Why is Traidcraft a Christian organisation? What does that mean for what you do?

• We draw our inspiration from the life and teachings of Jesus, and from his death and resurrection. We were founded and continue to be led by people with an active Christian faith.
• We work with people of all faiths and none who share our vision and our commitment to the fight against poverty.
• We have a particular focus on mobilising the support and prayer of the UK Christian community.
• We commend the Christian faith through practical action and service to others, rather than through evangelism. Our Christian basis helps us to work effectively with other faith-based organisations and communities around the world.
• We believe every person is made in the image of God, and has a right to flourish and fulfil their God-given potential, both individually and in community with others.
• We understand poverty to be complex, and not limited to material shortage alone. Promoting well-being, dignity, participation, and relationships are key parts of our practice, and reflect our Christian perspective.
• We recognise the importance of caring for the world that God has created and promoting good environmental practices.

Our research shows that 90% of our Fair Traders, shareholders and donors are regular church-goers, but we believe there is much more that we can do to extend the breadth and depth of our support within that constituency. We are developing a range of resources and initiatives to help us in this.

At the same time we do not wish to limit our efforts to attracting churchgoers, and are keen to work with everyone who shares our vision of fighting poverty through trade.

Our legal governance rules require that directors of Traidcraft must be practising Christians, but we do not discriminate in the appointment of other staff on the grounds of their faith.

Our producers are also drawn from a wide variety of faith backgrounds.