Fair Trade Coffee News

New domain for Fair Trade Coffee News

2006-11-19T18:00:00.000-05:00

While this blog will remain in this location for some time, as an archive of posts to date, the new domain for the Fair Trade Coffee News blog is: http://www.fairtradecoffeenews.com/

All new posts will appear on the new domain. So if you have this site bookmarked or have captured the feed, please change your bookmark or feed at: http://www.fairtradecoffeenews.com/

Thank you for your patience during this transition.

Nick

Fair Trade as an impetus for the growth of social capitalism.

2006-11-17T09:06:00.000-05:00

Fair trade coffee continues to grow in popularity. More and more people are hearing about it. And coffee drinkers find it easy to make the choice to support small coffee farmers simply by looking for the Fair Trade logo when buying coffee.

Herein lies much of the power of fair trade: people find it easy to “give” when they are going to buy something anyway.

Within the context of making a daily purchase, consumers feel very little internal resistance when paying extra to support a cause they agree with. Their frame of mind is quite different from when they are asked to make a charitable donation to a national or local non-profit.

Would you make a donation to a non-profit on a weekly basis? Most of us don’t. But we do buy fair trade coffee each week.

Our willingness to help when we are asked to make a purchase, rather than to make a donation, is a key driver of social capitalism.

Here’s a short excerpt from a recent article in Fast Company magazine:

“For guidance in this new realm, business is looking to social entrepreneurs. Not because they excel at that do-gooder thing, but because they have sophisticated, tested theories of change. They know their markets. They understand systems and levers of action as few others do. And, as many clever companies are learning, they can be great partners in endeavors that are good for the world and good for the bottom line.”

The success of the fair trade coffee movement has created a valuable case study for social entrepreneurs to explore.

If there is money to be made by doing the “right thing” through fair trade, what other opportunities are waiting just around the corner?

How many times do you find yourself saying "Wrong!" while reading this short piece on fair trade coffee?

2006-10-05T10:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a comment from a reader of the Daily Texan Online.

I found 11 places where I said to myself...Wrong!

"Poverty is definitely a problem that the world needs to address, but "fair-trade" and "living wage" policies are not intelligent ways of doing it ("Destitution in your cup," Oct. 2). Oversupply of any commodity will cause that commodity's price to plummet; these are the simple workings of supply and demand. Any policy that attempts to undermine them will also undermine any impetus for real change in the world.

Artificially rising the price of coffee so that farmers will earn wages that we deem "acceptable" will remove any motivation for these workers to learn new skills and for their children to focus on education. A better use of our time and resources would be to promote commercial and industrial development in the world's poorer nations, and then connect the indigent with these jobs. With fewer farmers providing coffee, the price of coffee will naturally increase. Furthermore, former farmers will find themselves pursuing high-tech jobs that pay better, offer better upward mobility and produce both products and knowledge that benefit the entire country.

Abandon those candy-coated yet noxious notions of "fair-trade" and "living wages" - we can do much better."

Is Fair Trade Coffee a Scam?

2006-09-24T10:19:00.000-04:00

No, it isn’t. But that’s what the headline suggests at the top of this blog entry.

The post and the comments which follow are interesting, particularly with regard to property rights in developing countries. But still, the headline is clearly provocative, and deliberately so.

The fair trade coffee movement is human. It seeks to do the right thing, but is still flawed in its execution.

But regardless of problems with its policing and administration, fair trade does result in improvements to the lives of small coffee growers.

And beyond that, it has a very important influence on western consumers.

It makes us aware and conscious of the impact of our buying choices. When we buy fair trade produce and products, we are making a conscious choice, based on increased awareness and the desire to do what is right.

At a time when so many of our buying and life choices are largely unconscious – that is to say, we make them without critical thinking and careful self-examination of our reasons – fair trade provides an important balance.

When people buy fair trade coffee, they not only support individuals, groups and communities in developing countries, but also raise the social consciousness of Western consumers, even if only by a fraction.

And over time, that can make a big difference, even if the number of people consistently supporting fair trade is still relatively small.

As anthropologist Margaret Meade said, "Never underestimate the ability of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world. Indeed, that's the only way it's ever happened".

An excellent background to the ongoing story of fair trade coffee

2006-09-17T10:18:00.000-04:00

Siel, aka Green LA Girl, has put together a list of previous “coffee crisis” posts, which make for very interesting and informative reading.

If you have just recently become interested in the fair trade coffee movement, you may want to read through her posts.

Also, she writes well...which always makes reading her entries a lot more enjoyable.

Fair Trade Coffee Workers being paid less than minimum wage.

2006-09-11T19:58:00.000-04:00

There are more cracks appearing within the administration of the fair trade coffee system.

This article, originally published in the Financial Times, unearths cases of fair trade money not going where it should, workers being paid less than they should, and coffee being sold as fair trade when it’s not.

Here is just a short excerpt from that article:

"Ethical" coffee is being produced in Peru, the world's top exporter of Fairtrade coffee, by labourers paid less than the legal minimum wage. Industry insiders have also told the FT of non-certified coffee being marked and exported as Fairtrade, and of certified coffee being illegally planted in protected rainforest.

This casts doubt on the certification process used by Fairtrade and similar marks that require producers to pay the minimum wage.

It also raises questions about the assurances certifiers give consumers about how premium-priced fair trade coffee is produced.

As I have mentioned before in this blog, these kinds of problems threaten public trust in fair trade and have the potential to bring the entire movement to its knees.

