In March 2020 Ethical Consumer viewed Traidcraft's website, www.traidcraftshop.co.uk, and found that the company sold a range of cleaning products and soaps - Clean & Fair. The information about the products stated that they were not tested on animals, but no information could be found about a fixed cut off date for ingredients, and the company was not listed in the NatureWatch compassionate shopping guide. The company therefore recieved Ethical Consumer's middle rating for Animal Testing and lost half a mark in this category.

In November 2020 Ethical Consumer viewed the Traidcraft UK retail website and saw that the company produced a number of products containing uncertified dairy, including biscuits and sweets. Though the company used organic dairy in its organic products, no further information on the certification of dairy was found on the website.

According to the UK Food Standards Agency web page (April 2020) 'GM in animal feed': "According to the European Feed Manufacturers' Association (FEFAC), at least 85% of the EU's compound feed production is labelled to indicate that it contains GM or GM-derived material."

"FEFAC estimates that the EU feed industry imports more than 70% of its maize, soya and rapeseed requirements each year. Significant quantities of maize, in the form of distillers' dried grains and corn gluten feed, are imported from the USA and much of this will be GM. The USA also supplies the UK with GM sugar beet."

Due to the prevalence of genetically modified (GM) animal feed, and in the absence of a policy stating otherwise, Ethical Consumer considered it highly likely the company's milk would have been sourced from cattle fed GM animal feed.

Therefore the company lost a half mark in the Controversial Technologies category. Furthermore, as the company used uncertified dairy as an ingredient it lost half marks in Animal Rights and Factory Farming categories.

In November 2020 Ethical Consumer viewed Traidcraft’s 2012 Purchasing Policy - which was the most recent available. The animal welfare section of the policy stated “Traidcraft believes in the desirability of good welfare practices in the production of raw materials of animal origin (e.g. leather, bone, hair, silk, honey). In partnership with suppliers, Traidcraft will seek to use materials from sources that achieve good practice in animal welfare”.

Traidcraft only produced Fairtrade certified honey, Fairtrade’s standards provided some provisions for bee welfare. For example, the promotion of integrated pest management, keeping the feeding of bees to an absolute minimum and out of season and the promotion of biodiversity. A number of the company's honey products were also organic. No further information regarding the specifics of Traidcraft’s bee management practices could be found. Considering the bee welfare issues associated with honey production (bee mutilation, killing of drones, colonies or brood to ensure maximum honey yield...), Ethical Consumer felt it necessary for companies producing honey to have a policy ensuring this was not happening in their supply chain. As a result Traidcraft lost half a mark under Animal Rights.

In November 2020 Ethical Consumer viewed the Traidcraft UK retail website and saw that it sold two items made of silk, though these were both out of stock at the time of writing. Although it had mentioned leather, leather did not appear to be a significant part of its business in 2020. It had one product made from leather offcuts, two made from recycled leather, one magnifying glass in a leather case and others using "vegan leather".

No discussion of the species of silk worm used or the production method used could be found. Ethical Consumer therefore assumed the silk to be 'conventional silk'. In the website's FAQs the company stated, with regard to leather and silk products, "We see the heritage in these materials. They’ve been used for centuries by artisans to support their livelihoods and their families... In stocking products made with silk and leather we’re connecting artisans to people that want what they’re making. All of our leather and silk products are ethically made, fair trade, and have been crafted by human hands." Traidcraft, therefore, lost half a mark under Animal Rights.

In November 2020, a search of the Traidcraft UK retail website found that it sold fish from the 'sustainably fished' Fish 4 Ever brand, including sardines, mackerel and tuna. Traidcraft therefore lost a whole mark under Animal Rights.