Trader Timeline & Checklist
Sustainability Is In Our DNA…
Shambala is completely and utterly committed to being sustainable, circular, regenerative, net positive, earth & life respecting, and future thinking – it’s in our DNA.
Over the last decade, with the help of our audience, artists, crew and suppliers, we’ve been able to achieve a massive amount, reducing the festival’s impact, and leading the pack in terms of festival sustainability practices. We’ve eliminated single use plastics, we use 100% renewable energy, we’ve reduced overall emissions by over 90%, and gone meat, fish and dairy milk free. Find out more on the website here.
We ask you to do some things differently, to encourage society to move with us on this mission to a sustained and safe future – and we hugely appreciate your support. This willingness by everyone involved to do things right helps us to explore better ways of doing things.
Your Stories
Many of you terrific Traders champion slow fashion, source super sustainable stuff and do amazing things to make your businesses as environmentally friendly as possible. We would love to hear your Stories!
Do you operate with the circular economy at your core? Do you counteract fast fashion with slow stuff? Are you a pioneering organic textile manufacture or leading the industry in some other way?
We want to continually bring the sustainability conversation to the fore forefront of the festival, to inspire fellow Shambalans, your customers and all our followers to be mindful when shopping. Please consider ways in which you might be able to display your values, stories and actions to customers at the event so we can work to bring change together.
Submit your story
Inspirational Trader Awards
We want to share the incredible vibes and efforts you’re bringing to Shambala this year, by crowning one business with our new Market Trader Award! This will go to the trader who makes epic efforts to provide their customers with products that take positive social and environmental impacts into consideration. Think meaningful relationships with their producers, suppliers, growers, deliverers, and customers! Envision businesses that put positive change at the heart of their model. Picture ways of bringing positive action to customers through products. We know there’s loads going on behind the scenes, and it’s time to recognise all your hard work!
Initiatives
In 2024 there are some site wide initiatives for Market Traders to be aware of:
We are single-use cup free in 2024! Please bring a hot drinks cup to use and ask your crew to do the same!
We estimate that prior to this initiative we were using-once-and-discarding over 30,000 cups per event. Reusable cups will be available to purchase and there are dedicated cup wash stations positioned around the arena so you can keep your mug pristine.
We eliminated single-use water bottles from our events in 2013, that’s a whopping 1 million beer glasses and potentially a 1.5 million water bottles saved to date!
There are water re-fill points across site. Please remember to bring a reusable bottle for water and encourage your staff to do the same.
We have a site-wide ban in place on all glitter that is not 100% biodegradable. We are currently only aware of one biodegradable glitter product which we allow for fellow Shambalans.
✨ Cosmetic Bioglitter PURE is ethically and sustainably sourced, made of a natural coating and cellulose core derived from hardwoods, from certified plantations, it is a 100% biobased carbon content, GMO-free substance, it is not carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic – so no a hazard to human health like regular glitter – plus it and it’s ingredients are cruelty-free and it is heavy metals free.
✨ Other ‘eco’ glitters have been found to be toxic, contain heavy metals, are tested on animals, are made of a plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is coated with aluminium to create a reflective surface – which degrades into microplastics (less than 5 millimeters big) and pollutes ecosystems leading to reduced feeding rates and lower reproductive rates in marine species. It sometimes contains minerals such as mica which is linked with innumerable human rights infringements with children working in dangerous mines in less industrially-advanced, developing countries. These glitters are not acceptable due to these implications and the more positive alternatives available.
✨ Plastics We would also like to end the supply of any items that are likely to shed any PVC or PET plastic, in particular sequins, body and clothing ‘jewels’ and beads as these are one of the things our Waste team consistency has trouble collecting up from the land.
Shambala does not allow distribution of promotional flyers, posters or stickers of any kind. Please do not bring or distribute these waste items at the event. We are working towards a circular economy where all materials used at the event are repurposed or have a planned life-cycle.
After removing meat and fish the next natural step in our journey is tackling cows’ milk. We have a site-wide ban on dairy and nut milk use in hot drinks in 2024 and ask all those on site to use a range of milk alternatives. We’ve done the research (check out our full Gone Off Milk Report) and based our policy on the most sustainable and ethical options available, but here’s a couple of facts to make the point:
- Each litre of milk produced requires around 1020 litres of water!
- Cows produce 25-30% of the UK’s methane emissions (the global warming impact of methane is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period).
