Fairgift offers hundreds of fairly-traded, beautiful, original and high quality items for your home and garden. These are predominantly handmade, manufactured in small quantities by over 40 skilled producer groups across Africa, Asia and South America.

Fairgift enables customers to buy gifts and have a wedding gift list with a difference. It provides an opportunity for people in Europe to share the joy of a special occasion with marginalised communities from around the world, whilst also enjoying beautiful gifts.

Fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, which seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions and securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers.

Business vision

Fairgift is a social enterprise, where people come before profits.

Profits are reinvested back into growing sales for the producers and the remainder is donated to the development charity, Traidcraft Exchange.

Through every product purchased, Fairgift is able to advance the fight against poverty by ensuring sustainable income and good working conditions for producers. Every transaction is an investment in the lives & communities of producers, because it seeks a higher ethical standard of manufacturing & trading than one based primarily on cost.

Business aims

To offer beautiful, original, fair trade items for the home.

To provide a high quality gift & gift list service.

To provide market access to Fair Trade producers from Africa, Asia & South America.

Business philosophies and beliefs

We believe that fair trade is beneficial for producers in the developing world. By having fair access to markets, producers can have a brighter future for themselves, their families & communities.

Consumers in the UK, by choosing fair trade for their gifts & wedding lists, have all the quality, originality & style that comes from these remarkable producers.

Business Values

1. Optimism. Choosing fair trade products every time we shop is an effective way to help reduce poverty. It is a practical action towards building a better world.

2. Quality. All products are made by skilled artisans from Africa, Asia and Latin America, that have a real stake in what they are doing, that's why customers can be sure of superior quality.

3. Sustainability. Everything is produced in an environmentally conscious way. Most of our products are made with creative and expert use of natural, organic or recycled materials.

Business mission

The mission of Fairgift is to move fair trade out of it's traditional areas of commodity 'ingredients', like coffee, tea & bananas, and into new, added-value categories across homeware - and then to promote & distribute these products to consumers across Europe.

Business Information

Date established:: 2007
Contact details: Brian Walmsley Managing Director brian@fairgift.co.uk T 0870 803 3226
Business structure Help Basic business structures under UK law include: sole trader, partnership, private company limited by shares, private company limited by guarantee, community interest company, public limited company, private unlimited company, and franchise.: Company limited by shares
Address of company headquarters: Fairgift Ltd Long Rock Penzance Cornwall TR93 0FG
Countries of operations: UK
Countries where goods and/or services are sold: Europe-wide
Size of workforce: Director only, volunteers help at events
Financial year Help The 12 months used as a company's accounting period. This may or may not be a calendar year.: 1 April to 31 March
Market capitalisation Help The market value of a public company's issued share capital, i.e. the number of shares multiplied by the current price of those shares on the stock market. For private companies, 'company value', estimated by the book value of all assets or by using comparable companies, is a more appropriate term. This information is not compulsory.: n/a
Turnover (last financial year) Help Income that the business receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. Also known as total revenue, total sales or the top line.: GBP 50,000
Profit (last financial year) Help Gross profit is the total turnover minus cost of sales. Net profit is the turnover minus all expenses, including payroll and tax. Businesses are asked to state gross profit, net profit or both. This field can be left blank.: GBP 0
Details of owners: Currently shared by 12 high net worth individuals in the UK & South Africa, with an AGM each July to present accounts and review plans. Discussions are under way with 2 producers for them to own a stake in the business and input directly into strategy & plans.
Directors' other business interests Help Businesses are asked to list other directorships held by their directors and company secretary: n/a

Goods and Services

Fairgift is an on-line e-commerce store that offers:

1. Beautiful, original, fair trade housewares and accessories. The items are predominantly handmade and manufactured in small quantities and range from furniture & dining ware to bed linen & dressing gowns.

2. Market access for fair trade producers in Africa, Asia and South America. The website provides photos & information about the producers and meaning behind the products.

3. A wedding & gift list service with a difference. Couples-to-be and their friends and relatives can order wedding gifts from a product range that is 100% fair trade.

Business Responses

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Human Rights

Is your company in joint ventures, or does it have any business relationships, with a military regime (such as that in Burma, also known as Myanmar)?

Question developed with Burma Campaign UK

Rationale for question

While foreign investment can play a key role in helping developing countries reduce poverty, it can also have the opposite effect of funding and perpetuating governments that oppress their own people. This is particularly a concern with military regimes, which have often been linked to violations of human rights.

For example, the military regime in Burma (also known as Myanmar) has particularly attracted criticism. Foreign investment and military spending have proven to be closely linked in the country, where the government has spent up to 50% of its budget on the military in some years. With no external threats, the army has used its military capacity to engage in campaigns of ethnic cleansing and subject millions to forced labour.

All companies that undertake ventures with military regimes should do so with caution. Businesses run the risk of contributing directly or indirectly to human rights violations. Even when business activities themselves do not play a role in abuses, companies create significant potential to damage their own reputations through association with an oppressive regime.

Although this question focuses on military regimes, businesses are advised to assess their business operations in any country where the government has a questionable human rights record. Is the investment helping bring about positive change in government practices, or is it perpetuating abuses?

Defining Terms

Though it is surprisingly hard to define a 'military regime', as most coercive states have similar elements, essentially, it is a type of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a repressive individual or a small group, and which uses military and police power to dominate civilians mentally and physically.

Primary and Secondary answer requirements

ANSWERING YES

Companies must:

list the military regime or regimes with which they do business;
describe the nature of the business conducted;
state the type of business relationship with the regime; and
state whether they have any policies or practices to guide their business relationships.

Companies may:

describe any assessments they have made to gauge the impact of company operations on citizens of the country;
indicate how long they have operated in the country; and
describe any future plans.

ANSWERING NO

Companies may:

describe any specific measures to avoid support of military regimes, e.g. taking this issue into account when making sourcing decisions.

DON'T KNOW is not a permissible answer to this question.

NOT APPLICABLE is not a permissible answer to this question.

NO ANSWER YET is only permissible under extraordinary circumstances and then for only a limited period.

Fairgift

NO

Fairgift is not involved in joint ventures, and has no business relationships, with any military regime.

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