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Tradecraft
Fighting poverty through trade
Founded: 1979
Charity Details
| Full Name:
| The Tradecraft Exchange
|
| Field:
| Enterprise Skills and Economic Development
|
| Founded:
| 1979
|
| Headquarters:
| Gateshead, NE11 ONE
|
| Charity No.:
| 1048752
|
History and Activities
Traidcraft is a pioneering fair trade charity and advocacy organisation, which sells hand-crafted home wear, handmade gifts and fair trade food and drinks. The remarkably simple concept of its founders was to import products directly from artisans and growers in third world countries and sell them in the UK. The idea is that communities could reduce their reliance on aid by sharing more of the profit from their goods than would otherwise have been the case. It was a collaborative process, both learning and trading simultaneously. A great deal of what has become commonly known as “fair trade” was pioneered by Traidcraft.
The charity estimates their work benefited 477,780 people in 2016/7, through negotiating better prices for growers and suppliers, improving the working conditions of employees and giving people more control over their futures and protection of their environment for future generations.
As well as facilitating the supply and distribution of fair trade products, the charity has a large advocacy presence in promoting fair trade in the UK. In 2013, the activism of the Traidcraft campaigns team resulted in the government setting up an official Supermarket Watchdog which has legal powers to fine supermarkets who exerted excessive pressure on suppliers in order to maximise their own profits.
Vital Statistics (year to 31/03/2017)
| Total Income (TI):
| £3,406,000
|
| Philanthropic Income (PI):
| £2,528,000
|
| PI as % of TI
| 74%
|
| Employees
|
|
| Volunteers
|
|
| Charitable Spending:
| £2,661,000
|
| Investments at Year End:
| £39,000
|
Website