In May, Wales welcomed the BAFTS Annual Conference (The British Association of Fair Trade Shops) to Butetown Community Centre in Cardiff. Over the two days, many Fair Trade shop owners, suppliers and advocates from across the UK came together to share important updates and to discuss the future of Fair Trade.

Some insights from across the conference

Matt Oliver from Bala Sport (a Fair Trade football social enterprise co-operative), talked about how the future of Fair Trade starts with educating new businesses on how they can work as Fair Trade ones, and how BAFTS helps to support and help grow small businesses.

Oxfam Intermon spoke about their world shops, which are not secondhand shops, but complete Oxfam Fair Trade shops – an amazing idea! These shops used to focus only on Fair Trade food, but have recently moved into fashion which is selling well for them, particularly their pyjamas.  

Hub Cymru Africa contributed to a key session on the BAFTS Anti-Racism Charter, leading a reflection on how shops and organisations are putting those principles into practice in their day-to-day work. The responses from participants reflected a movement willing to take important steps to change their approach of language, storytelling and internal structures.

Contributions from Fair Trade Wales

Aileen Burmeister, Head of Fair Trade Wales, was part of the panel discussion on day one, a key conversation on the future of Fair Trade. Aileen highlighted that this is a moment of change; the way we shop, campaign, volunteer and work has shifted dramatically since the pandemic, and the Fair Trade movement needs to reflect that honestly.

Fair Trade is an ancient concept represented by the goddesses of justice and fairness who carried weighing scales – the tools of trade. And the success of the modern movement has been built on technology; planes enabling direct connection with farmers and producers, and video conferencing allowing groups across Wales to meet together regularly.

The future is ours to shape and there are several paths ahead. What matters most now is that we are ready to adapt, including in how we think about volunteering and the way it’s changing.

A reflection

This conference highlighted the real challenges facing independent Fair Trade shops, community groups and small organisations across the UK. But, it reminded us that there is still a strong passion and high community spirit continuing to push forward.

A huge thank you to BAFTS for organising the event – we look forward to seeing what comes next for Fair Trade in Wales.

Learn more about BAFTS: bafts.org.uk 

If you are interested in attending the 2027 conference in Sheffield, you can register your interest here.