I’m not saying the administration of the fair trade system is not enormously complicated, especially when dealing with so many small growers in so many parts of the world. It is clearly a huge challenge to administer and police such a widespread movement.

That said, fair trade is enormously important to the world. Its impact on coffee farmers, the growth of social consciousness in the west…and its position as an alternative to free trade…make fair trade profoundly important to our future.

With the stakes being so high, I think we would do better to slow the growth of the movement, and make absolutely sure that it is administered and policed effectively. There is absolutely no benefit to pushing for faster expansion, if the foundations of the movement itself are shaky.

Without public trust in fair trade, we have nothing.

Fair Trade Coffee in Peru...up close and personal

2006-08-20T12:16:00.000-04:00

I recently came across Noah Enelow’s blog, and I look forward to following his progress.

He is an economist and, from what I understand, he will shortly be embarking on a year-long research visit to Peru.

His intention is to study the workings and impact of fair trade on coffee farmers at the local level, where it happens.

Personally, I look forward to reading his journal. We all see and hear a great deal about fair trade coffee in the West (or North). But what has been missing for me, and maybe others, is a clear picture of what it means at the local, community level in regions where small farmers participate in fair trade cooperatives.

I wish Noah luck, and hope he finds the time to blog fully and frequently during his trip.

Who checks on where the fair trade coffee money goes?

2006-08-14T07:35:00.000-04:00

A French economist has recently published a book which takes a very critical look at the Max Havelaar Foundation. The Foundation, formed in the Netherlands in1988, argued for and established what we now see globally as the fair trade movement.

However, the author of the book suggests that all is not well in the management of fair trade.

I haven’t seen the book, but based on this article at swissinfo.org, there are some questions than need addressing.

For instance, the author suggests that there are almost no checks in place to ensure that farmers actually receive the extra money we pay when buying fair trade products.

"There are only 54 inspectors around the world, working on a part-time freelance basis to check and control a million producers. These checks do not take place on the ground but in offices, hotel rooms or even by fax."

I hesitate to draw fast conclusion from a short quote from an online article, and the article leaves much unexplained.

However, regardless of points of detail, if there is any truth in the charge that there is inadequate policing of how and whether the right amount of money gets into the hands of fair trade farmers’ cooperatives, then we have a problem.

If ever the day comes when the major, popular press runs a front page story on how the fair trade movement “defrauds” participating farmers, that is the day when the entire movement could begin to crumble.

Fair and timely payment to farmers is central to consumer participation in fair trade. People pay the extra money, and trust that it will get into the right hands.

If that trust is betrayed, people will no longer be prepared to pay more for fair trade products and produce.

M&S sees an increase in sales with fair trade coffee

2006-07-31T22:39:00.000-04:00

Would every retailer experience an increase in coffee sales by switching to fair trade coffee only?
Who knows. But from this recent article in the UK’s Guardian Newspaper, it appears that Marks & Spencer experienced a big jump in sales when they replaced their old coffees with fair trade coffee.

In March, M&S announced it would replace all 38 lines in its tea and coffee ranges with Fairtrade alternatives. Since then, the retailer says, coffee sales in its food halls have increased by 27%.

From a marketing point of view, this is fascinating news and potentially very good news for the fair trade coffee movement.

Look at it this way: if a local supermarket changed all its produce to organic, would they see a 27% increase in sales? Probably not.

What this figure indicates to me is that people are moved more by their support of social justice than they are by healthy eating.

There’s both good news and bad news there. But for fair trade coffee, it’s good news.

Can fair trade coffee break through the clutter of “green”?

2006-07-25T16:48:00.000-04:00

I have written in a few posts about the challenge faced by the fair trade movement when it comes to finding a place in consumers’ minds.

In a recent article in Brand Week they talk about how the whole “green’ thing is becoming confused in people’s minds.

Here is a short excerpt from that article:

"Is it about the environment, organic food or 'good-for-you' living? … It could be about all of those things," said Allen Adamson, managing director at Landor. "It is easy to say you are green, but consumers are skeptical. And because everyone wants to jump on the green bandwagon, all of a sudden it is noisy in this space, and it is hard to break through."

Both large companies and small send out messages about how green and responsible they are.

Many people quite rightly feel suspicious about these messages when they come from companies like Kraft and Nestlé – both of which market fair trade coffee.

The trouble is, that skepticism trickles down and damages the credibility of smaller companies too.

As I have said before, the fair trade coffee movement needs to create a clear, single message that resonates with consumers, is genuinely credible and is then used by as many fair trade coffee companies as possible.

When you’re in the middle of noise and clutter...your communications need to be very clear, honest and consistent.

How much can Intelligentsia Coffee charge for fair trade coffee?

2006-07-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

I came across this interesting quote from a piece in Reveries Magazine:

Intelligentsia Coffee may be paying “at least 25 percent above the Fair Trade price” for its coffee, but is turning a profit, “with 2005 sales of $9.4 million and a 2006 growth rate of 21 percent.” Intelligentsia’s keys to success are the idea that drinkers will pay considerably more for better quality coffee, and that growers can share in the margins if they produce better beans. Intelligenstia’s idea apparently takes notions of “Fair Trade” to another level — as “Fair Trade relates only to working conditions, not the quality of the coffee beans.”

Good for them. If Intelligentsia Coffee can get more money into the hands of small coffee growers, they have my vote.

But I can't help wondering just how much coffee drinkers are willing to pay. How high can prices go before people just say no?

