Final weeks for Nelson’s Trade Aid

After nearly 50 years, the Trade Aid shop in Nelson will close its doors for good in December and it will also be the end of a 20-year role for its manager Margaret Court.

Trade Aid has been closing its 24 stores progressively since June to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the social enterprise.

Initially, Nelson was one of five that did not have a confirmed closing date, but Margaret says the store is winding down and will have its last day in mid-December.

Along with one other employee the store has about 15 volunteers, and Margaret says it will be the end of an era for the community that supported fair trade from small food and crafts producers around the world.

“It has been a part of New Zealand life, so quite iconic really. People remember going to Trade Aid with their mums and now they are bringing their kids in.

“We’ve always done quite well here. It’s a perfect town for Trade Aid. Our customers are quite knowledgeable about fair trade and have always supported us.”

Among the items that will no longer be available once stocks run out is chocolate from Trade Aid’s Sweet Justice Chocolate Factory in Christchurch, which closed in July. Margaret still has some of the last Sweet Justice chocolate on the shelf, but it’s taste will soon only be a memory.

Finding chocolate alternatives is going to be expensive as skyrocketing cocoa prices are putting strong pressure on chocolate producers around the globe and that will be passed on to consumers.

Rabobank recently reported that significantly higher chocolate prices will likely hit the shelves in the coming months, primarily due to a poor cocoa harvest in West Africa.

Margaret says the price of cocoa was a factor in the decision to close the Sweet Justice factory, with production challenges also in Equador and Peru where Trade Aid had sourced its cocoa.

The Nelson store will be gone by Christmas, but Margaret says it is like Christmas every day, with regulars making purchases.

Though the stores will be gone, Trade Aid customers can continue to purchase goods online.