Have you noticed how the words ‘Fairtrade’, ‘local’ and ‘sustainably sourced’ are more and more common on food and drink labels? As a central part of our everyday life, economy and ecosystems, food can be a major lever for positive social and environmental impact, and the University of Edinburgh has considerable weight in the Scottish […]

Javier Ureña Palencia, MSc International Business and Emerging Markets and Lauren Opstad, MSc Environment and Development, give an overview of their placements in Malawi looking at fair trade supply chains.

In May 2015 I presented a paper at the Fair Trade International Symposium, held at the Politecnico di Milano, entitled ‘How can universities better contribute to the fair trade agenda? Developing collaboration between researchers and practitioners in a university for social impact’. My paper focused on the case of the University of Edinburgh and its […]

The University of Edinburgh has been committed to fair trade for ten years, responding to student concerns. Like the fair trade movement, the university recognises that trade justice – a trading environment that promotes fair trading rather than exploitation of weaker actors, is crucial, rather than just relying on consumers switching to products that display […]

Liz Cooper, our Research and Policy Manager, reflects upon recent research on fair trade.

Liz Cooper, our Fair trade and Policy Manager, attended the 2014 Global Sustainability Standards Conference in London this May. Here she reflects on the day and the issues surrounding sustainability standards.

On 17th March 2014 a group of representatives of the University of Edinburgh visited HMP Shotts near Glasgow, to learn more about the type of work activities prisoners undertake in Scottish prisons.

Student volunteer Pascale Robinson reports on a fair trade campaigner training session she attended in February 2014, organised by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum.

Student volunteer Rachel Kaplan reports on the University’s public lecture on 25th February 2014 entitled ‘does fair trade make a difference?

Student volunteer Chloe Neal examines child labour in the cocoa industry and fair trade alternatives.