The price of a good cup of quality coffee is pretty high if you buy it at a coffee shop.

Meanwhile, the price of good coffee at home is getting higher too. People are now spending $150 or more for the latest single-cup coffee makers, and anywhere from 25 to 50 cents per cup of coffee when they buy their K-cups or coffee pods to fit these fancy machines.

I have no doubt that each day at least one person shakes his or her head and remembers that you can make some great coffee with a handful of reasonable Arabica beans and a five dollar manual drip cone filter.

But what happens when a thousand people a day start shaking their heads?

Are coffee drinkers willing to pay more and more? Or is there a bubble here, waiting to burst?

Less than half of fair trade coffee is sold at fair trade prices.

2006-07-11T22:12:00.000-04:00

I was reading a long and interesting article in the Washington Post about the impact Wal-Mart is having on the fair trade coffee movement.

Then I came across this passage:

“For most fair-trade farmers, finding a willing buyer is the most difficult part of the process. About 35 to 45 percent of fair-trade-certified coffee is actually sold at fair-trade prices, according to TransFair USA. The rest goes for market value, undistinguishable from regular coffee.”

Did you know that? I didn’t. Perhaps it was naive of me to think that every pound of fair trade coffee grown would be purchased at a fair trade price.

If the figures are that bad, then there is a strong argument for supporting mass buyers like Wal-Mart.

But then again, if coffee farm coops become suppliers to Wal-Mart, they will run all the same risks that every other Wal-Mart supplier faces.

In other words, if you build your entire business and community based on a relationship with one company the size of Wal-Mart...what happens when Wal-Mart changes its mind?

It may be easy for me to say, in my comfy Western home, but my gut tells me that fair trade coffer growers should explore every other possible avenue before getting into bed with a partner like Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart’s financial self interest will always come first, and its commitment to ethical trading will be lucky to come second.

Fair trade nation – a national commitment.

2006-07-07T06:57:00.000-04:00

The U.S.? Canada? No. Scotland.

Scotland’s First Minister, Jack McConnell, has a plan that aims to have at least 40% of Scots buying fair trade goods and produce on a regular basis. His aim is to have the country focus on the need to buy fair trade and help disadvantaged producers in developing countries – not with handouts, but with trade.

This is one more example of the power of the fair trade movement...and how it is shifting perceptions and actions among individuals, companies and now even governments.

You can find more details in this article in Scotland’s The Herald.

Fair trade helps find new export markets for coffee producing countries.

2006-07-06T09:53:00.000-04:00

Fair trade helps find new export markets for coffee producing countries.

In this interesting article from the Tanzania Daily News, you can see how fair trade expands opportunities for developing countries in coffee growing regions.

With fair trade, Tanzania now finds itself with export orders to both Russia and Japan.

The deeper you look at the fair trade coffee movement, the more benefits you see. It helps individuals, communities, the environment...and the countries themselves.

Another niche...buy fair trade coffee in support of individual communities, regions or countries.

2006-07-01T08:16:00.000-04:00

In my last post I talked about buying fair trade coffee to support women farmers in Peru.

Another way you can target your support through fair trade coffee purchases is to buy from countries or regions that you feel need more support than others.

In this article on East Timor you will see just how badly that country needs all the support it can get.

Once again, it is wonderful to know that buying coffee can have such a beneficial effect on communities in so many parts of the world.

And as the trade in fair trade coffee continues to grow, we will have more and more ways to target our support to particular groups of coffee farmers, regions or countries.

Fair trade coffee supporting women coffee growers

2006-06-29T09:27:00.000-04:00

While more and more companies are now jumping on the marketing bandwagon and selling fair trade coffee, this is the first time I have seen a “niche” fair trade company seeking to support one group of growers in particular...women in Peru.

Take a look at the Cafe Femino Foundation web site and you’ll quickly get a sense of how appropriate and important this cause is.

How the fair trade coffee process works. An excellent explanation by Jason Cangialosi

2006-06-09T17:12:00.000-04:00

If you ever get confused by the process of fair trade...who does what, where the money goes and how etc, read this article by Jason Cangialosi.

I found it to be one of the best pieces I have read for anyone who is interested in fair trade coffee, but is having trouble finding a clear explanation as to how it all works.

Organic Coffee Lifestyle

2006-06-03T11:03:00.000-04:00

My apologies for the delay in posts over the last few days. It has been a busy week or two. One thing I have managed to get done is to put together a short page on the Coffee Detective site on the Organic Coffee Lifestyle.

It strikes me that coffee is one of the very few things we consume where we can make choices and do no harm from the moment the coffee is grown, to the moment we throw away the used grinds.

My Top 5 Fair Trade Coffee Companies

2006-05-31T12:36:00.000-04:00

In a previous post I wrote about compiling a list of my top ten ethical fair trade coffee stores. For now the list stands at five. If you know of others which deserve to be on the list, please let me know.

How did I choose them?

First I was looking for companies which went above and beyond the requirements for fair trade certification.

In other words, I was looking for a level of personal commitment. I wanted to find evidence that these companies weren’t getting certified simply as a marketing tactic. I looked for solid evidence that caring about coffee farmers and the importance of the fair trade movement was a true part of the company’s own values.

Based on my views about publicly traded companies, one company stands out as an oddity on this list...Green Mountain Coffee.

It wasn’t my intention to have any “big” companies on the list. But a big company that does good things deserves a mention. Green Mountain Coffee is on the list because they send a number of employees on a trip to coffee growing communities each year, on salary. They don’t have to do it, but they do. And it’s a perfect way for employees to see first-hand what coffee growing is all about, and the importance of fair trade.

