shopping as easy as possible, not only by selling lots of different things under one roof, but depending on size and location, may also provide parking, toilets, a cafe and sometimes a pharmacy. 

If you do use supermarkets, here's seven top tips to help you shop more ethically in them:

  1. Choose ethical brands where possible
  2. Pick Fairtrade items
  3. Buy local and seasonal produce 
  4. Spend as ethically as you can afford 
  5. Buy unpackaged where possible
  6. Choose plant-based products
  7. Buy organic where possible 

We explore each one of these in more detail in the guide. 

Alternative places to buy non-food items sold in supermarkets

As well as food, supermarkets sell a vast range of other products. If you are thinking about reducing some of your spending in supermarkets and switching to other brands and retailers, have a look at some of our other relevant shopping guides:

Supermarkets squeeze farmers 

The power of supermarkets partly comes from the concentration of the sector in the hands of only a few large companies. 

Conservative MP David Jones said in UK parliament in January 2024: 

“Around 95% of the food that is consumed in this country is sold by just 12 retailers. Many of these are multi-billion-pound companies. The disparity of bargaining strength between them and small family firms is very obvious”. 

Below are some results by Riverford of a poll of 100 fruit and vegetable farmers who had traded with supermarkets in the past 5 years. The results highlight problems of financial risk, cancelled orders, wasted produce, and paying less than had been agreed. 

UK farms barely surviving

  • Over half of farmers believed their farms are at financial risk.
  • 67% said making a living out of farming had never been harder.

Import competition and government regulations also create pressure on farmers, but supermarkets’ poor practices are a major problem.

  • A quarter said supermarkets are at the root of problems they are facing.
  • 29% received a cancelled order from supermarkets with no explanation.
  • 20% suffered a wasted crop due to cancelled orders from supermarkets.

How could supermarkets be fairer to UK farmers?

  • 70% of farmers surveyed agreed it would have a positive impact if buyers paid the amount initially agreed and did not slash prices later.
  • 64% agreed it would have a positive impact if buyers bought everything they committed to buy.
  • 69% say tougher regulations are needed to address the imbalance of power between farmers, processors, and supermarkets.

#GetFairOnFarming campaign

Riverford is calling for government policy requiring supermarkets to, for example:

  • Buy what they agreed to buy.
  • Pay what they agreed to pay.
  • Pay on time.

In one example, a farmer explained how they lost thousands of pounds after a major UK supermarket cancelled an order for 60 tonnes of salad potatoes: 

"It came to harvest time and we got the potatoes out of the ground, harvested them and at that point we got informed they'd been delisted – meaning they weren't on the variety list that the supermarket wanted to take any longer … there's nothing you can do about it … there's always a sense of jeopardy as to whether your crop is going to make the cut."

Take action for fairer farming

Watch a video about Riverford’s fair farming campaign
 

What do our readers think about supermarkets?

In May 2024 we ran a survey in our weekly email newsletter where we asked our readers various questions about supermarkets. Thanks to everyone who responded. Here's what we found out. 

Supermarkets you shop at most

96% of respondents had shopped in a supermarket in the past month. But there was a clear difference in which supermarkets were more popular among our readers.

1. Co-op 48% – As a co-operative, profits don’t just end up in shareholder pockets, and Co-op is the only Fair Tax Mark accredited company. It’s got a very strong approach to climate change, too. It owns the grocer Nisa.

2. Waitrose 42% – Owned by John Lewis, which is also a co-operative, making Waitrose a significant ethical alternative to its competitors. It also supplies Scottish grocer Margiotta.

3. Sainsbury’s 41% – Sainsbury’s was a higher scorer in this guide, but its approach to tax (among other issues) dragged its score down. Owning an investment subsidiary in the well-known tax haven of Guernsey is not a great look.

