Traidcraft
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| Traidcraft plc | |
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| Type | Public Limited Company |
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| Founded | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Gateshead, Tyne & Wear |
| Key people | Paul Chandler (CEO) |
| Industry | Retail (Fair Trade) |
| Products | Grocery, fashion & accessories, paper, crafts |
| Revenue | £16+ million GBP (2005) |
| Employees | 140+ |
| Slogan | "Fighting Poverty Through Trade" |
| Website | www.traidcraft.co.uk |
Traidcraft is a UK-based alternative trading organisation, established in 1979, dedicated to 'fighting poverty through trade'. The organisation has two components: a trading company called Traidcraft plc, which offers a range of fairly traded products in the UK; and a development charity (Traidcraft Exchange) that specialises in making trade work for the poor. Its sales are now worth more than £16 million per year.
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[edit] History
Traidcraft was set up to 'establish a more equitable trading system that will express the principles of love and justice fundamental to the Christian faith' and has also been fighting poverty through trade since August 1979. Launched from the top floor of a 1920s warehouse (Carliol Square) in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne by Richard Adams, with just six members of staff, it has often taken the lead in new ideas on sustainable and fair trading. The first catalogue was hand-drawn featuring a small selection of Jute products from Bangladesh but within two years tea, coffee and subsequently a wide range of foodstuffs were introduced.
In September 1983 they moved into a 1940’s 58,000 square foot warehouse on the Team Valley Trading Estate in Gateshead, Tyne & Wear. In 2004 they opened a second warehouse on the Team Valley, which houses the Quality Control, Food Packaging & Logistics departments. Traidcraft also has a Policy Unit based in London, taking the staff total to 140+. The award-winning catalogue is now in full colour featuring 500+ products of food, clothes/accessories, paper & crafts. Traidcraft now works with more than 100 producer groups in over 30 countries around the world.
Traidcraft have two overseas offices in Nairobi, Kenya & Dhaka, Bangladesh which are part of the International Development Department, which is based in Gateshead.
[edit] Traidcraft Structure
[edit] Traidcraft Foundation
The Traidcraft Foundation was set up to ensure that Traidcraft plc & Traidcraft Exchange remain focused on their principle aims of 'Fighting Poverty Through Trade'. It was also the Founder member of the Traidcraft Exchange charity and as such appoints all its directors.
The Traidcraft Foundation holds the Guardian share in Traidcraft plc. This gives the Foundation the power of veto over election of directors to the plc board, payments of dividends & to the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The Foundation must also be consulted on Traidcraft's major strategic plans and has a role of representing the views of external stakeholders in the social accounting process.
[edit] Traidcraft plc
Traidcraft plc is the trading arm of the organisation. The products are sourced from producers in over 30 developing countries including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, Kenya, Malawi, Chile & Cuba .
Products include coffee, tea, fruit juice, sugar, wine, clothing, jewellery, paper and craft items. Among their food products is a snack bar called Geobar, Fairtrade chocolate, dried fruit, honey, pasta, rice & muesli. The latest product line consists of Fairtrade seeds from South Africa (see Traidcraft Within for more information).
Traidcraft plc holds a 10% stake in Cafédirect which it set up jointly with Equal Exchange, Oxfam and Twin Trading.
Traidcraft helped establish the Fairtrade Foundation with CAFOD, Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam and World Development Movement in 1992.
Traidcraft is a founder member of the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA). EFTA is a network of 11 alternative trading organisations from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.
Traidcraft was 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 plc has five principle aims:
- To tackle poverty by creating a market for the fair trade producers to supply
- To demonstrate to other organisations that it is possible to run a commercially viable company using fair trade principles
- To provide learning opportunities for Traidcraft as a whole, by giving greater substance and credibility to the advocacy and campaigning work.
- To educate consumers of the benefit of fair trade purchases so they will put pressure on other organisations and the government to adopt fairer trade rules.
- To provide the choice to consumers who are looking to make a moral decision on goods that they purchase.
[edit] Traidcraft Exchange
Traidcraft Exchange is the charitable arm of the Traidcraft organisation. Its first director was Graham Young. Registered charity number: 1048752.
