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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Marketplace Ethics

Does your company make every effort to ensure customers receive a fair and reasonable deal in terms of quality, safety and service in all its products and/or services?

Rationale for question

The United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection identify that it is 'the responsibility of the producer to ensure that goods meet reasonable demands of durability, utility and reliability, and are suited to the purpose for which they are intended' and further outline similar requirements for the provision of services. Nonetheless, according to the UK Office of Fair Trading, unsatisfactory goods and services cost UK consumers an estimated GBP 8.5 billion per annum. This figure does not account for any of the additional, intangible costs incurred by consumers, such as emotional stress and wasted time.

Due to an inequality of information and an imbalance of bargaining power, consumers can be vulnerable to exploitation by businesses. Most countries have some degree of consumer protection legislation covering quality, product safety and customer satisfaction and restitution, but levels of statutory protection vary. Many also have regulatory regimes or professional bodies that protect both the public interest and the interests of professionals or producers by maintaining oversight of standards.

It is good practice for companies to ensure that customers receive a fair and reasonable deal. Doing so can enhance a company's reputation and consumer confidence. As a result, there is a strong business case for providing consistently high standards of quality and service:

The costs of finding new customers are five to ten times as much as the costs of retaining the current ones.
Satisfied customers refer others to a business, whereas dissatisfied customers discourage others from using it. Various studies indicate that customers tell approximately twice as many people about a bad experience as they do a good experience.
An angry customer is not necessarily a former customer. Satisfactory resolution of complaints allows a business to retain that customer, and perhaps even gain referrals if the customer was happy with how the company handled their complaint.
Many customers will pay more for good service. According to the National Complaints Culture Survey, 68% of customers are prepared to pay up to 20% more for good service.

Companies can ensure that customers receive a 'fair and reasonable deal' in terms of quality, safety and service through various means. Some may include:

equitable and clearly written contract terms/conditions;
product/service guarantees, e.g. product delivery timelines or response period for correspondence;
adherence to an industry code of practice;
production, performance and safety standards, including quality assurance systems; and/or
complaints handling procedures.

It is also important for a company to monitor how well it meets consumer expectations. For example, this can be achieved by developing performance indicators, such as independent audits, mystery shopping exercises, product testing, or carrying out customer satisfaction surveys.

Key consumer issues will vary according to business sector but the principle of consumer protection remains constant. For example, in the financial services sector, information about risk is crucial to a potential investor, while in the organic food sector, maintaining organic standards is imperative. A sustainable business is likely to be one that consistently addresses quality, safety and service issues in an efficient way.

Defining Terms

A 'fair and reasonable deal' respects consumer rights, promotes consumer welfare and offers equitable terms for products and services. The deal provides the consumer with transparent and honest information about the products or services.

Primary and Secondary answer requirements

ANSWERING YES

Companies must:

demonstrate how they ensure that customers receive a fair and reasonable deal
describe how they monitor and evaluate performance; and
describe how they identify the key issues in relation to customer service in their business sector.

Companies may:

supply a hyperlink to its customer service policies, if available on the internet; and
provide any other indications, such as product or service awards, which demonstrate a company's care in offering consumers a 'fair and reasonable deal'.

ANSWERING NO

Companies must:

explain why they do not or cannot answer YES to this question, listing the business reasons, any mitigating circumstances or other reasons that apply.

Companies may:

describe any efforts they do undertake to provide customers with a fair and reasonable deal; and
mention any future intentions regarding this issue.

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

YES

Fairgift offers:

- Photos and information online about the products & producers, accompanied by a questions page and email form for any other questions.

- Customer service is available by phone Monday-Friday 9am-5pm to
answer any questions from customers.

- A showroom near Henley on Thames where customers can make an appointment to see the products in person and ask any questions about the Fairgift service.

- A 14-day no quibble money-back guarantee on all purchases.

Through the emails, calls & letters we receive, we're able to monitor customer satisfaction and address any issues if necessary. In the future, we also plan to set-up a questionnaire that will be emailed to past customers to invite more feedback and capture in a more systematic way.

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