Least popular was Asda – only 8% of our survey respondents said they shop there. Previously owned mostly by private equity firm TDR Capital and the Issa brothers (who own mega filling/service station company EG Group), one of the brothers is selling their share which gives TDR a 67.5% majority ownership. Walmart continues to own a 10% stake. 

Ethical issues you care about in the supermarket

The ethical issues mentioned most by our survey respondents were:

  • Workers' rights – 60% of respondents highlighted workers’ rights, including Fairtrade availability, fair pay for UK farmers, and exploitation in the supply chain.
  • Packaging – 44% of respondents raised the issue of packaging, with two-thirds of those concerned about packaging mentioning plastic specifically.
  • Animals – 25% respondents highlighted animal-related issues, such as vegan ranges and animal welfare.
  • Organic – 19% of respondents want a bigger range of organic products.

We cover all these topics in this guide.

Your most boycotted supermarkets

Our survey also asked if people were boycotting any supermarkets. There were a couple of supermarkets that were boycotted more than others by our respondents:

  • Tesco 45% – Tesco also owns One Stop convenience shops and wholesale distributor Booker, from which many local grocery shops buy their produce. 
  • Asda 40% – While it scored surprisingly well in our agriculture rating, Asda’s ethical policies in general are very poor. 
  • Aldi 16% – Aldi’s ethical ratings are even lower than its budget prices, with 0 marks for approaches to climate, animal rights, tax conduct and company ethos. 
  • Lidl 14% 
  • Morrisons 12% – Morrisons also owns McColl’s convenience shops.
  • Sainsbury's 10%
  • Marks & Spencer 7% – M&S owns 50% of Ocado
Aerial view of supermarket shelves and fresh produce

Workers’ rights and supermarkets

Our research showed that even supermarkets with thorough workers’ rights policies face regular criticism from the media and campaign groups, suggesting that exploitation is regularly occurring in their supply chains.

Three companies, Amazon, Asda and Iceland, scored 0 marks (out of 100) in the workers category.

Tesco was accused of major workers’ rights abuse in 2022 by supply chain workers in Thailand who had been working 99-hour weeks and sleeping on concrete floors.

Even supermarkets who score higher up in our guide are not immune to workers' rights issues. For example, in February 2024 it was reported that workers at Sumithra Group, Sri Lanka, which makes clothing for M&S and other brands, went on strike demanding a wage that was sufficient to live on. According to campaign group Labour Behind the Label, the workers, predominantly young women, are paid under £3 per day. Take action: Send a template email to M&S’s CEO demanding fair wages for workers at Sumithra.

Which supermarket pays shop floor workers the most?

The UK legal minimum wage for those aged 21 and over is currently £11.44 per hour (and significantly less for those younger), but the Real Living Wage Foundation calculates that £12 is actually the minimum needed for a decent life, or £13.15 for those in London. We’ve listed the supermarkets’ national rates for new employees in the table below.

National rate of pay per hour paid by supermarkets (listed by highest first)
Supermarket National rate / hour (highest first)
Aldi  £12.40
Lidl £12.40
Amazon £12.30
Asda £12.04
Tesco £12.02
Co-op £12
M&S £12
Sainsbury’s £12
Ocado £11.62
Waitrose £11.55
Morrisons £11.44
Iceland £10.50 - £11.50

Iceland was the only supermarket we found that used its right to offer employees aged under 21 a lower rate of pay.

Looking at hourly rates alone can be deceptive though – for example, Amazon is accused of wrongly labelling many workers ‘self-employed’, which denies them the right to a minimum wage. It’s being taken to court by more than 2,000 drivers for this reason. One ‘self-employed’ Amazon driver says,

“In one week I worked 36 hours over four days and I should have earned £464 but they gave me £2.74. It doesn’t sound believable but it’s true.”

What happened with the gender discrimination case?

In 2014, Leigh Day began representing Asda shop floor workers, claiming shop floor workers (mainly women) were paid less than warehouse workers (mainly men) due to gender discrimination. Many other brands now face similar cases.