Traidcraft Exchange promotes approaches to trade that work for the poor. They have 3 principle aims;
- Trade - To match up buyers in the EU with producers of fair trade products. To facilitate fairer terms of trade and market access for the producers in developing countries. This is done by the Market Access Centre which offer a range of services to any organisation that could benefit from them. The services are business development and capacity-building training, market information, product development, help with developing socially responsible trading practices and market linkages.
- Support - To help producers improve their skills and create networks to improve the supply of practical business services to producers. This is done by the International Development Department which co-ordinates Traidcraft plc, Market Access Centre & the Policy Unit's work to make markets work for the poor.
- Influence - To lobby & advise governments & organisations , to facilitate improved trade rules and market access for small organisations in the developing world. This is done by the Policy Unit which influence trade & development polices within the UK Government, the European Union and the World Trade Organisation. The Policy Unit also work with other fair trade organisations to help support best practices and develop new policies within the fair trade movement in the UK, Europe and internationally.
The Traidcraft Exchange was awarded the 1999 Worldaware Award for Not for Profit Organisations in recognition of its positive work.
[edit] What is Fair Trade?
Fair trade differs from standard trade in five principal ways. Traidcraft is committed to fair trade so defines this as:
- Traidcraft only works with poor and marginalised producers, working with them to develop their skills and create a sustainable livelihood via a trading relationship.
- Traidcraft pay fair prices that will cover the full cost of raw materials, cost of production and enough to enable a living wage. Some producers also receive an additional premium they can use to buy machinery or for building projects.
- Traidcraft pay for a percentage of the goods in advance so the producer can buy raw materials without having to lend money from local banks or loan sharks.
- Traidcraft encourage all producers to treat staff fairly and with respect, working conditions should be safe in the workplace and throughout the supply chain.
- Traidcraft look to work with producers long term, building working relationships, they would not work with them short-term, using them for commercial advantage.
Fair trade is not without its critics who argue that certification as a fair trade producer can be costly and bureaucratic[1].
Some Traidcraft producers are given additional benefits by packing the products at source, thus receiving income that may have gone to organisations in the UK. The fairly traded Mauritian sugars are packed on the island at Craft Aid, providing work for disabled people. Fruit Snacks from South Africa are packed locally providing valuable employment for the local workforce. Organic cotton from Agrocel in India is then shipped to Mauritius to be made into clothing items by the workers at Craft Aid, providing work for disabled people. Traidcraft's own brand coffee - the beans are from Fairtrade certified sources in Tanzania and then shipped to India to be processed.
[edit] Social Accounts
Definition: Social accounting is a systematic means of accounting for the social impact of an organisation.
Traidcraft were the first plc (public limited company) in the UK to produce a set of social accounts and have been doing so every year since the early 1990's. The social accounts that are produced are a joint account of the impact both companies work has on various stakeholders. The social accounts are treat with the same seriousness as the financial accounts. They are also submitted to an external audit, and approval at the Annual General Meeting.
The social accounts are split into three main sections:
- Report on the indicators by which Traidcraft measure progress on the delivery of their mission to fight poverty through trade.
- Report on the dialogue that Traidcraft have had with our stakeholders including quotes direct from producers, customers, staff & the other stakeholders in both organisations.
- A section setting out what Traidcraft mean by their statement that Traidcraft is a Christian response to poverty.
Traidcraft have won numerous awards for the social accounts it reports.
In 2006 Traidcraft received the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) gives out the award annually for Corporate social responsibility.
- 2005 - Winner
- 2004 – Runner-up
- 2003 – Joint winner with Cooperative Insurance Society (CIS)
- 2002 – Joint runner-up with Cooperative Insurance Society (CIS)
In 2005 Traidcraft were awarded with the Social Enterprise Champion (Organisation) Award at the New Statesman Upstarts awards.
A link to Traidcraft's Social Accounts can be found below under External Links.
[edit] Traidcraft Meet the People Tours
Traidcraft have been giving people to chance to visit their fair trade producers for over 20 years and they have changed and evolved into Meet the People Tours. Previously called People to People Tours the name was changed in 2005 due to copyright issues with another organisation in the USA.