This is just my first pass at this list. With your help I can refine it and maybe get it up to a list of ten companies.

In no particular order...

Thanksgiving Coffee

Just Coffee

Pura Vida Coffee

Green Mountain Coffee

Cafe Campesino

Could Nestlé’s reputation undermine the credibility of the fair trade movement?

2006-05-29T18:29:00.000-04:00

Last year Nestlé got into the fair trade coffee business, and now they are buying into fair trade chocolate.

An article in the UK’s Guardian newspaper raises an important question: Will Nestlé’s reputation cast a shadow over the goodwill people feel towards fair trade?

In other words, could fair trade coffee suffer by association?

Here’s an excerpt from that article:

The Swiss company has long been a target of campaign groups and the L'Oréal acquisition of Body Shop, which is expected to be approved by regulators on Wednesday, has brought the Swiss multinational into the spotlight again. A call to boycott all the company's products began almost 30 years ago, because of the way it markets its baby-milk formula in developing countries, and there are protest groups in 20 countries.

Now experts in ethical trading are watching how Nestlé will use its muscle in the fair-trade chocolate sector. A Nestlé spokeswoman said it had no plans to bring out its own fair-trade chocolate products.

There are also fears that Nestlé's reputation may affect sales of Divine. The Day Chocolate Company itself does not know what to expect from its new shareholder. "We are seeking clarification on our position," said a spokeswoman for Day. The Co-operative Group, Day's largest customer, would not comment on the implications until L'Oréal completed its acquisition of Body Shop.

The Fair Trade Coffee Top 10

2006-05-27T09:15:00.000-04:00

I have written recently about how both Nestlé and Kraft are selling fair trade coffees. Both benefit from the positive publicity that comes with being associated with the fair trade coffee movement.

Does their involvement help small coffee farmers? Yes, it does. The volume of coffee they buy and sell means more and more coffee farmers will be able to make a living wage for themselves and their families.

By the same token, although only 3.7% of the coffee that Starbucks sells is fair trade, that small figure represents a huge amount of coffee.

That said, as I think about where my loyalties lie, and where I want to give my support, it is not to these big companies.

Here’s my thinking...

First of all, they don’t need my support. Their marketing and PR divisions will wring every last drop of positive publicity from their involvement in fair trade coffee. They can take good care of themselves, and I am delighted that serving their own self-interest also results in better lives for so many small coffee farmers.

Second, their interest is financial only. They are driven by revenue projections, not by a concern over the economic and social welfare of small farmers in developing countries. Individuals within these companies will be concerned by the human issues, but the corporation itself is not.

Do I have some knee-jerk reaction against “commerce”? Not at all. I am big fan of a successful, decently run businesses. Particularly small and medium-sized businesses.

But when you get to the size where you go public, everything changes. The founders lose a great deal of control. Why? Because the act of going public puts a large chunk of shares into the hands of your investors. Now your board of directors includes more strangers than friends.

Whatever vision and passion the founders started out with, they will be faced with unrelenting pressure to put them aside if they conflict with maximizing revenues and profits each quarter.

Companies like Nestlé, Kraft and Starbucks have very little wiggle room when it comes to doing what’s right and decent, unless being right and decent happens to turn a profit.

In the world of fair trade coffee, my interest and loyalties lie more with smaller companies, like the Thanksgiving Coffee Company, just as an example. They roast great coffee, but are also genuine and transparent in their politics, and active in their help of small farmers.

It is in these smaller companies that you’ll find the grass roots of the fair trade coffee movement.

Which roasters and retailers do you think best represent the values and spirit of fair trade?

It might be interesting to develop a top ten list of small and medium-sized companies which do the most to promote and share the core values of fair trade coffee...

...The Fair Trade Coffee Top 10

Fair trade coffee revenues do reach the poor

2006-05-25T07:14:00.000-04:00

Read this hard-hitting article on aid to developing countries.

It underlines the importance of fair trade coffee...one of the few ways where individuals in the North can get money into the hands of people in the South...without it sticking to the fingers of middlemen and politicians in between.

The issue of fair trade coffee comes down to trust

2006-05-21T09:16:00.000-04:00

Whichever way you look at it, this is an issue of trust.

Small coffee farmers have to know they can trust fair trade certification organizations like TransFair USA. They also have to trust the companies which buy from them.

By the same token, the companies have to feel they can trust the farmers.

Then the buying public has to know they can trust both the retailers they buy from and the farmers who grow the coffee.

And so on.

Right now the simplest way to establish that trust is to use the existing FTC (fair trade certification) system and display the same FTC logo on coffee bags as everyone else in the system.

However, there are coffee companies like Cafe Campesino and Just Coffee, to name just two, which prefer to practice fair trade outside of that system.

They don’t want have the same FTC logo on their coffees as Starbucks has on theirs. Why not? Because they consider themselves to have a far deeper commitment to fair trade than Starbucks has...and don’t want to use a certification logo which might suggest they are the “same” in any way.

So how can they establish trust between themselves and the farmers they buy from, and with the customers they sell to?

The answer lies in the provision of information. If you want to work outside the mainstream FTC system, you have to inform and educate everyone you are dealing with.

And the communication of that information has to be sincere, honest and genuine. You can’t just say it, you have to be and do it.

Smaller coffee roasters and retailers can do this, I think. They can tell their stories, be heard, and build trust. And those with a true commitment to fair trade coffee will be recognized and heard.

