Traidcraft

Traidcraft was a British fair-trade organisation established in 1979 as a faith-based initiative. Founded by Richard Adams in Newcastle upon Tyne, it began with a small staff and a hand-drawn catalogue offering jute products from Bangladesh. The organisation subsequently expanded into tea, coffee and a broad range of food and non-food goods sourced from producer groups in developing countries. Its commercial arm, Traidcraft plc, operated as a mission-led trading business rather than as a conventional consumer-goods company. Its range included coffee, tea, fruit juice, sugar, wine, chocolate, dried fruit, honey, pasta, rice, muesli and the Geobar snack bar, alongside clothing, jewellery, paper goods and handicrafts. Products were sourced from more than 30 developing countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya, Malawi, Chile and Cuba. The brand’s proposition combined retail sales with producer support, fairer purchasing relationships and public advocacy on trade policy. Traidcraft was an influential institution in the development of the United Kingdom fair-trade movement. It was a founder member of the European Fair Trade Association and helped establish the Fairtrade Foundation in 1992 with organisations including CAFOD, Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam and the World Development Movement. It also helped establish Shared Interest, a Newcastle-based co-operative lending society, in 1990. Traidcraft plc held a 10 percent stake in Cafédirect, a fair-trade drinks company created with Equal Exchange Trading, Oxfam and Twin Trading. The organisation also developed an unusually formal approach to measuring social impact. It became the first public limited company in the United Kingdom to publish social accounts, issuing them annually from 1993. These accounts assessed the effects of the organisation’s activities on producers, workers, customers, investors and other stakeholders, and were externally audited and presented for approval at the annual general meeting. This reporting helped distinguish Traidcraft from brands that used fair-trade language primarily as a marketing claim. Traidcraft’s activities included consumer retailing, wholesale and mail-order commerce, producer development, policy work and educational travel. Its Meet the People tours took customers and supporters to producer communities, workshops and workers’ homes, while also incorporating cultural and historic sites. The charitable arm, originally known as Traidcraft Exchange, became independent from the original organisation in 2018 and was renamed Transform Trade in September 2022. Transform Trade continues to work on fairer trade in areas including fashion, tea and agriculture. The commercial operation faced severe financial pressure in the late 2010s and early 2020s. A 2018 consultation considered whether the trading arm could continue, resulting in a smaller operation focused on popular food products. Traidcraft plc ultimately entered administration in January 2023. The company cited rising costs, foreign-exchange movements and industrial action affecting Royal Mail among the pressures contributing to the failure. The Traidcraft name therefore represents both a historic fair-trade retail brand and a wider movement-building organisation whose charitable and policy work continued through Transform Trade.

Traidcraft was launched in August 1979 as a faith-based fair-trade organisation in Newcastle upon Tyne. Richard Adams established the initiative with six members of staff in a warehouse known as India House at Carliol Square. Its first catalogue was produced by hand and featured a limited selection of jute goods from Bangladesh. Within two years, the organisation had added tea and coffee, followed by a much broader range of food and non-food products. In September 1983 Traidcraft moved to a 58,000-square-foot warehouse at the Team Valley Trading Estate in Gateshead. This site supported the organisation’s growing distribution and trading activities. A second Team Valley warehouse opened in 2004 for quality control, food packaging and logistics. By that period Traidcraft also maintained a policy unit in London and employed more than 140 people across its activities. The trading operation developed relationships with producer organisations in more than 30 developing countries. Its catalogue included food products such as coffee, tea, fruit juice, sugar, wine, chocolate, dried fruit, honey, pasta, rice, muesli and Geobar snack bars, as well as clothing, jewellery, paper goods and handicrafts. Traidcraft combined commercial distribution with producer support and campaigning, seeking to give small producers improved access to international markets. The organisation played a role in building the wider fair-trade infrastructure. It was a founder member of the European Fair Trade Association and helped create the Fairtrade Foundation in 1992 alongside several British development and church organisations. In 1990 it was instrumental in establishing Shared Interest, a co-operative lending society intended to improve finance for fair-trade producers. Traidcraft plc also held a 10 percent shareholding in Cafédirect, which it helped establish with Equal Exchange Trading, Oxfam and Twin Trading. Traidcraft developed a distinctive system of social accounting. From 1993 it published social accounts every year, making it the first United Kingdom public limited company to do so. The accounts considered the organisation’s impact on its stakeholders and were externally audited and submitted to the annual general meeting. This approach received recognition through several accounting and social-enterprise awards, including the Social Enterprise Champion award at the New Statesman Upstarts awards in 2005 and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development in 2006. Beyond trading, Traidcraft ran Meet the People tours for more than two decades. These visits introduced supporters to producer workshops, workers’ homes and local places of historical interest. The organisation’s charitable arm, Traidcraft Exchange, provided direct advice and development support to producers and campaigned for fairer trade rules. It became independent of the original Traidcraft organisation in 2018 and changed its public name to Transform Trade in September 2022. Transform Trade continues to work in South Asia, East Africa and West Africa, with programmes involving tea, honey, handcrafted textiles and climate-resilient agriculture. The commercial business struggled as costs and market pressures intensified. In 2018 the future of the trading arm was reviewed, and the company continued in a smaller form with a narrower emphasis on popular food lines. Traidcraft plc entered administration in January 2023, attributing the crisis to price rises, currency movements and Royal Mail industrial action. The administration marked the collapse of the principal trading company, while the independent charitable and policy work associated with Traidcraft continued under Transform Trade.