The claim is ongoing and it doesn’t seem like anyone’s received a payout yet but, if successful, some workers could claim over £20,000 compensation.

Former and current employees of Asda, Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, and Tesco can claim at Equal Pay Now to ensure they’re entitled to a payout if the case goes the way of the workers.

Is buying British produce better for workers and local economies?

Organisations like Landworkers Alliance call for 80% of UK food production to be local by 2030.

For many supermarkets, the majority, if not all, of their meat, eggs, and dairy milk is British.

Keeping supply chains shorter does, in general, result in better transparency and working conditions, and supports local companies and economies.

That’s not always the case though. At a Staffordshire farm producing strawberries for Co-op, Lidl, and Tesco, migrant workers reported being threatened with deportation and being blacklisted by the farm owners. "Even before we start work the supervisors would be screaming at us ... they would treat you like an animal".

Local veg box companies tend to have shorter supply chains than the large supermarket suppliers, and are more likely to employ local people than be involved in higher-risk visa schemes, and are more likely to send out what’s in season. There are some veg box suppliers in our new guide to ethical food retailers.

Ethical Trading Initiative policies vs supermarkets’ own

All brands except Amazon, Iceland, and Ocado are members of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which means they commit to following its base code of workers’ rights standards.

However, supermarkets’ own supplier policies often don’t mirror the ETI’s base code and are notably less robust. For example, some supermarkets only required suppliers to pay their staff the minimum wage, while the ETI base stipulates a “living wage” must be paid.

Co-op, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose were the only brands that had written in their own words policies that are as strong as the ETI’s regarding wages, regular employment, and working hours. 

Fake farms

Your carrots might have a massive label looking like the name of a British farm, but a closer look may show it’s imported.

Former Labour MP Barry Gardiner said recently, “We have Willow Farm for poultry. We have Nightingale Farms for salads. We have Redmere Farms for vegetables, Woodside Farms for pork, Boswell Farms for beef, and Bay Fishmongers for fish. It is a load of cobblers. It is absolutely fake.”

Former Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Mark Spencer, didn’t seem to take the issue particularly seriously, responding: “clearly Mars bars are not produced on the planet Mars, are they?”

But the use of ‘fake farms’ on supermarket labelling highlights the importance of transparency around provenance. It can also stray into the area of greenwashing, especially with images of a rural farming idyll which may be far removed from the reality, particularly of factory farming

Workers on far-away farms

The labour of millions of workers worldwide makes many products on UK supermarket shelves.

Over half of the cases of worker exploitation in supermarket supply chains are linked to the food sector.

Tesco was the most heavily linked to migrant abuse highlighted in a Business & Human Rights report, with eight cases between December 2022 and November 2023.

Worker converses with woman with a clipboard in a crop field
The Worker-Driven Social Responsibility model has transformed the tomato sector in Florida, US. Reproduced with permission by Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

Workers’ rights on Spanish farms supplying British supermarkets

Since 2019, we’ve campaigned around a major supply chain issue: exploitation of workers in southern Spain, who pick fruit and vegetables destined for UK supermarkets.

A year ago, we published a report on this issue, firmly linking UK supermarkets to the exploitation that is endemic in southern Spain, ranging from chronic underpayment, harassment, unsafe working conditions, and even forced labour.

Worldwide media covered the report and The Guardian travelled to Spain to do extra on-ground reporting. This helped bring all the major supermarkets to a meeting outlining the issues in detail – meaning that the largest supermarket brands can no longer claim to be unaware of the issue.

Developing a worker-led rights programme

Alongside some phenomenal partners, we secured a grant from the organisation Healthy Food Healthy Planet to develop our report’s key recommendation: exploration of a worker-led rights programme in the region, known as ‘Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR)’.

The WSR model has achieved unparalleled success elsewhere in improving supply chain working conditions, with two of the core elements being a legally binding agreement signed by brands and rigorous 24/7 independent monitoring mechanisms. If a violation occurs, the brand is legally obliged to enforce market consequences with the supplier meaning issues usually get resolved quickly.