But each and every company has to be aware of the line that divides those who promote fair trade coffee because they believe in it, and those who promote it because to do so seems like a smart marketing strategy.

If you fall into the latter group, the voice and activities of your company will betray you.

As an extreme, and perhaps predictable example, consider the voice and activities of Starbucks.

In this article in USA Today you will get a very clear vision of the kind of company Starbucks has become, and hopes to become.

Now read this short statement by the Chairman of Starbucks, Howard Schultz:

"Our customers have given us permission to extend the experience."

This kind of language means nothing to anyone, other than to fellow marketers who drown themselves in the same kind of industry jargon.

Would I trust anything that Starbucks says about fair trade coffee or fairly traded coffee? Not for an instant. Because I know that every move they make in the direction of fair trade will take place only if it has been shown that it will improve the next quarter’s financial results.

I have no doubt there are individuals within Starbucks who genuinely care about fair trade. But the priorities of the corporation and its investors will always limit what decent employees can do.

Underlying all this is the question every coffee company and roaster selling fair trade coffee will have to face, “Can we trust you?”

We need to recognize that question and address it...whether it comes from a coffee farmer, a customer or others in the industry.

The first step is to provide people with plenty of useful information about what you do and are trying to achieve.

Tell your story, and tell it honestly.

What is the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal of approval?

2006-05-19T07:36:00.000-04:00

In an article in the Financial Express there you’ll find this interesting announcement:

The head of Colombia’s largest coffee growers’ group vowed on Wednesday to make sure that 10% of its total coffee output will be certified by social and environmental programs by 2007.

It sounds like great news.

However, the “what constitutes fair trade coffee” debate continues. Why? Because from what I understand, the certification process being discussed is not through TransFair USA, but through The Rainforest Alliance.

These Colombian farms will have their farms certified by the Rainforest Alliance and have the little green frog logo on their bags of coffee. And although I looked through the literature, I couldn’t find mention of the dollar amount of the premium being paid to farmers under this program.

Once again, it looks like the fair trade coffee movement is becoming more fragmented.

Transfair USA is still handling the lion’s share of certification. But now we have Rainforest Alliance certification. Plus we have Starbucks “trading fairly” even when not fair trade. In addition there are numerous independent roasters and coffee shops which follow their own path to fair trade.

This is all well and good.

The problem with this disjointed approach is that the public will find it harder and harder to get a clear grasp of what fair trade is, and whether the coffee they buy is fair trade at all.

Marketers being what marketers are (benders of the truth), the time will come when one of them will design a “fairly traded logo” graphic for one of their coffee clients...but without any connection to or oversight by an official certification organization.

And then we’ll have a mess.

Certifying Fair Trade Coffee – a lot more complicated than organic

2006-05-17T08:27:00.000-04:00

Back in the day, when people first wanted to buy organic produce locally, there was plenty of debate among small farmers and the various certification organizations.

Not everyone was in agreement, and it took years for things to settle down.

But the issue of fair trade certification is a lot more complicated.

How come? Because the certification rules include a requirement for small coffee farmers to be grouped within cooperatives.

In itself, the cooperative requirement offers plenty of benefits to small coffee farmers who have spent years being taken advantage of by various middlemen. It gives them power as a group and protects them from those who would take advantage of them.

But this requirement to be a cooperative brings a serious set of problems.

First, it is easy for some small farmers to find themselves unable to join a cooperative. Maybe they live too far away. Maybe they are excluded for other reasons.

Also, it excludes all kinds of coffee roasters and retailers who do plenty to support small coffee farmers, but are not officially recognized as being fair trade certified.

Here’s an excerpt from a recent entry by greenLAgirl:

So usually I stick to recommending cafes that serve fair trade coffee — but I’m making an exception for Jones Coffee.

Why? This Pasadena roaster gets its coffee from Finca dos Marias, a large farm that’s been featured on PBS for its progressive, worker-friendly policies.

How does one fix that? How can one market and promote fair trade certification to the public at large, but also recognize that some people outside of the system do just as much good in their own way?

This isn’t the first time I have raised this question in this blog. But it’s a tough one.

Fair Trade, in our own communities...

2006-05-15T09:29:00.000-04:00

The thinking behind fair trade goes beyond fair trade coffee, and beyond helping small farmers and craftspeople in developing countries.

On Saturday (after drinking my fair trade coffee), I took three pairs of shoes to a small, local shoe store where they have an old guy who does shoe repairs. I told him what I needed done and he quoted me a price and told me when they would be ready.

It occurred to me as I left that I could have probably come close to buying some new shoes at Wal-Mart for the same price.

But I didn’t do that. Instead, I used my power and freedom to choose as a consumer. And I chose to trade fairly.

Isn’t that what I did? I think it is.

The plight of small farmers – within a broader context

2006-05-12T07:34:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking and writing quite a bit about fair trade coffee recently.

Today I thought I would take a few steps back and look at the plight of small farmers in developing countries within a broader context.

And it’s scary.

The sins of large coffee companies and governments relating to the coffee trade pale in the face of the actions of even larger transnational agrochemical and biotechnology corporations.

Find a comfortable chair and read through some of the background material on the EtcGroup.org site.

Biopiracy, genetic modification, nanotechnology, terminator seed technologies and intellectual property theft are just a few of the threats faced by farmers in developing countries.

Every major food crop, from rice to maize, wheat to potatoes and beyond is in the sights of large western companies.

