We welcome the passing of Scotland’s Community Wealth Building Bill, a significant step towards an economy that works for people, place and planet.

At its heart, community wealth building is about keeping value circulating locally: creating good jobs, supporting local enterprises and ensuring public spending delivers social benefit. That ambition strongly aligns with Fair Trade but it’s important to be clear that ‘local’ doesn’t have to mean inward-looking.

Fair Trade reminds us to look at the whole supply chain. From producers in the Global South, through importing, processing and distribution, to retail and consumption here in Scotland, wealth can be created at every stage, and shared more fairly along the way.

We already see this in practice. Take True Origin in Paisley, which imports Fair Trade goods from countries including Malawi. That trade supports livelihoods overseas and creates jobs locally, in warehousing, logistics and marketing, strengthening the local economy while maintaining strong global relationships. We are also heartened to see encouraging examples of social enterprise start ups such as Ujamaa Spice and ASIGE, led by young social entrepreneurs in Scotland, who are building businesses that recognise the importance of responsible supply chains from the outset.

This is the virtuous circle we want to see more of: community wealth building in Scotland that actively supports wealth building elsewhere, rather than shifting harm or extraction out of sight. Fair Trade enterprises show that it’s possible to root economic activity in place while taking responsibility for impacts beyond our borders.

As this new legislation is implemented, we look forward to working with partners to ensure community wealth building in Scotland remains outward-looking, values-led and aligned with global justice. Building fairer local economies should go hand in hand with building a fairer global one.