New Directors bring Renewed Vision to JTS
Mary Popple • Jul 06, 2020
Buy the food. Support the work. Spread the word.
JTS is Scotland’s leading fair trade food importer, distributor and educator. Our ambition remains to ensure that small-holder food producers in the Global South receive fair recompense for the wonderful foodstuffs they produce, and that here more and more people enjoy their products and understand the importance of fairness and trade justice on our planet.
Following reorganisation in 2017 which gave us the strong long-term JTS staff team of Martin, Nicola and Jade who many of you will know, we celebrated our 10th anniversary last year. Since then we have been building the JTS Board so that we can take on the challenges of the next phase in the life of the enterprise. Joe Osman, a former Director of Traidcraft who has worked in fair trade through all his working life, joined us in the middle of last year. Joe has written a book on Traidcraft which is soon to be published which tells the story of fair trade in the UK so far. He has brought to us his huge experience of understanding and developing supply chains of foodstuffs from producers in the Global South to consumers in Britain and Europe as well as a better understanding of the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO).
I am also delighted that Karena Jarvie, who is a stalwart supporter joined the Board earlier this year. She is a long term fair trader and has a very strong understanding of the mission and beliefs of the grassroots support for JTS. She is Chairperson of the Perth and Kinross FT Zone Group and a member of Kinross Fair Trade Group as well as a Trustee of Scottish Fair Trade Forum.
We have recently been joined by Alistair Menzies. He formerly worked in senior sales and marketing positions for both Traidcraft and Divine Chocolate and thus brings with him sound commercial knowledge of the food market place and particularly an understanding of introducing ethical brands to the wider retail world.
Lastly, our Managing Director, Tracy Mitchell has joined the Board after being associated with JTS for all of its ten years. John made a brilliant appointment back then. Besides being an excellent MD to work with, Tracy embodies the ethics and enthusiasm for trade justice that JTS stands for.
We welcome all our new Board members and together with John, Robin, Terry and myself these highly motivated people bring renewed urgency and vision to JTS as we enter the post-Covid world and we seek to become a truly sustainable enterprise.
Mary, Chair of JTS (mary@jts.co.uk)
Sustainable production a step closer, thanks to True Origin Partnerships
Our Updated Environmental Policy + Meet Our New Volunteers
Are you passionate about fair trade and sustainable partnering with producers in the Global South? Please read on. Board Member opportunities True Origin launched last year, building on the success of Just Trading Scotland. We’re now in our 16 th trading year and remain as committed to our social purpose as we did from our set up: working directly with smallholder farmers and communities in the global south to source the finest ethical foods. In 2024/2025, we expect a number of our existing Board Members to retire. We are looking for 2 passionate, socially conscious individuals to join our Board ideally with PR, communications, marketing/social media; and funding/business development skills and experience. As importantly, we’re looking for Board colleagues willing to ask questions, share our passion for fair, ethical trade, driving our brand (and supporting us with your networks) as well as your time commitment to the role. Interested in reading more? Please download our candidate pack for more information. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you. This is a voluntary position therefore the role is unpaid. Reasonable expenses would be reimbursed in line with our expense policy. To apply please send your CV and written statement to our Chair, Mary Popple mary@trueorigin.org.uk Closing date for applications is Monday, 8 th April 2024 noon.
We are delighted to welcome our newest Board Member, Simon Remington. Simon began his relationship with True Origin whilst working for Midcounties Cooperative, where he was Buying Manager. Simon has worked in commercial and buying roles for various retailers including Marks and Spencer, One Stop (Tesco), Spar (Blakemore) and most recently Midcounties Cooperative. He has also spent 7 years in the Airline Sector. True Origin Chair, Mary Popple said “Simon will bring fresh ideas, retail knowledge and a good working knowledge of the Co-op to our enterprise.” The board will benefit from his 27 years of experience in commercial roles as he helps to bring onboard new, like-minded customers, to enable growth for the future.
12 million Christmas jumpers are sold in the UK each year. Supporting our charity partner Transform Trade.
Read how True Origin Food and True Origin Partnerships are supporting rice farmers in Malawi faced with crop devastation due to climate change.
T his partnership builds on our joint work earlier this year to support Meru Herbs following the closure of Traidcraft. True Origin (then JTS) had quickly identified Meru Herbs as our most vulnerable producer partner at that time and we were thrilled to be able to create a link with Transform Trade who were able to provide a capacity building grant through their Producer Fund. Since then, we have been able to place a significant order with Meru Herbs, including a number of new lines (partly funded through our own Crowdfunder in April/May) and we are really looking forward to launching those products later this year. This one example highlights the value of working in collaboration with others in the fair trade sector and we are really looking forward to strengthening our joint work as Ethical Partners. Transform Trade have said “We’re pleased to be partnering with True Origin so that together, we can work for a world where everyone can enjoy the benefits of trade. True Origin is proving every day that business can be done differently, while Transform Trade works directly with the most marginalised producers and campaigns for a fairer trading system. “You will soon be able to top up your order with a donation to Transform Trade and support producers to build their businesses and advocate for their rights. To celebrate the new partnership True Origin are offering a free gift to Transform Trade supporters who place an order on their online shop between now and the end of October. " Our roots are in the alternative trade movement in the northeast of England and we draw support from across the UK and beyond. We work in partnership with ethical business, workers, farmers and social entrepreneurs in South Asia and East Africa to transform trade so that everyone benefits. Our focus areas are Fashion, Tea and Farming. We used to be known as Traidcraft Exchange. " Here’s a little more from Transform Trade " Within an unjust and broken trading system, we stand with the workers, farmers and social entrepreneurs who are transforming trade. We act as a resource partner, accompanier, influencer, networker and ally. We work at local, national and international levels, focusing on Fashion, Tea and Farming. We have a vision of trade which values all people and regenerates our fragile earth . " For more information on Transform Trade please see https://www.youtube.com/@transformtrade and https://www.transform-trade.org/ Sign up to hear more from Transform Trade: https://www.transform-trade.org/join
