Honorary graduates 2010-11

Harriet Lamb (LLD)

Saturday 22 January 2011, 4:00pm

Harriet Lamb has been Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation since 2001. She has guided the Foundation through a period of staggering growth, which has seen estimated sales of Fairtrade products in the UK increase from £30m in her first year to more than £800m in 2009. The number of products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark has grown from 80 to more than 4,500. This enables some 7.5 million farmers and workers and their families across the world to participate in Fairtrade. A flourishing grassroots social movement has also grown across the UK. There are now 500 Fairtrade Towns – where a commitment to Fairtrade has been made by the council, shops and businesses – together with nearly 6,000 Fairtrade places of worship and 127 Fairtrade universities – including Exeter City and University.

Harriet came to the Fairtrade Foundation from Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) in Germany where she was Acting Director and Banana Co-ordinator. Before this, she worked as Head of Campaigns at the World Development Movement (WDM) and with other non-governmental organisations, always with an interest in international development issues.

She spent part of her childhood in India and as an adult, returned to work with farmers in rural villages and landless labourer cooperatives, and has travelled extensively in the developing world. Harriet did her degree at Cambridge, and an MPhil in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies in Sussex. In February 2008 Harriet’s book ‘Fighting the Banana Wars and Other Fairtrade Battles’ was published by Ebury.

Harriet lives in South London with her partner and two children. She was awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2006, chosen as Credit Suisse Outstanding Woman in Business in 2007, and Eco-Queen at the Ultimate Women of the Year Awards by Cosmopolitan magazine. In 2009 she was awarded an honorary degree by Aston University, Birmingham.