• 2023

  Traidcraft plc enters administration

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  The trading arm enters administration after facing cost inflation, currency volatility and disruption related to Royal Mail industrial action.

• 2022

  Traidcraft Exchange becomes Transform Trade

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  The independent charitable organisation adopts the Transform Trade name.

• 2018

  Trading arm is restructured

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  After a consultation prompted by financial difficulties, the trading arm continues with a reduced product focus, particularly on popular foods.

• 2004

  Second Team Valley warehouse opens

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  A second warehouse is opened for quality control, food packaging and logistics.

• 1993

  Annual social accounting begins

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  Traidcraft begins publishing annual social accounts, reporting stakeholder and social impact alongside conventional financial information.

• 1992

  Fairtrade Foundation is established

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  Traidcraft helps establish the Fairtrade Foundation with development, church and consumer organisations.

• 1990

  Shared Interest is established

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  Traidcraft helps establish Shared Interest, a Newcastle-based co-operative lending society supporting fair-trade producers.

• 1983

  Move to Team Valley warehouse

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  The organisation moves to a 58,000-square-foot warehouse at the Team Valley Trading Estate in Gateshead.

• 1979

  Traidcraft is established

  [1]Traidcraften.wikipedia.org

  Richard Adams launches the faith-based fair-trade organisation in Newcastle upon Tyne with six staff members and a catalogue of jute products from Bangladesh.

Mission-led fair trade combining ethical product sourcing, producer development, consumer education, social accounting and advocacy for improved trade rules.

• Snack bars

  Geobar

  Geobar was a Traidcraft snack-bar line and one of the better-known branded food products associated with the organisation. It formed part of the company’s effort to bring fair-trade sourcing into convenient packaged foods rather than limiting the range to traditional commodities and handicrafts.

• Beverages

  Fair-trade coffee and tea

  Coffee and tea were added soon after Traidcraft’s original jute catalogue and became central parts of its food business. The products were sourced through fair-trade relationships with producer organisations and reflected the brand’s emphasis on improving market access and returns for producers.

• Packaged foods

  Fair-trade food range

  The wider food range included chocolate, dried fruit, honey, pasta, rice, muesli, fruit juice, sugar and wine. These products allowed Traidcraft to offer a broad household assortment while linking retail sales to its fair-trade and producer-development mission.

• Ethical gifts and non-food goods

  Crafts, clothing and jewellery

  Traidcraft sold clothing, jewellery, paper products and handicrafts made by producer groups in developing countries. These lines extended the organisation’s original focus on jute products and gave artisans access to consumers through catalogues, wholesale channels and other fair-trade distribution.

• 2018Tea supply-chain transparency campaign

  United Kingdom

  Through its charitable and policy work, Traidcraft Exchange campaigned for major British tea brands to disclose information about their suppliers.

  Outcome. The campaign achieved publication of supplier details by several major British tea brands.

  Source
• 1992Fairtrade Foundation formation

  United Kingdom

  Traidcraft worked with CAFOD, Christian Aid, New Consumer, Oxfam and the World Development Movement to establish the Fairtrade Foundation, helping create an institutional framework for fair-trade certification and consumer awareness in the United Kingdom.

  Outcome. The Fairtrade Foundation became a major UK fair-trade institution.

  Source
• Meet the People tours

  International producer communities

  For more than 20 years, Traidcraft organised visits allowing supporters and customers to meet fair-trade producers, see workshops and workers’ homes, and learn about local communities.

  Outcome. The tours received a high commendation in a 2005 sustainable-travel award for tour operators.

  Source

• 2023

  Traidcraft plc enters administrationOther

  Background

  The trading arm faced sustained pressure from higher prices, foreign-exchange fluctuations and disruption associated with Royal Mail industrial action.

  Action taken

  Traidcraft plc entered administration in January 2023.

  Aftermath

  The commercial trading operation ceased to function as an ongoing business, while the independent charitable work continued through Transform Trade.

  Source

• 2022

  Rename Traidcraft Exchange as Transform TradeStrategy

  Background

  The charitable arm had become independent from the original Traidcraft organisation in 2018 and required a distinct public identity.

  Action taken

  Traidcraft Exchange adopted the public name Transform Trade in September 2022.

  Aftermath

  Transform Trade continued independently as a charity focused on fairer trade in fashion, tea and agriculture.

  Source

• 2018

  Continue with a reduced trading operationStrategy

  Background

  Traidcraft’s trading arm faced the possibility of closure as the organisation reviewed its financial and commercial future.

  Action taken

  The company continued operating with a slimmer range and greater emphasis on popular food products.

  Aftermath

  The reduced operation remained in business for several more years but ultimately entered administration in 2023.

  Source

1. 1Traidcraften.wikipedia.org