Economics

Credit and debit card fees that are added to payments for goods and services will be axed from January, the government has announced

Jessi Baker, founder of blockchain technology platform Provenance, envisions a future where all physical products have digital histories, allowing people to trace and verify products’ origins, [...]

Autistic adults often experience difficulty in finding work, but IT consultancy and social enterprise Auticon reports a rise in demand for their skills

A Serbian social enterprise links skilled craftspeople with modern designers in a bid to reboot the beleaguered rural economy. Could a crowdfunding campaign scale operations up?

Pay inequality, zero-hour contracts and a sense of disempowerment are driving people to form co-operatives, finds a new report. The sector is strengthening despite an uncertain economy

An increasing number of digital and creative companies are setting up as co-operatives, boosting the UK co-ops scene

More than half of people in the UK are keen for their wealth to have a positive impact on society, research finds

While Trump’s administration grapples with its position on climate change, it’s worth stepping back to see the wider picture in the US, believes Lance Pierce, North America president of CDP. In [...]

International brands and retailers have formed a coalition to try to make sustainably sourced cotton the ‘mainstream choice’

Women often benefit most from internet access but millions of homes lack reliable power. We meet those leapfrogging into the digital age thanks to clean energy

From a surge of interest in repair cafes, to a new wave of workspaces for freelance makers, we explore fresh signs that we’re demanding a new relationship with ‘stuff’

This week’s Fashion Revolution Week, a movement that started in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster, rallies people to change the course of the fashion industry. Heather Poore from Hubbub UK [...]

From strengthening economies and family life, to improving gender equality and democracy, 10 ways a shorter working week could benefit us

From the ‘pay as you feel’ cafes transforming surplus food into feasts, to a restaurant that provides homeless people with fine dining – our pick of five projects that are democratising good food

A law that forces UK companies to publish details of their gender pay discrepancy came into force this week. Could it accelerate the closure of the 18.1 per cent gender pay gap?

France has passed a bill urging companies to respect employees’ time outside of office hours. Could similar legislation help people aged 25-34 in the UK – the group that is unhappiest with [...]

From participatory democracy to local currencies, signs abound that communities are taking power back into their own hands. Our pick of fascinating facts about people coming together

Iceland’s prime minister has announced proposals for legislation to close the country’s 14 to 18 per cent gender pay gap

Most agree that banks should keep our money safe and avoid unnecessary risk. But is the sector capable of much more than avoiding leading us into another financial crash?

The value of the UK’s organic market – which is in its fifth year of growth – now tops £2bn. While sales of non-organic items declined in 2016, sales of organic produce increased by seven per cent