Fair Grounds

Fair Grounds is a United Kingdom-based fair-trade social enterprise and retailer associated with Bradford and Sheffield. Its purpose is to help people make more informed ethical lifestyle and purchasing choices by connecting consumers with handmade, recycled and ethically produced goods. The organization combines commerce with education: it sells products while raising awareness of social justice, international trade and the conditions under which goods are made. The enterprise was conceived by Nina Carter-Brown while she was studying Peace and Development Studies at the University of Bradford. After developing the idea, she travelled to Malawi to meet fair-trade producers and to understand their work directly. On returning to the United Kingdom, she developed the concept with Ian Carter-Brown and David Atherton. The new venture initially received support from ThinkBusiness@Bradford, a University of Bradford programme intended to help students establish businesses. Fair Grounds works with producers through what it describes as an ethical business model and maintains relationships with the people, families and cooperatives from whom it sources. Its product range has included handmade, recycled and other ethically sourced goods from producers in Asia, Africa and Central America. The organization presents purchasing as a way to support fairer remuneration for producers while also contributing to public education about ethical trade. Its commercial activity has included wholesale supply, retail sales through a shop in Sheffield, and temporary trading at fairs, festivals and other events around the United Kingdom. In 2014, Fair Grounds opened its first shop in Broomhill, Sheffield. In addition to retail activity, it has conducted an education programme in schools, with lessons and activities focused on social justice and trade. Fair Grounds has been connected with the British fair-trade retail and supplier sector through membership of BAFTS, the British Association of Fair Trade Shops and Suppliers. The organization received recognition at the Glastonbury Ethical Trade Awards in 2014 and was also named a winner of the Future 100 awards in 2011. The available reference material does not establish its current trading status, leadership, ownership, website or financial performance.

Fair Grounds developed from an idea formed by Nina Carter-Brown while she was studying Peace and Development Studies at the University of Bradford. Her academic interest in peace, development and global trade led her to consider how a commercial organization could help consumers make more ethical purchasing decisions. She subsequently travelled to Malawi, where she visited fair-trade producers and met people connected with the sector, including her friend David Atherton. The experience provided the practical basis for the enterprise. After returning to the United Kingdom, Carter-Brown devoted her efforts to establishing Fair Grounds. Ian Carter-Brown and David Atherton joined her as founding directors. The project received early assistance from ThinkBusiness@Bradford, a University of Bradford initiative designed to support students developing new businesses. Fair Grounds was established as a social enterprise rather than solely as a conventional retailer, with its commercial activity intended to support wider ethical-trade and educational aims. The organization’s sourcing model focused on relationships with producers and on trading conditions intended to provide fairer incomes for individuals, families and cooperatives. Its products were described as handmade, recycled and ethical, with sourcing links extending across Asia, Africa and Central America. Fair Grounds’ proposition was therefore based on both the nature of the products and the relationship behind them: customers were encouraged to see purchases as supporting producer communities and more just trading practices. Fair Grounds operated through several channels. It supplied fair-trade products on a wholesale basis, sold directly to consumers, and travelled to fairs, festivals and other events across the United Kingdom. In 2014, it opened its first shop in Broomhill, Sheffield, giving the enterprise a permanent retail presence in addition to its event-based activity. The organization also ran an education programme in schools, addressing social justice and trade and extending its work beyond the sale of goods. The enterprise became associated with the organized fair-trade retail community through membership of BAFTS, the British Association of Fair Trade Shops and Suppliers. Its work received external recognition before and after the Sheffield shop opening: it was a winner of the Future 100 awards in 2011 and won the Glastonbury Ethical Trade Awards in 2014. The available material does not provide a founding year, later ownership changes, current executives, financial results or confirmation of the organization’s present operating status.

• 2014

  First Sheffield shop opened

  [1]Fair Groundsen.wikipedia.org

  Fair Grounds opened its first permanent shop in Broomhill, Sheffield, supplementing its wholesale and event-based retail activity.

• 2014

  Glastonbury Ethical Trade Awards winner

  [1]Fair Groundsen.wikipedia.org

  Fair Grounds won the Glastonbury Ethical Trade Awards, providing recognition for its fair-trade and ethical retail work.

• 2011

  Future 100 award recognition

  [1]Fair Groundsen.wikipedia.org

  Fair Grounds was reported as a winner of the Future 100 awards, recognizing the enterprise among organizations associated with future-oriented social and business activity.

A mission-led fair-trade retailer and social enterprise combining ethical product sales with education about social justice, international trade and producer livelihoods.

• Ethical lifestyle products

  Handmade fair-trade goods

  Fair Grounds sells handmade goods sourced through fair-trade relationships with producers. The available description does not identify individual product names or specific categories, but presents these goods as products intended to provide consumers with an ethical alternative while supporting producers, families and cooperatives.

• Sustainable lifestyle products

  Recycled products

  Recycled products form part of Fair Grounds’ broader assortment of environmentally and socially responsible goods. Specific product formats and brands are not identified in the available reference material.

• Fair-trade retail assortment

  Ethically sourced goods

  The organization offers a wider range of ethical products sourced from producer networks in Asia, Africa and Central America. Its purchasing model emphasizes direct or relationship-based engagement with producers and aims to support fairer compensation.

• 2020

  Churchill Downs reaches settlement over Fair Grounds discharges

  Churchill Downs Inc. reached a $5.6 million settlement and was fined $2.79 million over unauthorized discharges of manure, urine, and wastewater at Fair Grounds. The government complaint alleged repeated discharges into the storm sewer system and nearby waterways; the settlement requires sampling, monitoring, and modeling.

  Source

Read more

• 2020.09.29

  Reported2020.09.30

  Churchill Downs reaches settlement over Fair Grounds discharges[2]Churchill Downs reaches settlement over Fair Grounds dischargesbloodhorse.com

  Churchill Downs Inc. reached a $5.6 million settlement and was fined $2.79 million over unauthorized discharges of manure, urine, and wastewater at Fair Grounds. The government complaint alleged repeated discharges into the storm sewer system and nearby waterways; the settlement requires sampling, monitoring, and modeling.

Read more

1. 1Fair Groundsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Churchill Downs reaches settlement over Fair Grounds dischargesbloodhorse.com