In January of this year Just, a loved and valuable Fair Trade advocate and social enterprise, and longstanding BAFTS member, closed their Leicester shop doors for the last time. This came as a massive blow to the BAFTS community, not only because it exemplifies the challenges for many bricks and mortar shops right now but because their determination, passion and commitment to the fair trade movement has been huge over the years.
Sarah, the Founder and Managing Director of Just, and BAFTS Board member, shared a timeline of her Fair Trade highlights and challenges, both personally and professionally, for close to 50 years…
As this chapter of Just draws to a close I have a quote in my head. It’s a paraphrase of the philosopher Alan Watts’ quote;
The joy of the symphony is not in the silence at the end, it’s in the music while it plays.
So as Just goes silent for while, but hopefully not for long, here is a bit of the story of Just. Some of the ‘music’ that has given me joy…
The Just Timeline
1979 – Hearing about Fairtrade at Greenbelt Festival for the first time from Traidcraft and Christian Aid
1994 – Running our first Traidcraft fashion show, (not realising it would become an annual event)
1996 – Launching first pop up shop ‘Just…trading for a fairer Christmas’ selling £28,000 in 6 weeks
2000 – Formalising the business as a workers’ co-op social enterprise with a permanent shop and website
2001 – Receiving Leicestershire Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
2002 – Leicester gaining Fairtrade City status
2005 – Being invited to a reception at 10 Downing Street for social entrepreneurs and being one of a dozen picked out to meet Tony Blair.
– Getting runner up ‘Woman of the Year’, the main category of the Women of Achievement Awards set up by the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce and Business Link.
– Running the Make Poverty History evening and fashion Show with over 500 in attendance
2007 – Participating in Just Enjoy Fair Trade Festival with over 1000 attending stalls, workshops and fashion shows with special guest George Alagiah, patron of the Fairtrade Foundation.
Sarah interviewing George Alagiah at the Just Enjoy Festival
2009 – Moving the shop to new premises, doubling its shop floor, its volunteer workforce and increasing its turnover by about 90%.
2010 – Finishing my Masters in Social Enterprise from Liverpool’s John Moore’s University.
2012-2014 – Launching three pop up Christmas toy shops run alongside the main shop
2014 – Visiting Rwanda as guests of Cards From Africa
2015 – Celebrating Just’s turnover being over £200,000
2016 – Opening the basement as a 3rd trading floor
2019 – Marvelling at Just’s turnover exceeding £250,000
2020 – Staying open through the pandemic, creating an e-commerce website
2024 – Being awarded the Honoured Citizen Award by The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor of Leicester
but
2020 – 2025 – Seeing a steady decline in footfall and turnover while at the same time our overheads rocket.
2025 – Recognising that our business model, that has served us so well for so many years, no longer works.
Its time for change…
Decorating the shop windowMe and my 2 children in 1996 with the sweatshirts we got to make us look the part!The big Christmas advert at Leicester railway station
Throughout it all its been a privilege;
* working with such a diverse bunch of fabulous staff and volunteers
* hosting fabulous Fairtrade Fortnight events with guest producers from the Global South
* running activities in schools, particularly enjoy students get really involved and invested (angry!) playing The Trading Game
* being a member of BAFTS enjoying many BAFTS conferences and latterly being on the board
* enjoying long respectful relationships with our suppliers
The team in sweatshirts advertising our 3 floors in 2018
For me, it’s something about working together with others on a common goal, working hard, but having loads of fun and laughter along the way. And believing that in some small way we have made a positive difference for people and planet.
I trust and pray that a new Just will develop and create new music for a new time, the next movement in the Symphony of Just.