These companies try to patent grains that have been grown by indigenous peoples for centuries.

They modify the genetics of the seeds they sell...so that the seeds of those plants are sterile. This means the farmer can no longer save seeds for the next season, but has to buy new seed from the companies.

They also modify the genetics to make the plants dependent on particular types of herbicides and pesticides which are sold, of course, by the same companies.

The list goes on and on.

OK...I’ll be back to fair trade coffee in the next post.

But just for a moment I wanted to take that step back and look at the problems of small farmers in developing countries from a wider viewpoint.

The wider you go, the more greed and destruction you’ll see.

Different views on fair trade coffee certification

2006-05-11T12:24:00.000-04:00

I have just finished reading Volume 1, Issue 1 of Just Things - The Fair Trade Journal of Applied Counter-Economics.

(And now I discover there was an Issue “0” before it. I’ll have to read that one too.)

Anyway, Issue 1 includes a number of interesting articles, but focuses mainly on sharing different views on fair trade coffee certification.

Some people insist that every coffee roaster and retailer should stand behind just one fair trade certification organization.

Others believe that one can still sell fairly traded coffee, and help farmers and the environment just as much, by supporting fair trade outside of the established certification system.

I find myself divided on this.

#1: Here’s me in support of everyone standing behind the same certification program:

It’s about marketing, clarity and transparency.

From a marketing point of view, this is a classic bell curve story. The early adopters have bought the fair trade story and are vigorous in their support of it. They will also inform themselves well. When they come across inconsistencies in how companies verify that their coffee is fairly traded, they will take the trouble to ask questions and figure out what is happening.

When they see Nestlé is selling instant fair trade coffee, they will know enough to understand that this doesn’t mean that Nestlé is a company that trades fairly.

Fast forward a little... As more and more of the coffee-buying public hear about and try fair trade coffee, we move up the bell curve into the mass market.

The mass market includes everyone who shops at a supermarket. They might start buying fair trade coffee for all the right reasons, but they don’t have the same thirst for knowledge and understanding you will find in the early adopters. They won’t ask the important questions. They are just doing their shopping.

When they see Nestlé instant fair trade coffee, they are more likely to feel, “Wow, good for Nestlé”.

In addition, when they come across inconsistencies in how fair trade coffee is labeled and described, they will become confused.

And if they become confused, they will lose trust.

The argument for a single certification system and seal is essentially a marketing argument.

One seal and one system makes it easier to communicate with the general buying public and avoids confusion and uncertainty.

#2: Me in support of companies which choose to work outside of the system.

The fair trade certification system is one more example of the North imposing a set of rules on the South. Different rules, different intentions...but otherwise the same old story.

“Trust us. We know what’s good for you.”

This paternalistic view may be rooted in the best intentions, but is ultimately open to a great deal of abuse.

Whenever the South trades with the North, there is a huge imbalance of power. And where you have an imbalance of power, you are opening the door to abuse of the system. One day, people will walk through that door. (Arguably, Nestlé already has.)

So when some roasters and retailers decide to trade fairly under their own terms, I say, “Good for you”. Individual choices to do good are far less susceptible to abuse. And a flood of individual choices by roasters and retailers becomes a true movement, insulated from all the bad things that can happen within the formal structure of an organization.

Where do I stand? My first point of view or my second?

My brain chooses #1.

My heart chooses #2.

And when it comes to tough decisions, be cautious about trusting your head. : )

Why don’t they love Starbucks in Europe?

2006-05-10T07:12:00.000-04:00

In my last post I was writing about some of the differences between fair trade in Europe and in North America.

And this morning I read an interesting article from Ethical Corporation about how Starbucks in viewed in Europe.

It seems that many Europeans are less than convinced by Starbucks’ commitment to fair trade coffee and sustainable practices.

Here’s an excerpt from that article:

Starbucks, he says, has, only in a “very modest way”, tried to “carve out a positive reputation”. But especially in Europe, where there is “greater sensitivity to globalisation inequities and coffee pricing issues”, Vogel believes Starbucks could do more to clarify and gain from its policies.

Is this just a European perspective? Or is it a sign of how perceptions might change in North America too?

Why doesn’t the government promote fair trade coffee?

2006-05-08T20:48:00.000-04:00

The U.S. government? The Canadian government?

The idea of a federal government promoting fair trade may sound a little outlandish to North American ears.

But it happens in Europe. Here’s an excerpt from an article in SustainabaleNews.org...

“Despite its growth, the American fair-trade industry lags far behind Europe's. One in 5 bananas sold in Switzerland is fair trade, as is 14 percent of all ground coffee sold in England. The list of fair-trade labeled products in Europe includes rice, mangoes, sugar, fruit juices, and even soccer balls. Europeans have been made aware of such products thanks to government-sponsored education campaigns - something not found in the US.”

Imagine if 14% of all coffee sold in North America was labeled fair trade. Right now, according to the same article, the percentage in the U.S. is closer to 2%.

So what makes European governments different? Are they more left wing and liberal? Not that I have noticed in recent years.

What makes them sponsor education campaigns in support of fair trade? And why doesn’t the same happen in North America?

For sure, the fair trade movement got started earlier in Europe. But beyond that, I’m not sure I know the answer, and would be interested in your thoughts.

Union leader dies protesting unfair trade practices of Nestlé

2006-05-07T21:14:00.000-04:00

Here is a short excerpt from an article on ABS-CBN Interactive by Shay Cullen.