The first WSR model in agriculture was the Fair Food Program, created by the Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), which now protects tens of thousands of farmworkers across the US, Chile, and South Africa who supply brands like McDonald’s and Taco Bell.

The WSR model spread far and wide, upholding the rights of workers around the world. For example:

  • Apparel workers in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Around 240 brands signed up, including many UK supermarkets. (The International Accord).
  • US-based dairy workers in Ben & Jerry's supply chain (Milk with Dignity).
  • Lesotho-based denim workers in Levi's supply chain (Gender-Based Violence and Harassment Program).

This grant funds WSR experts, including the CIW, to travel to Spain and collaborate with workers to see if the model can be replicated there, and funds online meetings between workers in the two countries for over a year.

Key partners include Spanish union SAT Almeria, CIW, WSR Network, and Ethical Consumer. One member of this collaboration is Ali*. Originally from Morocco, he’s been a farmworker for over 20 years and worked at an organic farm in Almeria for over five years, which supplies several UK supermarkets. (*Name and details changed to protect the worker’s identity.)

“The company keeps putting false information on our payslips and changing the number of hours we're working and when. We have families. We have children, and work from dawn until night without seeing them. We're fighting for them."

“It's so easy for a manager to fire someone because it doesn't cost them anything, so lots of people are afraid to speak, but we're not. I'm fighting because I've seen many people unfairly fired, many from Africa who don't know the law and their rights. We want to fight for our people, for our daily food, for our children's bread."

In one of the meetings with CIW, who shared similar experiences before the Fair Food Programme was implemented, Ali said: "We're in the same boat, there's no difference between us. I know you've experienced harder things than us, and many similar things, and you've achieved something. We also hope to achieve something, and to leave a better future for our children.

“After hearing everything you've achieved, we're feeling a bit of envy – we also have to arrive at that point. It's very difficult, yes. It's not easy, but it's not impossible either. I think we're going to win – whether we gain more money or not, we'll gain respect. Respect is worth more than money." 

The vegan aisle

Unfortunately all mainstream supermarkets are linked to animal suffering.

Exposés routinely show how supermarkets’ animal welfare policies aren’t thoroughly implemented in their supply chains.

For example, in December 2023 The Independent published a video showing ducks being swung by their necks and slammed into drawers. 

This was at a farm which supplied Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose and was Red Tractor endorsed.

From hens being hit with shovels and hung upside down, to pigs being beaten to death with iron bars, meat and dairy on supermarket shelves is not something to buy if you care about creatures and their comfort.

Most supermarkets scored poorly in our dairy milk guide, which makes suggestions for alternative brands and retailers to use, or choose plant milks, which not only are better for animals but also the planet

Which supermarket has the best vegan products?

In 2023 BBC Good Food judges rated over 100 supermarket plant-based products. Here are a few of the highlights from our higher-scoring or recommended brands:

  • Vegan milk: ‘Lidl Vemondo unsweetened soya milk’, ‘Waitrose barista oat long life drink’ 
  • Vegan cheese: ‘M&S Plant Kitchen sliced mature style alternative to cheddar’ and ‘Free From by Sainsbury’s Original alternative to soft cheese’
  • Vegan yoghurt: ‘Lidl Vemondo soya yoghurt’
  • Vegan mayonnaise: ‘M&S Plant Kitchen vegan mayo’

Which supermarket has the cheapest plant-based ranges?

Which? magazine compared 14 plant-based staples at a selection of supermarkets and found Aldi was cheapest, followed by Lidl, Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and Waitrose.

Find out more about vegan shopping in the supermarket with our separate article. 

Franckenchickens

Animal rights charity Open Cages tells us about their ‘Frankenchicken’ campaign.

“Over 1 billion chickens are farmed in the UK every year to meet demand. This is ten times more than all other farmed animals combined. Unfortunately, after many decades of selective breeding for efficiency, these chickens now grow so fast that they are slaughtered at around 40 days old."

