SHINING THE SPOTLIGHT

Shining the Spotlight on: BAFTS

Who they are, what they do and why it’s so wonderful being a member!

WHO ARE BAFTS?

BAFTS (British Association of Fair Trade Shops and Suppliers) Fair Trade Network UK is the voice of fair trade retailing in the UK. A vibrant community of fair trade enterprises - small independent shops and the suppliers who adhere to the Ten Principles of Fair Trade - BAFTS members hail from all over the UK.

We here at Traidcraft are proud to be one of them! BAFTS is also a Fair Trade Network Member of WFTO. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BECOMING A BAFTS MEMBER?

BAFTS has the Ten Principles of Fair Trade at its heart, but its real strength is its members - the sense of community and solidarity, the knowledge sharing, and support, and the fact that suppliers and shops are all part of the same movement - to fight for transparent supply chains, better and fairer conditions for workers, and helping people to fulfil their potential wherever in the world they happen to be.

Benefits for Members are based around 3 main ideas:

Sense of Community

Targeted training and business advice, peer networking, knowledge sharing, and collective marketing/promotional opportunities.

Inspiration

Social media and newsletters, community campaigning and community story telling.

Accountability

Thorough application procedure, ongoing improvement targets and demonstrating commitment to fair trade.

OF COURSE, WE THINK ALL SHOPS THAT SELL FAIR TRADE GOODS ARE ESSENTIAL, BUT WE’RE BIASED!

HOW BAFTS RESPONDED TO THE COVID PANDEMIC

Since the pandemic started, BAFTS has supported its members with a series of training sessions and webinars, as well as weekly support calls over Zoom, where all are encouraged to share experiences and ideas. Supplier members collaborated on a project to switch their production facilities to making face masks, ensuring a vital income for hundreds of workers in low-income countries and thousands of these masks were sold by fair trade shops all over the UK.

One of the highlights of the fair trade calendar is the BAFTS Conference which has in recent years touched down in cities such as York, Bristol, Manchester and Leicester. The keynote speaker at last year’s virtual Conference was our own Robin Roth, whose insights into “being more pirate” resonated with BAFTS members, who were forced to nimbly change their business models to embrace online sales, social distancing and the precise definition of “non-essential shop” (of course, we think all shops that sell fair trade goods are essential, but we’re biased!) WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A BAFTS MEMBER?

Hear it from the members themselves…

"We are pleased to be part of a like-minded community and feel it is very important to share knowledge with one another. We also think it is important for our customers to see we have been through a rigorous accreditation process of our fair trade status. I have particularly appreciated everyone’s support over the last 2 months, I think we have become stronger as a group through this shared challenge."

Jenny

Good Taste - The Fair Trade Shop, Sheffield

"It's great to know that we are part of a supportive network. It is so good to be able to contact another member for advice or support. It also enables us to work more closely with other members in our area. The regular newsletters are great in keeping us up to date on the latest fair trade news. We appreciate the social media and other media work that BAFTS uses to promote what all members do."

Jan

Fair Dos/Siopa Teg, Wales

If you’re a retailer selling Traidcraft (and other) products, you can apply to join the BAFTS community, either as a shop member or a Friend of BAFTS. You don’t need to have a bricks and mortar shop and fees start from £50 a year.

Want to find out more? bafts.org.uk

Social: @BAFTSUK