The tours offer people who are interested in fair trade the chance to visit the people who benefit most from fair trade. The tour includes visits to workshops, workers homes as well as visiting sites of historic interest i.e. Taj Mahal.
Countries that can be visited include: India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Cuba, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Latin America. Traidcraft Meet the People tours were Highly Commended in the Responsible Tourism Award for Best Tour Operator in 2005.
[edit] See the Flipside
At the Youthwork Conference in Southport (10th -12th November, 2006), Traidcraft launched the See the Flipside campaign.
The campaign is aimed at engaging young people in fair trade issues. The See the Flipside campaign aims to mobilise the desire shown by young people in 2005 to Make Poverty History by highlighting the flipside of consumer choices and showing them how they can make a positive impact on individuals and communities in the developing world.
The primary focus of the campaign is to educate young people about fair trade and encourage them to buy and sell fair trade products. Traidcraft wants youth groups to come up with creative ways of getting fair trade products into their church or community. Traidcraft want to see young people use those powers of persuasion to good effect by putting pressure on retailers, companies and governments that benefit from unfair trade.
Youth organisations that participate in the See the Flipside campaign will be supported and resourced with promotional goods, guides for interactive learning, creative campaigning ideas and monthly mailings from Traidcraft. A See the Flipside certificate will be given out to Youth organisations that demonstrate their commitment to fair trade.
[edit] Traidcraft Within
Traidcraft Within is a logo on a range of finished products and goods branded by other companies. It is a sign that Traidcraft has worked with the producers involved to ensure that they are benefiting properly from the trade.
The first two companies to work with Traidcraft in this way are Gerber with the Fruit Passion range of fruit juice from Cuba, and FairPlay Seeds with a range of fairly traded seeds from South Africa.
[edit] Internet Operations
Traidcraft has 3 main websites, which cover information on Traidcraft & fair trade, a webstore for the sale of fair trade products & an interactive site for customers & supporters to interact with each other. They also have a profile on Myspace and a campaigning website called See the Flipside.
[edit] Traidcraft Information
Traidcraft's main website (www.traidcraft.co.uk) was launched in the early 1990's and holds information on Traidcraft plc & Traidcraft Exchange. It gives information about Traidcraft's work, the products, the countries & producers they work with, what resources are available & how supporters can get involved with Traidcraft and fair trade.
[edit] Traidcraft Webstore
Traidcraft's first webstore (www.fairtradeonline.co.uk) had been running since 2001, in 2003 Traidcraft took over joint ownership with Oxfam UK and it was hosted on the Yahoo! Stores platform. In August 2004 a new webstore was launched branded without Oxfam and entirely run by Traidcraft (www.traidcraftshop.co.uk)
[edit] Traidcraft InterActive
Traidcraft's Interactive site (www.traidcraftinteractive.co.uk) was in launched June 2005. The site is for Traidcraft & fair trade supporters to communicate with each other, discussing relevant topics, advertising events and campaigning. The interactive site is a forum based community site for anybody who has an interest in fair trade.
[edit] MySpace
In April 2006 Traidcraft set up a profile on the MySpace social networking website, the site includes blogs of people's travels to visit suppliers via the Meet the People Tours programme, details on campaigns for Trade Justice & events Traidcraft are holding.
[edit] See the Flipside
Launched in November 2006 the See the Flipside campaign website is aimed at engaging young people in fair trade issues. Individuals & organisations can sign up online to support the campaign and receive help from Traidcraft in their campaigning.
[edit] See also
| ATOs | AgroFair | Alter Eco | Artisans du Monde | Cafédirect | Claro Fair Trade | Ctm altromercato | Divine Chocolate | Equal Exchange | Equita | El Puente | EZA Fairer Handel | Fair Trade Original | Gepa The Fair Trade Company | Ideas | Intermon Oxfam | La Siembra | Oxfam-Magasins du monde | Oxfam Trading | Oxfam-Wereldwinkels | SERRV International | Solidar'Monde | Traidcraft | Twin Trading | Ten Thousand Villages |
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