The assassination and execution squads have sprung up in other towns and cities. But assassination squads are also active in the killing of students, farmers and trade-union activists. The brutal slaying at a picket line of a union leader protesting unfair trade practices of Nestlé shocked the Fair Trade movement. Nestlé boasts it is a FLO- certified Fair Trade coffee retailer. FLO has a lot to explain and answer for.

Did the facts unfold exactly as described in this article? I don’t know enough of the circumstances to judge.

But of you were to ask me whether I would be surprised to find a transnational company connected with the death of a worker or union representative in a developing country...no, I wouldn’t.

I think in the West (or North) we live in a state of blissful ignorance when it comes to how products and produce arrive in our stores.

You have only to look at what United Fruit did in Guatemala in the 1950’s to understand the lengths to which very large corporations will go.

And yes, it is troubling that a company like Nestlé can praise itself for its fair trade instant coffee, while failing to trade fairly as a company.

Fair trade is an important issue, not just as a way to support coffee farmers and their cooperatives, or just to promote sustainable growing practices...but also as an economic, social and political force.

Is it fair trade coffee or not? You have to be clear.

2006-05-06T09:37:00.000-04:00

A recent article in the Spokane Journal does a very creditable case study of a local roasting company, the Doma Coffee Roasting Company.

It’s a family run business, headed by Terry Patano and seems to be doing all the right things. They roast quality coffee beans, for the most part direct from farmers. And a fair bit of it is organic.

Patano’s heart is clearly in the right place. He loves roasting and supports a lot of good causes.

But here’s the part that troubles me:

“Doma’s products could be considered “fair-trade” coffee, but the company usually pays more for its coffee than the fair-trade price, he says.”

What does that mean, “could be considered fair trade coffee”?

It either is or it isn’t.

And if it isn’t, then associating the term with his coffees is damaging to the whole movement.

As with any certification program, it is essential to secure the trust of the consumer.

Consumers need to hear that term, or see it written on packaging, and feel confident that it is true.

If there is any “could” of “kind of” about it...consumers will become confused and lose trust in the entire program.

By all means talk about the quality of your beans, and even the individual farms from which they came.

But if they are not certified fair trade coffee beans, it is important to be clear and honest about that.

If fair trade coffee becomes known as something fuzzy with grey areas, the growth and momentum we are seeing right now could easily be stalled.

Drink their fair trade coffee...and invest in the company

2006-05-05T08:03:00.000-04:00

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters have been placed number one on Business Ethics magazine’s list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2006.

Good for them. They do some neat things. 20% of the coffee they sell is fair trade and 45% is purchased direct from farmers.

Beyond that they support a lot of non-profits, like Coffee Kids.

But what I like most of all is that each year they fly a few of their employees to cooperatives in South America...and have them see for themselves the hard work that goes into growing and processing the beans.

That’s a beautiful thing, and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a few people from each company in the fashion industry spent some time in the cotton fields of India each year. That might open their eyes a little.

The Business Ethics piece was then picked up by Motley Fool, the financial advice site.

Which brings us to the other side of supporting companies like Green Mountain.

Not only can you buy their fair trade coffees, but you can also add them to your list of ethical, socially conscious companies to invest in.

This way you can help the coffee farmers by investing in the companies which support them.

Cool + Community & Conversation + Starbucks = Success for fair trade coffee

2006-05-04T06:39:00.000-04:00

In an earlier post I was asking whether or not the growing success of fair trade coffee would extend to other products and industries.

I also began to wonder why the fair trade coffee movement has grown so quickly.

The editor of JustThings picked up the challenge and has listed a few reasons. Take a look and see what you think.

Myself, I’m not entirely convinced. I think there is more to it that all the practical reasons listed.

The more I think about it, the more I believe the success of fair trade coffee lies in “softer”, social reasons.

First, coffee is cool and something that is interesting to talk and write about. This blog, after all, is about coffee.

What if I tried writing a fair trade banana blog?

You probably eat a banana from time to time. But would you find a banana blog interesting?

Or maybe a fair trade jewelry blog?

The underlying issue is still fair trade. But of all the fair trade products, coffee is by far the most interesting to a large audience of readers.

Coffee may not have been a cool thing to talk about twenty years ago, but it is now. Or can be.

Second, coffee is about community and conversation.

People get together over a coffee...at home, at the office, or at a gourmet coffee shop.

And they do it every day, or pretty close.

This means coffee drinkers are talking together while drinking coffee on a daily basis.

Coffee and coffee shops have always been associated with conversations, going back hundreds of years to Middle Eastern, European and early American coffee shops.

Try opening a banana store and start stocking fair trade bananas. People won’t come in every day and try a different variety of banana, chatting about work, home, politics and...bananas.

And third, of course, the existence of Starbucks does wonders for coffee conversations...whether to praise the company for their quality coffees or to beat on them for having so little fair trade coffee. Starbucks keeps coffee in the news.

Finally, a couple of minor thoughts...

Coffees from different growing regions offer a huge variety of flavors, much like fine wines. So there is plenty to talk about and compare.

Coffee is grown in or close to tropical rain forests. Coffee growing is an environmental issue.

If you have any other thoughts, feel free to blog or comment.

There is great power in the words “Fair Trade”

2006-05-03T07:16:00.000-04:00

I believe it was Malcolm X who observed that the English language itself is a barrier to equal rights for people who are not white.

Black as night. The dark side. The Black Death.

Whether we like it or not, language plays a part in shaping our cultures, feelings and views.

