Trade Aid recognises its 50 years of achievements and success during which the lives of thousands of producers and farmers have been improved. Trade Aid also has a responsibility to ensure the organisation’s viability for the next 50 years. Like many other retail businesses, Trade Aid has faced a challenging environment in the past two years. The cost-of-living crisis has led to rising costs and diminishing sales, which has significantly impacted on the organisation’s financial performance.
To ensure its ongoing sustainability, Trade Aid has made the difficult decision to begin the process of progressively reducing its retail network. However, through focusing on importing, wholesaling, and selling online Trade Aid remains committed to its purpose; to improve producers and farmers’ lives through providing them with a fair income and a way out of structural poverty, and to raise Kiwi’s awareness of fair trade.
Trade Aid has evolved from humble beginnings to become the centre of a fair trade community of like-minded individuals, retailers, and businesses. This community includes 500,000 producers and farmers in 25 countries, over 1,300 Kiwi businesses, volunteers, staff, and consumers that by making ethical purchasing choices are changing the world for good.
Whilst most Kiwis will think of Trade Aid as stores selling baskets, rugs, and bags, over the last 50 years Trade Aid has evolved to become both an importer and wholesaler of food and craft products, selling to supermarkets as well as much loved New Zealand brands and retailers. Trade Aid has established itself as the market leader in fair trade coffee sourcing, facilitating ethical supply chains for some of New Zealand’s most iconic coffee brands, as well as selling coffee to local roasters and retailers. You may actually be consuming Trade Aid products without realising it.
Trade Aid’s business model is adapting to focus on online retail sales and wholesale craft, food, and coffee, making it easier for anyone, anywhere in New Zealand to purchase fair trade products. Trade Aid aims to make fair trade products more accessible to Kiwis through inspiring more New Zealand retailers and manufacturers to purchase guaranteed fair trade products.
Trade Aid would like to thank staff, volunteers, and customers that have supported Trade Aid and the fair trade movement. Trade Aid remains unwavering in its purpose; to educate and inspire others to support fair trade and to improve producers and farmers’ lives by providing them with a fair income through trade.
Photo Credit: Sidama Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union in Ethiopia