Present Company

General information

Present Company was established in Burgess Hill, West Sussex in 1987 with a remit "to do something different.” Although a successful business, we have remained small enough to ensure we are able to control all aspects of our buying – especially in respect of our long-standing commitment to fairly traded products from the developing world.

We make regular overseas visits to meet our suppliers, in countries including: Indonesia, India, Nepal and Thailand. We deal directly with suppliers; often family-run businesses operating out of their homes. Such employment helps to maintain small economic communities; allowing people to remain in their own villages, instead of having to migrate and seek work in cities - where prospects and living conditions are usually poor and family/community support often non-existent.

We seek to establish long term relationships with our suppliers – some have been supplying us for in excess of 20 years. We buy at fair prices and pay all our suppliers to agreed terms. We pay our suppliers in the developing world a percentage cash payment ‘up front’; allowing them to source materials and take on additional craftspeople to fulfil our orders. In this way they are able to avoid loan sharks who seek to charge exorbitant interest rates on small, vulnerable businesses. We believe that business should be fair, ethical and beneficial for all.

Present Company is proud to financially support Elephant Family, an ambitious charity striving to prevent the extinction of the Asian elephant. We also have our sister company - Wild About Elephants. Where a percentage of every sale is donated to this wonderful charity.