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.