Trade justice campaign

We campaigned in partnership with Christian Aid for trade justice throughout 2005.

Trade Justice is a call for a change in the international rules governing trade so that poor countries have a chance to choose for themselves the policies that will help them trade their way out of poverty.

Campaign Highlights

  • We collected over 21,000 votes for Trade Justice from our customers, staff and supporters.
  • We ran a month-long advertising campaign in the national press to raise awareness of trade justice which generated many more votes for trade justice
    See the ad (PDF)
  • We supported a Mass Lobby of Parliament for Trade Justice in November. More than 8,000 people met with over 375 MPs in the biggest ever lobby of Britain‘s Parliament.
  • We supported the Global Week of Action for Trade Justice in April 2005. The Bank promoted the vote for trade justice in all our branches across the country, and we helped fund the ‘Wake up to Trade Justice' overnight vigil in Westminster, attended by more than 25,000 campaigners.
  • Our Chief Operating Officer, Sheila Macdonald visited Senegal with Christian Aid to see for herself how farmers there are suffering as a result of international trade policies.
  • As the campaign drew to a close at the end of 2005, we donated £118,000 to five charities, nominated and voted for by our customers. The donation was divided between ActionAid, War on Want, The World Development Movement, People & Planet and Traidcraft Exchange to fund trade justice work.
  • The bank sponsored a high-level round table discussion on Trade Justice with the New Statesman, ahead of the World Trade Organisation talks in December. Download a PDF of a special supplement on the round-table here
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