“These fast growing ‘frankenchickens’ routinely suffer from debilitating health problems such as broken bones, lameness, skin conditions and sometimes even heart attacks. Our investigation showed that 74% of the chickens sold in Lidl had ‘hock burns’ still on the meat in the shop. Hock burn is a skin disease caused by the birds sitting in their own excrement.

“Launched in 2017, the Better Chicken Commitment is a set of science-backed chicken welfare improvements, including the adoption of slower growing, healthier breeds. Hundreds of companies across the world have since signed up, including M&S and Waitrose.”

Sign the Open Cages petition addressed to the CEOs of Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, Morrisons, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s.

What about fish welfare?

If you want to eat fish, buying organic or wild-caught is the best way to ensure higher standards of living and that the farming isn’t eroding other life in the ocean. 

RSPCA-assured is the next best option.

Read more about food welfare labels in our separate articles on food labels (including fish welfare schemes) and dairy milk assurance schemes

How do supermarkets score on animal welfare?

We rated RSCPA-assured certification and free range relatively positively in our animal products rating, but there have been investigations which have found abuses at farms which carry these labels.

Amazon, Asda, Iceland, and Lidl had the least stringent welfare policies in this guide.

The best option is to avoid or greatly reduce your purchasing of animal products. Explore other options in our guides to alternatives to meat burgers and sausages, plant milks and vegan cheese.

But if you want to buy meat and dairy, local organic or “Pasture for Life” certified produce is best.

View of dairy cows in stalls, with large udders

What are supermarkets doing about packaging?

Our packaging rating assesses what a company is doing to reduce the packaging (particularly single-use plastic) for its products, in its own operations, and in its supply chain.

Shoppers are less likely to buy loose

According to supermarkets, most shoppers prefer plastic – they are much less likely to buy unpackaged options.

In 2019, Iceland abandoned a loose produce trial after it led to a 30% drop in sales.

Joanna Linley of the anti-waste charity WRAP says: “Regardless of what we say, and what we know we should do, realistically when we go into a shop grabbing a bag of something is much easier and more convenient than buying something loose … It’s obviously great asking the retailers to sell more loose but if people aren’t choosing it, then there’s a real disconnect.”

How to price and sell loose products 

One issue that puts people off is that they don’t know how much they’ll have to pay for the loose item until it reaches the scales, which is generally at the till. Shifting to ‘per item’ pricing might help overcome that obstacle, or having scales available for shoppers to weigh products before buying – as is done in many European supermarkets.

How much are supermarkets reducing packaging and plastics?

We reviewed what supermarkets are doing to reduce packaging, and plastic packaging, and how much recycled plastic they use in their own plastic packaging. 

Supermarkets and packaging (listed by A to Z of supermarket)
  Reducing packaging overall? Reducing plastic packaging overall? Percentage of its plastic packaging that’s made from recycled plastic
Aldi Yes Yes 24%
Amazon Yes No ?
Asda No No 29.4%
Co-op Yes Yes 33%
Iceland Yes Yes ?
Lidl Yes Yes 17%
M&S Yes No ?
Morrisons No Yes ?
Ocado No No 21%
Sainsbury’s No Yes 32%
Tesco Yes Yes 23%
Waitrose Yes Yes ?

Results are based on brand-published data available on their websites in June 2024. 'No' means the company has not published clear statistics demonstrating whether the criteria was met.

Asda was particularly disappointing. It previously set a target to reduce own-brand plastic packaging by 15% and, after it achieved that goal in 2021, instead of creating a new goal, it simply said its commitment was achieved and “now retired”.

Other groups have also compared how supermarkets are doing when it comes to packaging and plastic reduction:

Do supermarkets really recycle our soft plastics?

Soft plastics are hard to recycle which is why local authorities often don’t accept it, but many supermarkets offer collection points for it.

