A quick intro

Hi, I’m Barb and I’ll quickly introduce myself.

I started Lovethatstuff in 2002 because I wanted to do something practical to support producers in developing countries. Before this I had spent about twenty years’ teaching English to overseas students, including many refugees and asylum seekers, and had finished an MA in Environment Development and Policy at Sussex University in 1988.

So, early in 2002, whilst I still needed to earn a living and knew nothing about retail, I was keen to get started. I probably should have done a business plan but I felt that, although I knew quite a lot about teaching, I knew nothing about selling so I would need at least two years’ experience of buying and selling to have some idea of the field before committing to something as practical as a business plan.

Who I first bought from 

My first order was from a group called Artesania Sorata in Bolivia. I started by selling at craft fairs, school fairs and other small events and then bought from another two groups – Bombolulu in Mombasa, Kenya and Yakkumcraft in Indonesia. After some time I realised that in order to shift some stock I would need to organise my own events and so I did a couple of pilots of the Fair Trade Market in Brighton at the Quaker Meeting House in November and December 2004. These were popular and the Quakers were keen to support this and so from the next April we ran these monthly. I increased the number of groups I buy from either because they asked me or I thought their products so lovely.

Setting up the website

Shortly after starting the Fair Trade Market, I got a grant from UnLtd to set up a website and started selling on the internet. I think I’m probably the only person that puts the name of the producer group over every product so that the customer knows who they’re buying from and the credit goes to the maker rather than to me.

I also sell wholesale to several fair trade shops around the U.K., including Oxfam in Brighton and Lewes.

Visiting the producers

I made my first producer visit in December 2005 and hope to steadily work my way round to them all so I can meet them, take photos, develop design ideas and find out how we can best work together.

Business as unusual – some thoughts on economic theories

Whilst I don’t pretend to have a great understanding of economics, the philosophy of the free market appears to encourage a ‘race to the bottom’. Business as usual favours a buy low and sell high market, and as we’ve all seen, often results in exploitation. Fair trade favours a more ‘business as unusual’ model where producer and buyer cooperate. It relies on transparency and accountability and in order for this to happen people have to talk to each other. I like this.

Fair trade is a flagship. It’s a beacon of hope for change. It’s a comforter and something we can believe in. Most economic models take the heart out of their paradigm and yet it is arguable that few amongst us behave in a dispassionate way especially when shopping! In short, I’m very sceptical about whether ‘homo economicus’ really exists and if he does I think we should replace him with something a lot more compassionate. Fair trade puts people before profits and this seems right as the world appears to be at a juncture where we all need to cooperate a lot more than we have in terms of command over resources, avoiding conflict and environmental degradation. The great hope is that we can do this and another payoff is that we’ll all feel a lot happier as a result.

What I’ve learned

I have mostly learned that the human spirit in times of adversity is truly remarkable. I have been incredibly privileged to meet a lot of very talented, brave, bright and resourceful people who I have the most enormous respect and fondness for. Meeting and emailing the producer groups has helped me understand some of the challenges they face and some of their successes and lots of people here have generously volunteered their help.

I continue to need to more fully scope my areas of weakness so I can be better at selling and passing on the fair trade message.

The future

Refine that business plan! Get better designs, represent the groups better. Focus. And enjoy!

More information on fair trade | Barb's BBC Interview