The Fairtrade Foundation describes their concept as follows:

"With Fairtrade you have the power to change the world every day. With simple shopping choices you can get farmers a better deal. And that means they can make their own decisions, control their futures and lead the dignified life everyone deserves."

We know how Fairtrade works for the individual consumer, but how can it resonate across all levels of business culture, and how can the HR community facilitate it within their strategies?

The latest People Leaders Network Event promises an exploration of how Fairtrade is driving Corporate Social Responsibility to be mainstream in everyday organisational practice!

About facilitator Ian Bretman: Fairtrade has been a consistent theme in the work of Ian Bretman over four decades. Witnessing the dismantling of Britain’s industrial base in the early 1980’s Ian left conventional business and moved to Oxfam’s trading operations, where the principles of Fair Trade were being established through a handcraft programme called “Bridge” that aimed to connect consumers in Britain with producers in the Africa, Asia and Latin America and was looking to expand its work in food commodities.

In 1997, Ian joined the Fairtrade Foundation as Commercial Director and Deputy CEO and led work on making Fairtrade part of the mainstream consumer environment in the UK. The visible success of his work in Britain led Ian to senior roles at Fairtrade International, the umbrella organisation behind the Fairtrade Mark that co-ordinates work in over 80 countries around the world. Although retiring from full-time work in 2016, Ian continues to be a volunteer member of the Board of Fairtrade International and combines this work with board roles in other charities and the NHS and consulting work on corporate sustainability projects.