- 26% of the earth’s terrestrial surface is used for livestock grazing, which causes significant damage to ecosystems.
Each year this simple switch to milk alternatives saves two Olympic-sized swimming pools full of water!
- No dairy milk to be used in drinks
- Soya milk must be sourced from within the EU and be organic
- No almond nut milk or hazelnut milk
- [New] All oat milk used on site must be supplied by our recommended supplier Wild and Furrow
?Click here for our Gone Off Milk report.
The environmental impact of various product brands vary significantly even with the same base-ingredient. The impact difference between certain brands of soya or coconut milk is dependent on where and how it was grown, for example. This is why we have made a list of products we can recommend based on the carbon impact, water usage, growing methods and company ethics.
- Wild & Furrow Oat Milk – Responsibly grown, local to site, independent producer, can be ordered onsite during the festival.
- Lucy’s Bee coconut–Organic, responsibly grown
- Plamil soya – Organic, sourced in Europe, organic and dairy-free products
- Good Hemp– Organic, highly nutritious, highly sustainable crop
Market Trader Updates and Info
WIFI and Connectivity
All traders are asked to accept both cash and card payments at Shambala. There are cash points for customer use on site and traders can pre-arrange banking and float from our onsite banking service listed in the Recommended Suppliers List.
Shambala will provide a dedicated network for your card payment devices across site and this cost is split equally between every single concession user on site. All stalls contribute to the cost of this infrastructure.
GETTING CONNECTED
- Bring your POS devices to our onsite WIFI team to manually authorise your devices (there will be no Trader WIFI password at Shambala this year!)
- Position your card device at the front of your stall
- If your till is at the back or you have a metal structure, contact traders@shambalafestival.org with an updated stall layout diagram that features your till position.
- CHECK YOUR DEVICE IS COMPATIBLE FOR OUR NETWORK SPECIFICATION by following the steps below.
IMPORTANT – Your Hardware / Device Specification
We will only be providing internet at 5GHz in 2024. There will be no support for 2.4 GHz devices. (5GHz is an operating frequency for devices and is not the same 3G / 4G / 5G signal reception)
We will be delivering the network at this technical standard: 802.11n / 802.11ac / 802.11ax so if your device lists any of these 3 standards or combinations of, then it should be OK. You may see them referred to by the more friendly WiFi 5 or WiFi 6 names.
How do I find out if my device meets these standards?
1. Find out the name / model of your device.
- Go to ‘Settings’
- ‘About my phone / device’
2. Search your device specification online
3. Look in the ‘Comms’ or ‘Mobile and Wireless’ sections or similar.
IF YOUR PHONE DOES NOT MEET THESE TECHNICAL STANDARDS DO NOT BRING IT – IT WILL NOT WORK
If you are struggling – you can hire a till device from Event Till who are on our Recommended Suppliers list.
If you do have any issues on site, please speak to the trader team who will get assistance for you.
- Please minimise plastic items, packaging, waste and single-use items of any kind at the event
- Use reclaimed, reused, sustainably sourced and low impact materials in your stall build and consider the life-cycle of all items and materials used.
- Design for reuse and recycling when incorporating anything into your stall set up
- Use less energy or more energy efficient equipment wherever possible e.g. LED lighting
- Work to reduce travel and transport impacts of both materials, kit, equipment and crew wherever you can
Shambala does not permit tatting at any time and considers it to be theft. Any trader or their staff members found to be tatting at any time, will be asked to leave and the trader would not be invited to trade with us in future years.
This year, all crew ticket holders are required to complete an online safety briefing before receiving their crew tickets. Please download your ticket and complete this briefing in good time before the event, as it will not be easy to complete on a mobile at Red Gate. Please also encourage your staff to do the same.
Prior to Thursday at 12:00 we are a building site and there is heavy plant machinery in operation across the whole site at all times. If you do bring children to site during these times, please keep them to camping areas and/or non-work environments and ensure they are accompanied by an adult when walking through site. Everyone on site must wear a hi-viz during build and break periods, including children. Please also note that children should not ride bikes on site before show-open, particularly not at night!
Please remain vigilant on site even in a place that feels as safe and friendly as Shambala. Get to know your neighbours, have a considered protocol of handling and protecting your float and takings. Please ensure that access through frontage either side of your stall is really secure – we have a collective responsibility for this. Do not allow anyone except your crew into your back of house.
If you see anyone acting suspiciously or watching your stall, report them to the trader team or a member of security as soon as possible. You may also consider using the onsite banking outlet to safely deposit your takings throughout the event, or to pre-order your float.
