Half of young people under 34 in the UK say they would be more likely to vote for a Government that upholds the UK’s climate commitments, new research conducted by Kantar for the Fairtrade Foundation shows, as the organisation warns climate change is putting everyday staples under growing pressure and threatening the livelihoods of the next generation of farmers.

Ahead of London Climate Action Week, the charity is launching Fair on the Planet, the second moment in its 2026 Do It Fair campaign, to highlight how farmers growing products such as coffee, tea, cocoa and bananas are already facing extreme heat, erratic rainfall, flooding and crop disease. This comes as an El Niño year is expected to further impact weather conditions and temperatures. 

Fairtrade is urging the UK Government to introduce Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) legislation that requires businesses to address human rights and environmental harm in their supply chains, and ensure the costs are not pushed onto farmers and workers. As we await the outcome of the Government’s Responsible Business Conduct Review, Fairtrade’s petition is nearing 100,000 signatures, adding pressure on Ministers to bring forward responsible business laws.

The new research from Kantar, commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation, suggests there is strong public backing for tougher action, with 76% of overall respondents saying businesses should be required to show evidence they protect human rights and reduce environmental harm. 

Marie Rumsby, Advocacy Director at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: "The people feeding and powering the global economy are already experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis, even though they did the least to cause it. It should not be on farmers to fix a crisis they did not create.

"The food and drink we rely on every day depends on healthy soil, water and stable temperatures. Without urgent action, climate change will increasingly threaten products people in the UK love, from their morning tea or coffee to chocolate and bananas.

“This latest research suggest climate action is becoming a defining issue for younger voters, who are increasingly looking for leaders willing to protect the environment and the future of the foods they rely on. With public support for tougher corporate accountability growing, the government must act on this opportunity to match climate ambition with fairer rules for global supply chains through a new responsible business law.

"Voluntary action from business is no longer enough. We need urgent action from the Government and clear rules that hold companies to account, protect people and the planet, and ensure the cost of climate change does not fall on those least able to pay.” 

Other research studies highlight the scale of the threat across everyday staples: 

• In Kenya, half of young tea workers say climate change is now their biggest challenge (FairVoice, 2025). Suitable conditions for tea production in Kenya - which supplies around 40% of the UK’s tea - are expected to fall by a quarter by 2050 (Agronomy, 2020);
• Coffee-growing countries are projected to lose 30 - 60% of the land suitable for cultivation by mid-century (Fairtrade Risk Map);
• Banana-growing areas in Latin America and the Caribbean could shrink by 60% by 2080 (Christian Aid, 2025);
• Cocoa is already being hit by extreme weather, disease and supply strain that are driving volatile prices and reshaping the market. Cocoa prices soared to historic highs of around $12,000 per metric tonne in late 2024, with prices falling sharply to around $4,000 per metric tonne today. 

Fairtrade will also take ‘unfair games’ and workshops to nine festivals across the UK, giving festivalgoers new ways to engage with the campaign and its partners, and will be hosting an event about the challenges faced by coffee farmers to coincide with London Climate Action Week.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fairtrade will be hosting a drop-in iced mochaccino reception on 23 June in Parliament, highlighting the growing climate risks faced by farmers and setting out clear recommendations for how the UK Government can support a just and equitable transition to sustainable farming.

The warning is echoed by farmers themselves. Silvia Herrera, a coffee farmer from Chiapas, Mexico, told the UK International Development Committee earlier this month: 

“We have the impact of climate change every year. Last year, we lost half of our harvest because the year before it didn’t rain enough and the ripening did not happen at the time it was supposed to, so our cherries were not ready to be cropped.

"Right now, we are investing in adaptation programmes so that our farms can be better adapted ... This implies a lot of investment, not just in time, but in resources.”

- Ends -

Notes to editors:

For more information, interviews and images, contact laura.ouseley@fairtrade.org.uk +44 (0)7909 875 956, or media@fairtrade.org.uk

Kantar, Sample 1280 (UK adults age 16+), Fieldwork dates 12th – 14th May 2026. Online survey by Kantar for the Fairtrade Foundation found:

• Half of people under 34 in the UK said they would be more likely to vote for a Government that upholds the UK’s climate commitments (44% of 16-24 year olds and 54% of 25-34 year olds) in a future general election.
• 50% of respondents think businesses are not doing enough to tackle climate change.
• 76% of people believe businesses should be required to protect human rights and reduce environmental harm.
• Two in three people (68%) in the UK care about the impact of their shopping habits on people around the world.

FairVoice research:

The snapshot survey with 265 Kenyan tea pickers and growers in March 2025 was gathered through ‘FairVoice’, a tool developed by Fairtrade which allows farmers and workers to share their experiences directly with us through their mobile devices. See Fairtrade Foundation’s Brew it Fair Report

Festival lineup: 

B&J Sundaes in the Park (13 June); London Climate Action Week (20–28 June); Crystal Palace Park – Two Door Cinema Club (26 June); Happy Place Festival (11–12 July); Latitude Festival (23–26 July); We Out Here Festival (20–23 August); Forwards Festival (28–30 August); Eureka! Home Educator Day (24 September); Decolonise Fest (3–4 October).

The festival programme runs from June to September as part of Fairtrade’s Fair on the Planet activation, focused on engaging Shoestring Activists through ‘unfair games’, workshops and on signing Fairtrade’s petition demanding business that’s fair to people and planet. 

Fairtrade is calling for:

• Binding UK legislation requiring businesses to address human rights and environmental harm in their supply chains.
• Climate resilience investment that supports farmers and workers facing the worst impacts of climate change.
• Protection against costs being pushed onto producers, so farmers and workers are not made to pay for compliance.
• Producer-centred policy making, with farmers and workers directly consulted in the design of new laws and climate finance.

Petition:

Fairtrade is calling for a new UK law on responsible business. Sign Fairtrade’s petition ‘Demand Business That's Fair to People and Planet’ here.