Our History

On Tuesday, March 1, 2005, Fair Share opened its doors for the first time. After months of planning and preparation, at last our new fair trade shop was open for business.

The impact of Fair Share began long before it was ready to open. Local people and regular Berwick Shoppers, as well as the market traders, all showed an interest as they swathe empty butcher’s shop gradually being transformed. A good clean, spray paint on the tiles, some rewiring, new doors, a carpet and the various shop fittings eventually combined to make the place unrecognisable.

Fair Share is run by Immanuel Community Church, Soho (ICC). Although the church has been in existence since 1987 and had a steady growth for a number of years, since 1997, the numbers have shrunk for various reasons and the tiny church now meets with its sister church in Covent Garden.

Despite this, ICC still has a strong reputation in Soho, established through many years of service in the local community – and never before have we had premises which give us a 24/7 presence at street level.

The offer of the shop came out of the blue in a phone call from a local council officer. It was due to be demolished in a year or so if Westminster Council got approval of plans for a major redevelopment of the area. Meanwhile, the Council wanted the shop to be actively occupied rather than vacant as it had been for several months and was willing to make it available rent-free ‘for the sale of fair trade goods and other associated activities of the church.’

One year on, the Council has gone back to the drawing board regarding their plans for redevelopment so we are still going strong in Fair Share. We have had a favourable year and have slowly built up the business and developed relationships with customers. Fair Share sells a range of handmade gifts and cards from suppliers such as Tearcraft and Traidcraft as well as a selection of foodstuffs, including coffee and tea. In 2006, we will be expanding the range of suppliers we get goods from so that we can give the chance for some smaller organisations to get exposure for their products. It is worth stopping into the shop regularly to see the new items!

We are proud to announce that in February 2006, Fair Share was granted membership to the British Association of Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS)