Our Investors

Tracy's story

Tracy is married to Ian and lives in Lenzie with her daughter, Kara, who has been a Shared Interest investor since she was a baby.

“As long as I can remember, I have been interested in environmental concerns and practical ways of helping others. It was while travelling in West Africa that I really saw the daunting scale of poverty and also some shining examples of pride and determination as people used their skills and resources to trade their way to a better life.

"A few years later I came across Shared Interest and I was immediately inspired. Here was an ethical organisation that wasn’t a charity and was simply asking me to invest some of my spare money until I needed it again. While this investment was with Shared Interest, it would be used to support fair trade. What a great idea, I thought – my money could be doing some good time and time again, and yet I can get it back if I need it.”

Susan's story

Susan has been a member of Shared Interest for almost 20 years, and a volunteer for over a decade. She first heard about Shared Interest through word of mouth, she said: “About 20 years ago or more, I was on a train and got chatting to the person sitting next to me.  We talked about Fairtrade and the Women’s Institute - she introduced me to the Shared Interest Society.”

Susan joined as a volunteer in 2011, her motivation for doing so was to use her connections to widen interest. She said: “Being a volunteer has deepened my understanding of how the Society and the Foundation work. Forming co-operatives can help women to become active citizens - part of the decision-making process - both in the developed and the developing world.”

In 2009 Susan helped to set up a community shop in her village as a co-operative. She told us: “Membership is just £1 so anyone can become a member (many invested more than this to get the shop off the ground). Fifteen years on - we haven’t had a ‘dividend’ yet but we have a thriving shop). This is such a successful structure for bringing communities together in developing countries. I had my eyes opened by Shared Interest - I thought why not in the UK too.”

Investing as a group

One World Shop started in 1983 when a small group of people came together to do something positive about trade justice to relieve poverty in developing countries.

Business Manager, Rachel Farey said: “Once the shop was set up, we began importing crafts from producers in Bangladesh and India. When we heard about Shared Interest we were keen to support an initiative that helps producer organisations get financial support. We now feel connected to a wider ethical community by being an investor. We like to read all of the fascinating stories, some of which feature the people who produce our products. If you can invest even a small amount, your money goes a long way – producers in the Global South have immeasurable challenges to overcome to make a living and benefit enormously from our support.”