Traidcraft is a UK-based Fairtrade organisation, established in 1979. The organisation has two components:
1/ A public limited company called Traidcraft plc, which sells fairly traded products in the United Kingdom – fighting poverty through trade. It works with people of all faiths and none, to create opportunities for the poor to harness the benefits of trade.
As a Christian response to poverty it is Traidcraft’s trading company.
It sources, imports and sells products from producers in over 30 developing countries including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, Kenya, Malawi, Chile and Cuba.
Products include coffee, tea, fruit juice, sugar, wine, clothing, jewellery, paper and craft items.
It’s aim is to tackle poverty by creating a market for Fair Trade producers and to show the commercial viability of the Fair Trade business model.
2/ A development charity called Traidcraft Exchange that works with poor producers in Africa and Asia – helping people in developing countries to transform their lives and offering them hope for a better future.
Established in 1986 and is the UK’s only development charity specialising in making trade work for the poor in Africa and Asia – to grow their businesses, find markets, and engage effectively in trade.
They campaign in the UK and internationally to bring about trade justice.
They are currently managing 14 major projects with a total value of about £5.5 million.
These projects are directly benefiting 350,000 people with a further 1.4 million indirectly benefiting and touching the lives of a another 24 million.
The Traidcraft Foundation holds a guardian share in the plc ensuring all parts of the organisation remain true to their foundation principles.
Did you also know?
Traidcraft has overseas offices in Nairobi in Kenya, Hyderabad in India and Dhaka in Bangladesh.
Traidcraft is a founder member of the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA).
They also helped establish the Fairtrade Foundation with CAFOD, Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam and World Development Movement in 1992.
It was also instrumental in the establishment of Newcastle based company Shared Interest in 1990.
Shared Interest is a co-operative lending society that aims to reduce poverty in the world, by providing fair and just financial services.
Traidcraft has also been running trips to visit Fair Trade producers for over 20 years and now offers what it calls “Meet the People Tours“ – a chance to visit Fair Trade producers in developing countries, visiting workshops, workers’ homes as well as visiting sites of historic interest.
Think of them as inspiring fair trade holidays and a chance to meet the people behind the products.
You’ll learn something of the different cultures, visit development projects and sites of interest, meet a wide variety of people and have your ideas of developing countries challenged. These tours are, in fact, much more than a holiday!
You can find out more about these meet the people tours by reading my Blog post
And finally…..
Traidcraft is an importer and wholesaler of Fair Trade products stocked by The FAIR Trade Store including this beautiful mirrored bangle and charm style glass beads bracelet and pink coin purse.
“I hope this Blog post explains things clearly for you.
Are you a Traidcraft seller? If you have anything to add, please do so in the Comments section below” – Paul
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