About

About us

St Andrew's Fair Trade Shop

Our shop has been running for over 45 years and is situated in the St Andrew's Church complex. It is staffed entirely by volunteers. Any surplus the shop makes is given away to charity. Over the past 17 years we have been able to donate over £107,000.

We sell a wide range of craft goods made from wood, silver, stoneware and tin as well as fabrics, created by people from all over the world.

We stock over one hundred different Fair Trade food items from peanuts to marmalade, from spicy sauces to catering packs of coffee, tea and sugar as well as our amazing range of chocolate products.

Our nearly new area has clothing, household goods, ornaments and jigsaws. We have newly installed bookcases holding a wide range of books, both fiction and non fiction.

    Pop in for a browse

Our Mission


To dedicate The Fair Trade Shop at St. Andrew's to the glory of God

To support Fair Trade, a just wage and promote self-esteem for employees in developing countries by trading with companies which practise these ideals.

To raise money to donate to projects and organisations which seek to improve living conditions, health and basic skills amongst disadvantaged in this country and throughout the world. The criteria regarding beneficiaries is to be inclusive rather than exclusive and as such will support projects and organisations that are either Christian or do not comprise our Christian ethics.

To raise awareness to these aims and ideals amongst members of our church and the wider community, thus encouraging them to support the shop.

What is Fair Trade?

The goal of fair trade is to make sure that companies in developed countries pay a fair price to producers in developing countries for their work.
This means not just paying them in the short term, but also helping them improve their skills, increase standards of living and create secure and sustainable livelihoods for future generations.
Currently there are so many farmers in developing countries working hard to produce items that end up in our shopping baskets, however, they do not get paid enough to support their families and afford life's essentials - food, education and healthcare. Fair trade is based on partnership, which means that farmers and workers concerns should be as significant as other commercial considerations. However, most trade depends on low-cost labour and exploitation 
of natural resources, which is not fair and sustainable.

A little bit explaining how our shop came about.

We are now celebrating over forty years of what is now known as St Andrew's Fair Trade Shop. When it was first opened in 1976, it was known as the Care and Share Shop. 

Money had been raised to build a new shop by the hard work and foresight of Sheila Mutler. Always at the forefront of new ideas to help others, she began to hold what became known as Nearly New Sales. As the idea mushroomed to include many other items, it soon became obvious more space was needed.  So began the Care and Share Shop.
Initially the shop stocked clothes and bric-a-brac but gradually began to sell "fairly traded items' sourced from Traidcraft. Its aim has always been to help others, both selling items produced by those in need abroad and at home and to give money to organisations that help others.

Over the years the shop grew, eventually becoming a part of the new Church Complex in late 1996.

New ideas continue to be introduced. The Shop has now over 35 volunteer staff over seen by a committee of seven.

Donations
Our sales in the shop over the last ten years have allowed us to give away donations of over £107,000 to charities both overseas and at home. Below are some of the organisations we have been able to support.

Kenwood Trust

This local charity provides a number of health and social care services to help people to transform their lives for the better. For example, drug and alcohol rehabilitation and resettlement of offenders.

Bridge Trust 

Supporting single homeless people in Kent since 1991.

Crossways Community

This Christian charity provides residential care and support for adults aged 18-65 with acute to moderate mental health issues.

Shelter Box

They provide emergency shelter and tools for families around the world, who have been robbed of their homes by natural disaster or conflict.

Practical Action

This charity works in developing countries to provide practical solutions e.g. water, sanitation, food, agriculture, energy and disaster risk reduction.

Tools for Self-Reliance

Supports workers in some of the world's poorest countries by providing basic hand-tools and helping promote local tool making initiatives.

MAF

Mission Aviation Fellowship flies relief workers, doctors, pastors, school books, food and medicines to communities with little access to the outside world.

ROPE

Relief of Oppressed People Everywhere is committed to combating the impact of poverty across the world.  Working through a network of partners who are motivated by Christian compassion, their goal is to meet the immediate needs of individuals needs and communities, whilst always striving to create long term sustainable change in the lives of the poor.

HART

Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust uses first-hand evidence of human rights violations as a basis for a powerful twin-track programme of international advocacy in arenas such as the House of Lords and the media, and targeted aid-work focusing on sustainable community development, local partnership and regional networks of support.

Committee Members

Katharine Garland
Shop Manager

Jean Saggers
Craft

Katharine Garland
Food

Barbara Farnham
Cards

Doreen Dixon
Secretary/Nearly New
Carl Warren
Treasurer

Jan Dyer
Assistant Treasurer


June Dean
Committee member
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