“What is the role of Fair Trade in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?”

Frances Guy, Chief Executive, Scotland’s Nucleus Building International Development Alliance stated that:

• Fair trade is not marketing itself enough, particularly in relation to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• We need to create a link between sustainable cities and Fairtrade Towns.
• 35% of SDG targets are not on track for 2030.
• We need to tell more personal stories of the Fairtrade producers.

Christina Sotomayor – Hope Jewellery & Crafts, Lima, Peru, reported that:

• Hope works with marginalised women, single mums, and young students.
• Hope works in the Lima shanty towns and other Andean towns.
• They provide flexible working opportunities for women.
• They work with Just Trade which sells their products in the UK.
• Hope works with partnerships across borders.
• For many women, it’s their first opportunity of a job.
• They create opportunities for women to upscale into leadership roles.
• They started in 2013 with just 13 women working for them and as of 2025, have 45 women.

Laura Cave – Just Trade (Jeweller and Storyteller) UK said that:

• She started as a jeweller and storyteller and not a campaigner. Went to Peru and fell in love with the country. Founded Just Trade due to a friendship she made in Peru. The company is based upon the 10 principles of Fairtrade. Just Trade is a member of the WFTO.
• Laura believes that you should campaign by doing things well and not just focus on the issue.
• They work with Hope, a woman’s artisan project in Peru. Hope created a cat toy based upon Hodge, a rescue cat at Southwark Cathedral, that had 25,000 followers on Instagram. From that they now have developed a whole range of products around Hodge. It combines humour with poverty alleviation, something people can relate to.
• They’re now working with a high street retailer who are interested in their quality products and not just because they’re fairly-traded.

Sophie Tack – President of the World Fair Trade Association specified that:

• The WFTO had 300 registered Small and Medium Sized Enterprise.
• This covered food to fashion, tourism and cosmetics.
• WFTO adopted a “holistic” approach going far beyond profit
• People and planet before profit.
• The Free Market system is broken and ladened with inequalities and environmental degradation.
• The WFTO fully adheres to its 10 major principles based on the UN SDGs.
• The WFTO is about transformation of the whole supply chain.
• It promotes fair prices, wages, democratic decision making, gender equality, human rights, dignity, and political courage.
• They seek to challenge the status quo, revolutionize business practices, and promote social responsibility and environmental sustainability.
• A “systemic transformation” of the trade is required.
• Support comes from the EU Advocacy Office.
• Change requires local, national, and international government backing.