Otago MBA Blog

Students from Otago MBA 35 got a taste of Trade Aid's history, vision and famous milk chocolate at yesterday evening's presentation by Dave Butler-Peck – a man who has worked with the organisation for the last 3 years and has a strong belief in Trade Aid's mission.

Everyone in the audience was inspired by the story of Vi and Richard Cottrell, a couple from Christchurch who started out with nothing but  20 handmade carpets and a desire to help. Their small business blossomed over the years, transforming from the Third World Shop of 1973 Christchurch into a global network which now runs 27 shops in New Zealand, includes 30 countries, 75 partners, 3000 products and is growing exponentially.

Butler-Peck discussed many aspects of this extremely successful, internationally recognised business, focusing particularly on the relationship between Trade Aid and its partners. Saurabh Rohilla, one of the students who listened to the talk, commented on the fact that “the group is “trading” to “aid” that strata of different societies who are struggling to even have a decent regular diet.”

The audience felt completely engrossed in the talk and the question and answer session spilled well into afternoon tea. Many important issues were raised, including the need for financial and social transparency, concerns with child labour, and questions of imposition of New Zealand values on foreign societies. Among others, a question of relevance came up – is Trade Aid really a business, or is it more of a charity? To which Mr Butler-Peck had this to say:

“Every shop runs as a charitable trust. It encompasses both trade and aid. The idea of aid is very important – there is a need for it, but we are a business, we do need to make a profit. We simply choose to give that profit back.”

Flickr Photos from the event: