Pictured: Oxfam volunteer Ricky Keung with Shona Hunter at the launch of the pocket guide in 2011.

The Ethical Entrepreneur

By Kate Lippiatt

“It just made sense” says Fremantle business woman Shona Hunter after attending her first Fair Trade meeting. Now, several years later, Shona is the author of a new ‘Pocket Guide to Fair Trade in WA’.

It all started for Shona when she was working at a local shop in Fremantle owned by the parents of her boyfriend. One day the barista asked if she wanted to attend a meeting on Fair Trade coffee. The meeting was so inspiring that she was moved to get on board with the local WA Fair Trade Collective. “What I found was that the national website was too broad,” says Shona. “There was no comprehensive list for consumers to easily access. People are interested in Fair Trade products, but they don’t want to have to search for it.” And that’s when Shona started to develop the guide.

It started off as an A4 sheet of paper, about four years ago. Adding on another year for production and design, Shona published an A-Z listing of places in Perth where you can buy Fair Trade products. The listing goes by suburb location, to make it easier for consumers to locate these places in Perth where Fair Trade products can be purchased.

Being involved with the Fair Trade Association helped Shona to work out who to put in the guide. “I knew a lot of Fair Trade licensees, and through my work with the Fair Trade Association I was able to gain stockist lists for people licensed with the logo”, says Shona. By having free entry into the guide, Shona hoped to produce an extensive and representative list for consumers. In fact by creating the list herself, she says she’s “not sure whether people even realise they’re in the guide.”

The main struggles trying to get the guide underway were time and money. Luckily for Shona, the Fair Trade Association of WA agreed to contribute funding, with anti-poverty organisation Oxfam matching this. Now it’s the time factor that is becoming an issue. “I would really love to expand on the Fair Trade Pocket Guide,” says Shona. “It’s hard to devote the time though with two young kids and a really busy organic catering business.”

Now that the guide has launched, she hopes it will be easier to get funding for a more extensive version. “The ultimate goal is to get it online, with more information, blogs and even company profiles.” At the moment the guide mostly contains information on where to buy fair trade produce, as well as some handicrafts. The immediate aim is to build the guide to include more retail-based products. “It will just depend on how much time I can viably volunteer to the project,” says Shona.

As if this isn’t enough, Shona is involved in sales and consulting for local businesses interested in Fair Trade. “Being an ethical entrepreneur is all about conducting my business in the most ethical and sustainable way,” says Shona. “From using eco-friendly paper in the printer, to consulting with businesses on how to build a Fair Trade product mix.” From this, to caring for her children, to running an organic catering business (The Hidden Pantry), and to writing a Pocket Guide to Fair Trade in WA, Shona is a truly inspirational lady.

The guide was officially launched last Friday the 13th May at a soiree at the City of Fremantle Council Chambers Courtyard. The launch was timely given the town was celebrating their first anniversary of being a Fair Trade community. Here we got to taste some of the delicious treats from The Hidden Pantry and other local Fair Trade supporters.

To learn more about Fair Trade and to download your copy of the guide, visit Shona’s website: www.theethicalentrepreneur.com.au.

Flourishnote: Do you buy Fair Trade? Do you go out of your way to do so? We'd be interested to hear your thoughts below.

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