JTS Director, Joe Osman, Launches New Book

I was encouraged by former colleagues to write something of my journey through Traidcraft which I joined in 1981 and, whilst never having written anything substantial beyond business papers and the occasional Traidcraft blog, I was reasonably positive that I could pull it off. It became very clear to me that the history and legacy of Traidcraft was something that deserved recording and, as I write in the introduction to my book ‘ Traidcraft – Inspiring a Fair Trade Revolution’, “I eventually concluded that I was probably the best, if not only, person to write something, given that I’ve lived and breathed the organization for much of my life.”

I met up with Richard Adams, Traidcraft’s founder, and he became a bit of a mentor during the process, reading the section covering his time there, and encouraging me to continue. In fact he was one of the few people who read the final manuscript. We agreed that getting contributions from others would be a sensible thing to do. So former work colleagues and folk from the wider Fair Trade world also contribute including suppliers, producers and all Fairtrade Foundation leaders since its inception. Richard also provides an epilogue to the book.

So what can people expect from the book? Well it’s inevitably autobiographical in nature, recounting Traidcraft’s history through my eyes and recounting some of my own experiences. It will inevitably be a bit too ‘technical’ for some given that I recount some of the ways in which Traidcraft’s model of Fair Trade evolved through the years and how policies changed and developed. It will probably result in the reaction “I never knew that!” especially in recounting stories about some of the key product developments that Traidcraft was involved with and recounting some of the background behind the development and growth of the wider Fair Trade Movement. I particularly enjoyed writing the chapter on Traidcraft’s journey and influence in Fair Trade tea which I was quite involved with and I also enjoyed the contribution from one of our close contacts at the Co-op who writes about the partnership that evolved between us in their journey to becoming probably the leading retailer of Fair Trade products. There may even be parts of it that some might disagree with or have a different version of events – although, as I write in the introduction, “History anyway is, in a sense, interpretive” so I’m more than happy to stick to my version! It will also cover Traidcraft’s origins as an organisation with Christian roots and mission and the challenges involved in that and I was particularly pleased to have a foreword contributed by the former Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.

‘Traidcraft – Inspiring a Fair Trade Revolution’ is published by Lion Hudson and is available from numerous online platforms. Amazon have paperback and Kindle editions. For those who might be boycotting Amazon, I’ve seen the paperback on Book Depository, Foyles, Hive and Wordery, and there are others who sell the digital version like Eden and Google Play. Then, of course, it’s available from Traidcraft online shop.