Traders are asked to leave site by 20:00 Monday 28th August. If for any reason you are not able to leave site by this time, you must come to the Production Office to notify us, else security may evict you from the site.
Procurement
Please ensure that the goods you trade with at Shambala have been sourced ethically, procured as sustainably as possible, traded fairly throughout the supply chain, are not culturally appropriative.
It’s time to stop fashion and shopping costing people and planet. We have a big job on our hands to make accoutrements sustainable and accessible. We know that we are at the limits of waste, pollution and resource depletion that the Earth can handle – so we need to move on from consumer culture, into a collaborative, conscious, caring culture of custom!
As a guiding principle, follow The Children’s Fire – which considers the safety and security for the successive seven generations. It is a good method of consideration when choosing materials, resources, ingredients and textiles. If it is likely to damage the health, ecosystems and environment for the future, then find a more ecological alternative.
That being said, we know you all have amazing stories and initiatives to share, so please take what you will from our suggestions!
Textiles
Fashion is one of most polluting industry in the world and a major contributor to climate change. As an example, roughly half of the 100 billion garments made annually are cotton, and it is responsible for many human rights and child labour abuses. It is the most widespread profitable non-food crop in the world, responsible for 220 million tons of CO2 annually. Fast fashion actually causes 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than all maritime shipping and international flights combined. It takes 10,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of cotton, and is the most heavily sprayed crop on Earth – just one of the ways it pollutes the land.
Incidentally, organic cotton uses 90% less water, and 46% less CO2 in processing. Organic production maintains soil fertility and avoids the use of harmful toxic chemicals, which builds biologically diverse agriculture whilst protecting the health of workers.
Find out more about the top ten worst fabrics for people an planet here.
Let us know about the challenges you’re facing with your fabrics, as this will really help us improve and tackle difficulties as a whole group. Drop us an email at sustainability@shambala-festival.org.
Upcycling
It makes good, sustainable sense to reuse what already exists in the world, giving it a second or third life! We could end the need for new if we adopted a more closed loop circular economy and reused what we have, first! Upcycling fabrics that already exist reduce the demand for any resource-intensive virgin (raw and new) fabrics, and helps us and customers vote with our money – by avoiding depleting, destructive brands than create insane amounts of clothes every year.
Here are some great resources for sourcing recycled, eco-conscous fabrics.
- Check out the amazing Scrapstore network across the UK. (https://www.reusefuluk.org/scrapstores-directory)
- Read The Stitch Sisters guide to sustainable fabrics (scroll down for stores to purchase from). (https://www.thestitchsisters.co.uk/blog/guide-to-sustainable-fabrics-in-the-uk/)
Let us know if you have any other great resources we could share, by emailing sustainability@shambalafestival.org.
Plastics
As you have probably noticed, we’ve been working HARD on plastic. Getting drastic, you might say! We have many festival-wide initiatives. But there’s always more to do – because since 2000 to 2019, plastic production doubled…and continues to rise. We’re working on ‘designing out waste’ from our festival production, as part of our Green Road Map: 2025, or ensuring everything is reused or recycled. But, as always, we’re on this journey and we want to work together with you on this journey!
Let us know if you have stock, items or ingredients that are difficult to avoid in plastic, by emailing us at sustainability@shambalafestival.org.
Packaging
In the past, we’ve seen market traders selling scores of items shipped in innumerable individual plastic bags from overseas. We have worked to discourage this sort of business behaviour, and will be focusing more on provenance of products in the future, alongside our improvements for food trading. Please think about your supply chains, and don’t give up on searching for more local, less-packaging-y solutions for your beautoful business! Shout us on sustianability@shambalafestival.org if you have any questions, comments or concerns!
Travel
It is still the case that transport causes over 90% of the event’s CO2e emissions. Please minimise where possible, and use the link in your e-ticket to balance carbon emissions via our partner Ecolibrium (www.ecolibrium.earth).
Cultural Appropriation
At Shambala we seek to celebrate global cultural flows and engage with different cultures with respect. As part of our commitment to diversity and creating an inclusive space we’ve been doing some introspection and learning, looking at our hidden biases and cultural appropriation. The term is alive and tricky, but in its most basic sense, we take cultural appropriation to be when members of a dominant culture pick and choose elements of another culture to enjoy or exploit from people who have been systematically oppressed by that same dominant group.
