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Event description

THIRST is joined by Alistair Smith and Holly Woodward-Davey from the NGO Banana Link to explore what we can learn from their industry about approaches to sustainability.

In 2020 Banana Link and THIRST organised a cross-continent discussion with Malawian tea stakeholders exploring how banana trade unions in Latin America have successfully opened up to women.

In this session we will go further and discuss the wider lessons that can be learned – for example about organising an effective global forum and successfully advocating for supermarkets to commit to paying a price that enable a living wage for banana workers.

This event was originally scheduled for June 11th. It has now been rescheduled to June 23rd.

Date
Tue, Jun 23, 2026
Time
12:00 – 13:30 BST

Free

Voluntary donation

Why is this subject important?

The banana sector has seen progress in living wage commitments from supermarkets and global multistakeholder dialogue.

What will this webinar cover?
  • 🍌 How Bananalink successfully advocated for living wages with European supermarkets
  • 🍌 The link between certification and stronger labour standards
  • 🍌 The results of their worker-led research in Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Ecuador
How will attending this event benefit me / my organisation?

Learn how to get the most out of advocacy, collective bargaining and worker engagement.

About the speakers

Alistair Smith

International Coordinator & Executive Director
Alistair founded Banana Link in 1996 after a decade working in development education and international issues. Since then, he has been at the forefront of conversations around the hidden social and environmental costs of global supply chains, championing fairer and more sustainable trade across the banana industry.

Holly Woodward-Davey

Project Coordinator
Holly works closely with small farmers and trade unions across Central and South America and the Caribbean to support projects promoting a fairer, more sustainable banana trade. With a background in social anthropology, education and environmental work, she brings international experience and a strong commitment to social justice.

This webinar tackles the following root causes of human rights breaches in the tea industry
  • Power imbalances
  • Competition over collaboration
  • Attitudes towards workers
  • Trading systems

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