Episode 1. 6th May 2025
In celebration of World Fair Trade Day, FTAANZ is delighted to welcome two inspirational business leaders from Laos and Indonesia who are leading the way in creating fairer, more sustainable businesses. In conversation with Susanna Bevilacqua, Chair of FTAANZ, we explore the future of responsible trade in a tough global market.
Our two guests are:
Retno Hapsari: a social and environmental activist who works as the Program Director at XSProjek, a non-profit organisation based in Jakarta. XSProjek helps manage plastic and other unwanted waste while supporting scavenger communities and providing education for children from low-income families.
Shui Meng Ng is a Singapore National, and holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Hawaii. Earlier in her career, Shui Meng worked on women’s development and travelled all over Laos where she got to know in depth about Lao culture and Lao handcrafts made mostly by village women. Together with husband she started a social enterprise called SaoBan in 2005 whose vision is to work with village women artisans to improve their livelihoods by producing and selling village handcrafts to buyers inside and outside Laos under the principles of Fairtrade. In 2001, SaoBan was rename TaiBaan Handcrafts. SaoBan (or TaiBaan) is now applying to be a guaranteed member of WFTO.
You can watch the entire interview here: “The Future of Responsible Trade Series” Episode 1.
