Near and Fair

Hull

Near & Fair is a fair trade shop in Hull run by Richard & Julie. A small family business, we are committed to fair trade and are a proud member of the British Association for Fair Trade Shops and Suppliers (BAFTS).

Fair trade is about trading ethically. It ensures workers are paid a respectable amount for their work. It’s about safe working conditions, decent working hours and sick pay, and it’s about avoiding exploitative labour, including and especially child labour.

Fair trade is also about community, and each of our fair trade wholesalers pays a “Fair Trade Premium” to their producers which is to be spent on projects that benefit their communities.

Furthermore, fair trade is about respecting the environment, minimising pollution, using sustainable materials, and recycling wherever possible.

For items made overseas, we only buy from wholesalers who have an excellent ethical policy and who visit the artisans regularly to ensure these high standards are being met. We choose to buy only from those wholesalers who have been importing goods for many years as this shows they are serious about their commitment to the artisans, and it helps to create long-term sustainable family businesses for the people who make the goods we sell.

A small percentage of the items we sell are made in the UK (that’s the “Near” in Near & Fair). These can be individual handcrafters who make items that benefit the environment in some way, such as our wildflower seed cards, or it can be larger companies with excellent ethical policies and happy staff!

We believe all the items we sell have a positive impact on the lives of real people, which in turn means YOUR purchases from us makes a difference too, as without them we couldn’t carry on trading. 

THANK YOU for buying fair trade and for supporting small businesses here in Hull and across the globe.