In 2022, Bloomberg placed tiny digital trackers inside three used plastic items in Tesco’s soft recycling scheme and found that “some was recycled but the rest was burned or shipped off to an uncertain fate”, travelling as far as Germany, Poland, and Turkey.

It’s probably better to risk the not-so-transparent supermarket schemes compared to just chucking soft plastics in a black bin bag, but reducing the amount we buy overall is better still.

A future ban on plastic food packets?

There are reports that the UK government is considering new regulations which could see plastic wrapping drop for many fruits and vegetables in favour of loose products in major supermarkets. We’ll keep you updated if it progresses.

Find out more about the problems and solutions of plastics, and compostable alternatives in our separate articles:

Bananas wrapped in plastic on a tray
Some products have their own natural packaging and don't need plastic. Image courtesy of Plastic Pollution Coalition

Which supermarkets are best for organic produce?

In addition to being the best welfare option for animals, organic produce is better for our ecosystems and biodiversity.

Waitrose won the Soil Association’s ‘Best of Organic Supermarket’ award in 2023. The company says its Duchy Organic range is the UK’s largest own-label organic food and drink brand, with over 260 organic products available.

Nearly all supermarkets provide some organic options – with more variety at larger branches.

Find out more in our separate article on organic food.

Full online access to our unique shopping guides, ethical rankings and company profiles. The essential ethical print magazine.

Buy ethical brands in supermarkets

Supermarkets stock some of our Best Buys and recommended brands (such as Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate or Cafédirect coffee).

If you use supermarkets, buying ethical brands in the supermarket is the best way to feel reassured that you’re supporting fair practices. 

This approach is helpful if you don't have a choice of supermarket, either due to location or other factors, or don't have other ethical food retailers like independent wholefood shops. 

Buy fair trade items where possible

The Fairtrade Foundation highlights Aldi, Amazon, Co-op, Lidl, M&S, Ocado, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose as key retailers that work with Fairtrade, but all supermarkets sell some certified products.

All Co-op and Waitrose own-label bananas, coffee, tea, sugar, and cocoa in confectionery are Fairtrade.

Buying Fairtrade doesn't always mean having to pay more. For example, Co-op, M&S, and Waitrose were highlighted by The Guardian in 2023 as retailers whose budget range include Fairtrade products.

Supermarkets may soon implement a new Fairtrade ‘buying coalition’ model, which could enable supermarkets to club together to buy Fairtrade products on long-term contracts. This could increase the number of Fairtrade products on shelves in the coming months. It hasn’t been tried before due to concern that it might contravene competition laws, but the Competition and Markets Authority seems to have given a trial the green light.

Find out more about fair trade food (and the difference between fair trade and Fairtrade!) in our separate article.

Shopping ethically within your budget

Where possible, shop as ethically as you can within your budget.

Most of our recommended supermarkets are a bit pricier than some of the other brands in this guide. But at least some of the money you spend at these supermarkets allows them to uphold more ethical practices.

Which? magazine compared the average cost for 69 popular grocery items across eight major supermarkets and found Aldi then Lidl to be cheapest, with Waitrose the most expensive (its analysis didn’t include Co-op). 

Co-op doesn’t have large supermarkets at the scale of the others, instead operating lots of smaller grocery shops, which means it has higher costs. 

Ethics on a smaller budget

Although there are higher scoring supermarkets in the scoretable, and they are better if you can afford them, Lidl is the better option of the budget supermarkets largely because it has slightly better palm oil and agriculture policies.

You can also find some organic and fair trade items in the budget supermarkets. 

Supermarkets and climate impact 

The following brands are leading the way on climate action as they have calculated all their climate emissions and have science-based targets for reducing them: 

Environmental charity Feedback Global’s 2023 report, Greenwash Grocers, says:

“Supermarkets’ own data indicates that sales of fresh meat, fish and dairy alone constitute around a third or more of their total emissions.”