Our intent is to learn more about cultural misappropriation in festival settings in order to design it out of our fields, and to make Shambala a safe and welcoming place of genuine and generous cultural exchange. A resource that we have found useful on this subject is the Native Governance Centre which has some useful ‘guiding questions to ask’.
This is a journey and we are learning. We certainly don’t have all the answers. As part of this process we have written this statement of intent:
You all contribute hugely to what Shambala is, so we hope that you’ll come on this journey with us.
As such we ask you not to sell these items at Shambala 2024:
- Native American Indian headdresses or items reminiscent of this style
- Afro wigs or items reminiscent of this style
- Saris
- Kimonos
- Bindi or reminiscent accessories / make up
Please reach out to us with any queries or for support.
Shambala 2024 Carnival: Wild & Free!
“Wolves howl and lions’ roar, insects flutter and eagles soar. Deep, blue oceans, coral glowing. Whales singing, cockerels crowing. Iridescent beetle wings! Feathery, scaley, furry things! Slip out of your human skin and let the age of wild begin.“
Please support our audience in our carnival theme by providing materials or items to upcycle into costumes for the carnival this year.
Onsite Policy & Procedure
On Site Delivery Address:
Your Name, Your Stall Name
FAO Traders Team
Shambala Festival
Red Gate Production Entrance
Kelmarsh Hall Event Site
Northamptonshire
NN6 9LY
Cash on the Move will provide secure onsite cash banking services for traders, including supplying floats (coins and notes) and banking notes and unused coins. The banking unit will be positioned in a secure location onsite and will be open for the exclusive use of traders between 9am – 7pm from Thursday 24th August until Sunday 27th August, and 9am – 12 noon on Monday 28th August. Collection of float orders can be arranged for Wednesday 23rd August. Only cash will be accepted for banking (no cheques). All funds banked will arrive in your nominated bank account on or before Friday 1st September.
- Deliveries must take place before 10am.
- You must provide the Traders Team with a list of all expected deliveries, showing the expected date / time of arrival, along with the correct contact number for your stall.
- Delivery drivers can obtain a delivery pass on arrival.
- The maximum speed limit on site is 10mph.
- In adverse weather conditions, a ban on all vehicle movement may be imposed and your deliveries will be managed from the trader drop off point.
- Our Oat Milk supplier and some recommended suppliers deliver to site throughout the weekend, please contact the suppliers to pre-arrange this with them.
- Only one spare bottle of LPG can be stored at your stall at any one time. Additional cylinders must be stored in the site gas store.
- Our onsite propane supplier Festival Gas will remove empties and provide new cylinders as needed. You can arrange delivery / collection with the trader team or by texting the trader team’s text line number provided on site.
- Cylinder deliveries will be carried out before 10am each day
- Our onsite supplier will contact you prior to the show for you to pre-order your propane.
- No amplified music or PA systems are allowed unless it has been agreed in advance.
- Music must be kept to a reasonable volume as the site has strict noise levels that we must comply with – if you can hear it 1m away, its too loud!
- If you are told to turn it down, please do so or you risk your equipment being confiscated.
- Any front of house displays must be kept to within 2m of your stall, so as not to block fire lanes.
- You must also keep the area 10m in front of your stall tidy and free of litter but please do not install your own front of house bins as it compromises our recycling systems.
All traders are asked to accept both cash and card payments at Shambala. There are cash points for customer use on site and traders can pre-arrange banking and float from our onsite banking service listed in the Recommended Suppliers List.
Shambala will provide a dedicated network for your card payment devices across site and this cost is split equally between every single concession user on site. All stalls contribute to the cost of this infrastructure.
GETTING CONNECTED
- Bring your POS devices to our onsite WIFI team who will be on hand to manually authorise your devices (there will be no Trader WIFI password at Shambala this year!)
- Position your card device at the front of your stall
- If your till is at the back or you have a metal structure, contact traders@shambalafestival.org with an updated stall layout diagram that features your till position.
- CHECK YOUR DEVICE IS COMPATIBLE FOR OUR NETWORK SPECIFICATION by following the steps below.
IMPORTANT – Your Hardware / Device Specification
We will only be providing internet at 5GHz in 2024. There will be no support for 2.4 GHz devices. (5GHz is an operating frequency for devices and is not the same 3G / 4G / 5G signal reception)
We will be delivering the network at this technical standard: 802.11n / 802.11ac / 802.11ax so if your device lists any of these 3 standards or combinations of, then it should be OK. You may see them referred to by the more friendly WiFi 5 or WiFi 6 names.
