After nearly four decades of trading from a tiny church porch, Harrogate Fair Trade Shop – one of BAFTS’ longest-standing members, has secured close to £150,000 from the York and North Yorkshire Mayor’s Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets Fund to transform how it serves its community.
At BAFTS, we are always inspired by the determination, creativity and passion of our members — but news like this is genuinely cause for celebration! This is a remarkable achievement, and a testament to everything that makes Harrogate Fair Trade such a shining example of what the fair trade movement can do.
Vicky, the shop’s Manager, tells us about what this all means…
A new step for Harrogate Fair Trade
We’ve just heard that our bid for funding to create a collaborative ethical shop in new premises has been successful – so this is a very exciting time!
We’ve been working on this idea for a couple of years: to create a space that brings a lot of good things together. When we were researching funding sources we were dismayed at how unethical many of the funds were (Primark?!), but when we heard about the Mayor’s fund we thought it was a great fit, very much focused on collaboration and community.
From humble Harrogate beginnings to big fair trade plans
We started as a Traidcraft shop around 40 years ago, and found a home in the old porch of St Peter’s Church — a great location right in the centre of town, but with only 14 square metres of space and no on-site office or storage. At Christmas we get extra space but we’re very aware of the vulnerability of our current position.
A bigger retail space will be an amazing change. We’ll be able to stock a much wider range of fair trade goods — including much larger physical products than we can manage now, where everything has to earn its place (which is why we sell a lot of jewellery). We’ll be able to tell the stories behind the products far better too; at the moment we feature one product a month, and simply don’t have room for more signage.
The other huge change will be having our office and storeroom in the same premises as the shop, rather than half a mile away. No more stock runs by car, bike and foot! No more trying to fix a technical error without being able to see the till. Our volunteers currently staff the shop on their own, and it’s about time we were able to make them a cup of tea on their shift.
Partnerships to be Proud Of
But our plan is much bigger than that. Working with a broader sense of what fairness means, and thinking locally as well as globally, we’re expanding what we offer.
Our three formal partnerships are all local organisations we’ve worked with for some time: Harrogate Skills 4 Living, a charity with whom we’ll develop in-shop training for people with autism and learning difficulties; Zero Carbon Harrogate, driving envrionmental change in the area; and Black and Green Consulting, a sustainable accountancy firm to help us navigate the changes ahead.
We’ll also give local charity and ethical business partners space to sell or highlight campaigns, host a pop-up area for local artisans on a rotational basis, and add a plastic-free refill space — something currently missing from Harrogate.
Taking a Leap of Faith
Although this is exciting, we know it isn’t going to be easy. Our first hurdle is finding an affordable town centre premises in a small town where rents are high. We know it’s a tough time for independent high street retail, and we’re aware that some fair trade shops have closed in recent years. So we’re making a leap of faith — hoping to create something much bolder and better: a shop that sells more fair trade goods, reaches more people, and makes a difference in our town and in the world.
A Proud Member Moment
Here at BAFTS, we could not be more proud to have Harrogate Fair Trade as a member. What they have achieved — building a loyal community following over nearly four decades, operating with integrity and purpose from the most modest of premises, and now securing this transformative funding — is a powerful reminder of what fair trade retail is all about.
Their ambition to create a genuinely collaborative, inclusive and sustainable space on Harrogate high street is exactly the kind of innovation and courage our movement needs.
We will be watching their journey with great excitement and warmth. If you’re ever in Harrogate, do seek them out — and when their new doors open, be one of the first through them.
Find out more about being a BAFTS member here.
Is this for BAFTS members info only?