The report highlights how several supermarkets avoid discussion of meat and dairy impacts, when it should be a key focus area for carbon-reduction strategies.

Environmental group Feedback Global criticised Aldi in 2023 for claiming to be carbon neutral since 2019, when actually its claim didn’t cover 99% of its emissions (those in its supply chain).

Asda scored 0 marks (out of 100) in our guide for its climate approach and was criticised by the Environmental Investigation Agency in 2023 for installing climate-damaging refrigerants (known as HFCs) at a time when other supermarkets are reducing their use.

Is buying British produce better for the planet?

In terms of climate impact, methods of production (including the type of food you’re buying, and land-use) are generally more significant than how far the food was transported.

Buying UK-grown products in artificially heated environments can create more carbon than shipping products from hotter countries. 

Buying seasonal food helps avoid this e.g. buying British strawberries when they're in season in the summer months.

What are supermarket policies on palm oil?

The majority of brands (all those except Aldi, Amazon, Iceland, and Ocado) had all of their palm oil RSPO certified, with at least 50% fully traceable back to origin. But none of them published supplier names, or grievance lists. 

While Iceland previously removed all palm from its own-brand products, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine made sourcing alternative oils difficult it resumed palm-sourcing, and it doesn’t look like the palm it is using is certified through the more stringent methods available.

Which supermarkets are best and worst for agricultural policies and practices?

Our new agriculture rating assesses a company's approach to: sourcing organic produce; reducing water, food waste and pollution in its supply chain; GMO use and policies; pesticide use; and biodiversity/ecosystem protection. 

Tesco came lowest, as we found significant criticisms relating to river pollution from its poultry supply chain, and to its chicken and pork being linked to illegal deforestation and forest fires in the Amazon.

It’s a little dated now but the most thorough ranking of supermarkets regarding pesticides was carried out by Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN) in 2021. This listed M&S and Waitrose as joint best, followed by Co-op, Sainsbury’s, then Morrisons.

What happens to supermarket food waste?

Supermarkets might claim that none of their waste goes to landfill, but lots does get turned into animal food or simply turned into energy through anaerobic digestion which arguably isn’t much better.

On apps like Too Good To Go you can find supermarket food near its use-by date, available at discounted prices.

We have a separate article with top tips on reducing food waste, and another one on food waste apps.

Aisles in supermarket

Supermarkets, tax and big salaries for the bosses 

Every major supermarket pays at least one director over £1m annually, except Lidl Great Britain which paid £855,000 (though a figure for its whole company group wasn’t found and may be higher).

Asda’s owners allegedly tried to find a new CEO using the lure of a £10m pay packet. Asda, now owned mostly by a private equity firm, is registered in the tax haven Jersey and parliament has expressed ‘concerns’ about its tax conduct.

Ocado faced criticism for seeking a £15m bonus for its CEO when it doesn’t pay employees the real living wage.

Co-op is the only Fair Tax Mark certified supermarket. 

How ethical are loyalty cards?

Most loyalty cards are free (or low cost) and give you access to in-store discounts or specialised offers. Most supermarkets have now introduced a ‘dual-pricing system’, with one cost for normal shoppers and a second – often shockingly – cheaper price for those with a loyalty card. 

Critics say that with prices soaring, shoppers are essentially forced to sign up and give over their data, just to access normal rather than inflated costs.

Tesco has over 20 million Clubcard users and Sainsbury’s more than 18 million for its Nectar Card – giving them a phenomenal overview of shopping habits in the UK. 

Tesco and Sainsbury’s were named as “the worst offenders” for selling your data onto third parties in an analysis by privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch in 2023.

Our feature article has more detail about the real ethics of loyalty cards.  

What are the alternatives to supermarkets?

Our new to guide ethical food shops rates 15 ethical alternatives to supermarkets.

We also outline a variety of other options including subscription food/veg boxes, farmers' markets and local refill shops in our separate article on alternatives to supermarkets

Community supermarkets 

A recent government survey showed 25% of people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are “food insecure”.