How do I find out if my device meets these standards?
1. Find out the name / model of your device.
-
- Go to ‘Settings’
-
- ‘About my phone / device’
2. Search your device specification online
3. Look in the ‘Comms’ or ‘Mobile and Wireless’ sections or similar.
IF YOUR PHONE DOES NOT MEET THESE TECHNICAL STANDARDS DO NOT BRING IT – IT WILL NOT WORK
If you are struggling – you can hire a till device from Event Till who are on our Recommended Suppliers list.
If you do have any issues on site, please speak to the trader team who will get assistance for you.
Full power is active on site from Wednesday lunchtime.
In order that you can chill your perishable produce we will provide (extremely) limited power to all traders on Tuesday. Important – This power will only be for fridges and freezers!
TUESDAY POWER
Only for low energy uses:
- Fridges
- Freezers
- Laptops
Do not plug in or use:
- Kettles
- Refrigerated trailers / freezer vans (see below)
- Anything else!
Fridge/Freezer trailers will be asked to park in a dedicated place on Monday and Tuesday so that they can be powered properly until full site power is provided. We will provide a power connection to within 25m of your stall. You must bring enough cable in order to safely connect to our supply.
If you have any problems with your power, please contact the trader team.
• During the build and break periods the Shambala site is a building site and as such complies to CDM regulations.
• Children must be supervised at all times and should be kept out of the arena and away from build / break activities during set and take down periods. We discourage you from bringing children on to site during these times.
• Everyone on site must wear a hi-viz tabard at all times during build and break periods. If you do not bring your own, you must purchase one for each of your team on arrival.
• You will be taken through our site safety induction on arrival
After the event we will refund your trader bond if you have:
- Left your pitch clean and litter free
- Taken back waste note specific to trading at Shambala
- Managed your recycling throughout the festival
- Returned any equipment or resources either borrowed or hired from the festival
- Settled all outstanding financial arrangements with Kambe Events Ltd
There is a 3 strike rule in place for not adhering to the recycling systems which will result in the loss of your bond and potentially you being shut down:
- Greenbox Trader Liaison warning
- Trader Manager warning
- Trader Manager shut down
The recycling team will do everything they can to help you make it easy so this will only apply to people who really don’t make the effort!
Please note:
You need to send us your bank details promptly after the event so that we can refund your bond. We do not keep details on file so all traders are required to provide these by calling 0117 403 1428 and asking for Karen or Sarah. Where applicable we will automatically reconcile your power bill against your trader bond unless you ask us not to. Trader bonds cannot be carried across to use in future events. Please ensure you have reconciled your accounts with us by 30th November when our accounts close.
TRADER MANAGERS ON SITE
Martin Venning and Jodie Tellam
ON SITE TRADER MANAGER TEXT LINE
You can reach the trader managers by texting them with your name, stall name, followed by your question / query and they will come back to you as soon as possible. Please remember Monday – Thursday pre-show is particularly busy and they will come back to you on a priority basis. We will provide this mobile number to you when you arrive on site.
SUSTAINABILITY COORDINATOR – sustainability@shambalafestival.org
TRADER HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISOR
Our food safety advisor will be visiting you all to assess your H&S documentation, stall set up and readiness to open. He will also be conducting food safety spot checks throughout the weekend. He is here to help, so please feel free to ask for advice and guidance!
TRADER COORDINATOR
(Pre / post event only):
Please contact Sarah Mason (Concessions Manager) and Andrew Lucas (Event Production Assistant) on traders@shambalafestival.org or 0117 403 1428
We operate a comprehensive on site recycling system that aims to recycle 100% of all recyclable waste. Greenbox, our brilliant waste team will also be on hand to help you at every stage and aim to make your lives as easy as possible.
On arrival, the Traders Team will give you a recycling guide poster for easy reference in your kitchen
Please bring 3 bins to separate recycling in your back of house kitchen area.
If you have not ordered your own dedicated standpipe, we will ensure you are no more than 50m from a water point.
All waste-water must be disposed of in the tanks provided and should not be poured on to the ground.
We do not allow the digging of any type of sump or soak-away. If you have any problems please talk to our Trader Team.
Thanks for reading this Market Trader Guide. We look forward to working with you! Make sure your crew arrive with their tickets ready to be scanned at the gate and reach out to traders@shambalafestival.org if you have any other questions in the run up to the show. See you in the fields!