Carry Somers

Carry Somers is a pioneer in Fair Trade in the UK. She is the creator of the fashion and accessories brand Pachacuti, founded in 1992.

Carry Somers is known for her social development work both in the UK and overseas. Pachacuti is best known as the only supplier of the Fair Trade Panama Hat. Working with co-operatives eliminates the intermediaries involved in the production process and enables the weavers to retain more of the value of the finished hat. Pachacuti's Fair Trade purchasing gives women a sustainable livelihood, enabling them to remain within their rural communities, fitting hat weaving around the agricultural cycle and their families.

Pachacuti is the first company in the world to be certified under the World Fair Trade Organisation Sustainable Fair Trade Management System. This is the first International certification of a fair trade, sustainable production process. Tools were developed to analyse the entire production process: raw material mapping, eco-mapping (production, waste, chemicals, energy, water) and production flow charts. Together with producers, Carry analyses where improvements need to be made and commits to an annual action plan. The assessment extends upwards through the supply chain, shipping, packaging, staff/management relationships, green utilities, energy and recycling. Pachacuti's products can be labelled Certified Fair Trade by WFTO UK0001-2009.

Pachacuti is also a pilot for the EU Geo Fair Trade project, the only non-food pilot involved. Transparency and traceability need to be improved within the fashion industry and this programme will allow consumers to scan a barcode and see Pachacuti's entire production process, from the straw to the weavers, complete with over 100 different social, economic, geolocalization and environmental indicators which will track change over several years.

International social development work has included capacity building, design training and support for community groups and co-operatives throughout the Andes, building a grocery store to improve levels of nutrition in a rural community in Ecuador, funding rent and food for Alcoholics Anonymous for a year in Ecuador and paying pensions, medical and funeral expenses for weavers.

She is co-author of the book Working Ethically, which helps business owners to find an ethical strategy which will benefit their suppliers, community and environment.

Carry was instrumental in Ashbourne becoming a Fairtrade Town and in the adoption of the Local Reward Scheme for independent shops in Ashbourne. She was one of the Government's Women’s Enterprise Ambassadors and frequently visits schools and universities to talk about Fair Trade and business ethics. Carry is also a Business Language Ambassador, teamed with Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in order to raise awareness of the importance of language skills. Pachacuti has won numerous awards for work within the local community. In 2010 Carry Somers started working with local schools and St Oswald's church to raise money to buy glasses for Pachacuti's producers. Glasses for Glasses days are now held annually at local primary schools and children wear sunglasses, glasses or home-made glasses to school for a day for a small payment which funds glasses and cataract operations in Ecuador.

Carry also co-founded Clean Slate, the UK's first fair trade and organic school uniform company