Community or social supermarkets are now emerging, supported by councils. These are set up like a regular small supermarket where members can buy food at 30-40% lower prices. While food banks offer an invaluable service, for many they carry stigma. Community supermarkets aim to create an environment that people want to be in.

If you want to support this, find your local community supermarket and make a donation.

Would you steal from a supermarket?

Shoplifting increased 27% from 2022-23, perhaps unsurprisingly coinciding with major food price inflation. The Sun polled 2,500 readers and found that nearly half had stolen from supermarkets

Everybody Eats is a campaign group stealing from supermarkets across the UK and donating the stolen foods to food banks, with some activists in Manchester dressed in Robin Hood costumes. See what they’re up to on Instagram @everybodyeats_uk

What are supermarkets' approaches to Palestine and Israel?

Co-op is the only supermarket with a policy against sourcing from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. 

Aldi, Lidl, and Tesco are among the supermarkets recently targeted by Palestinian rights protestors.

The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) committee isn’t calling for a boycott of any UK supermarkets, but it is calling for a boycott of fruit and vegetables imported from Israel, saying: “Boycott produce from Israel in your supermarket and demand their removal from shelves. Beyond being part of a trade that fuels Israel’s apartheid economy, Israeli fruits, vegetables, and wines misleadingly labelled as ‘Product of Israel’ often include products of illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land.”

In 2023, Israel was the world’s largest exporter of dates, but a whole range of fresh fruit and vegetables travel from Israel to the UK each year, including basics like carrots and potatoes.

Should we boycott M&S?

Many people associate M&S with a Palestine boycott. The brand has historical links to Zionism, for example, a former M&S president was vice-president of the British Zionist Federation.

But M&S has described itself as secular for over a decade, has no current links to Zionism, and appears no more linked to Israel than other supermarkets. No Palestinian campaign groups are running a boycott against it. 

At a time when taking a stance for Palestine is so important, focusing collective energies on the brands targeted by Palestinian campaigners for their links to human rights abuses is a much better way to spend our energy.

Six steps to escaping supermarkets 

If after reading this guide you're keen to reduce how much you spend in supermarkets, here are six steps you can take to change your shopping habits where possible.

  1. Get a veg box through a local company or Community Supported Agriculture project.
  2. Grow your own – from windowsill herbs to apples and spuds, if you have the space and time.
  3. Save food that would be wasted through apps like Olio and Too Good To Go.
  4. Go local and support indie wholefood and zero-waste shops and farmers’ markets.
  5. Order from wholesalers – if you can access or set up a local buying group, bulk orders from ethical wholesalers like Suma bring costs down 
  6. Read our guide to ethical food shops / eco supermarkets.

Supermarkets and junk food 

Whether through promotions or where they position their products, supermarkets have long tempted people to buy processed unhealthy foods that they didn’t originally plan to buy. 

However, in 2022, junk food displays at supermarket checkouts, shop entrances and aisle ends were banned.

Researchers at the universities of Southampton and London interviewed 100 people including consumers and retailers and concluded that all parties largely support the ban.
 


This shopping guide appears in Ethical Consumer Magazine issue 210

Company behind the brand

Tesco is a large multinational company which scores poorly across most of the categories in the shopping guide.

It manages to score 0 out of 100 for animal products, tax, and company ethos, and not much above zero for climate, agriculture, packaging and workers' rights. It's been criticised for many ethical issues (as noted in the guide), as well as being linked to deforestation of the Amazon.

Tesco also owns the Booker Group which suppliers many local food shops and restaurants.
 

Declaration

Ethical Consumer Research Association has a current commercial partnership with Co-op Food with which it co-produces the annual Ethical Consumer Markets Report. This does not affect our scoring and reviewing in any way.

Want to know more?

If you want to find out detailed information about a company and more about its ethical rating, then click on a brand name in the Score table. 

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