Hence the problem with the fight against “Free Trade”.

Free trade is not free...it is simply a system by which the very rich of the North get richer, at the expense of people in South who get poorer. In human terms, it is indefensible.

However, the term “free trade” works against us. “Free Trade” sounds so good, so positive. “Free” is good, right?

You can look at this from the other side too. Consider the term “Global Warming”.

What can be so bad about something when the phrase used to describe it is so positive and comfortable? “Warming” is an enormously positive word...warming your hands by an open fire, a warm cup of cocoa etc.

So how can global warming be bad?

Seeking social, economic and environmental justice in the world would be much easier if the terms used reflected reality more clearly.

For Free Trade, use Exploitation Trade.

For Global Warming, use Environmental Destruction.

The language used is deliberate. One or two positive words in its name can give even the most abhorrent policy a glossy veneer.

However, as proponents of Fair Trade we also benefit from the power of words.

The word “fair” is extremely powerful. It is not only positive, and speaks of balance and justice, but also touches us at an emotional level.

We need to use the power of that word, in the same way as proponents of the current economic orthodoxy use the word “free”.

The cause of fair trade coffee is just. The power of the phrase fair trade is something we must use.

Will the success of fair trade coffee extend to other products?

2006-05-02T08:45:00.000-04:00

You can buy fair trade chocolate, bananas, clothing, rugs, crafts and a host of other products.

But none of these have had anything like the success of fair trade coffee. So far, at least.

Historically, cause-related purchasing has not been an easy thing to sell. Dozens of top non-profits have tried associating themselves with the sale of various products. “Buy this product here and 10% goes to us, your favorite charity.”

So what’s the deal with coffee? How come coffee has become such a successful rallying point for fair trade?

In a recent article at onphilanthropy.com, they cite the degree of success Green Mountain Coffee has achieved with fair trade.

The Fair Trade and Organic certified line is now Green Mountain’s fastest growing product line, accounting for approximately 16% of its sales in FY 2004. And this year, Green Mountain Coffee has announced its goal of having 35% of its coffee sales be Fair Trade and Organic certified by the end of FY 2008.

With that kind of growth, it’s little wonder that coffee companies are rushing to promote fair trade. This is a marketer’s dream come true: a product sector that people are actively asking for. Demanding even.

But the question still remains: why coffee?

What is it about coffee that drives people to demonstrate outside Starbucks? And why don’t people demonstrate outside supermarkets, demanding fair trade bananas?

I don’t know the answer. If you do, feel free to comment.

Fair trade coffee and...immigration

2006-05-01T07:59:00.000-04:00

We read plenty of information about the facts and figures of fair trade. But it’s interesting to see the benefits of fair trade being attached to a particular economic and social issue.

In a piece written by David Kennedy, after participating in a Global Exchange Reality Tour to Chiapas, Mexico, he looks at how fair trade can raise the incomes of coffee farmers sufficiently to help them stay on their own lands.

Those who can’t make a living join thousands of others on the road north to the U.S. border.

As Kennedy says, if a little less money were allocating to securing the border, and a little more were spent supporting fair trade, there would likely be a lot fewer immigrants seeking entry to the U.S.

Fair Trade Coffee Certification – It’s not just about the money.

2006-04-30T09:40:00.000-04:00

When one reads about fair trade coffee in the media, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the extra money that goes to the farmers...the guaranteed minimum of $1.26 a pound.

This is a core benefit, giving small coffee farmers a living wage.

But the fair trade coffee movement is about more than that.

As part of the certification process, cooperatives are strongly encouraged to use sustainable growing and processing practices.

This means composting, terracing, water conservation, reforestation, and minimizing the use of agrochemicals.

And it seems to be working.

According to TransFair USA, over 80% of fair trade certified coffee sold in the U.S. is also certified organic. And 80% is shade-grown.

I think it helps to see the movement within this broader context.

The guaranteed payment to small farmers may be the essential ingredient that helps growers and their families right now.

But the emphasis on sustainable growing practices is laying a strong foundation for the future.

This, arguably, is the true vision of fair trade: to build a sustainable future for the next generation of coffee growers, their families and communities.

Are you Fair Trade if Nobody Knows?

2006-04-29T09:24:00.000-04:00

The latest entry in the greenlagirl blog is very interesting.

She writes about a few of the challenges of getting companies to go through the process of becoming fair trade certified by TransFair USA.

She cites a number of coffee companies that do as much, or better than is required in order to be certified, but are unwilling to pay the price to get the formal certification.

This reminds me of the early days of the organic food movement. Many farmers had been growing their produce organically for a long time. And some didn’t feel they should be compelled to pay extra to be recognized for what they were already doing.

There were also some additional complications. Some of the rules one had to follow in order to be certified were rather surprising. So even growers who already followed organic principles had to change their ways a little if they wanted to be certified.

However, over time, most organic growers took the plunge.

Why? Because it gave them access to the market.

If they didn’t get certified, how could they reach customers who had started actively looking for organic certification logos on the products they bought?

As soon as a certification system is in place, and becomes recognized by the buying public, that small certification logo on your packaging becomes an essential marketing tool.

How else are people to believe you grow “fair trade” coffee if you don’t have the TransFair USA logo on your packaging and promotional materials?

The logo, or seal, becomes an essential credibility indicator. People look for it and expect it.

Not having the seal, and simply saying, “But we are fair trade under our own terms” won’t persuade your customers.

I understand the hesitation these companies feel. But as more and more people come to recognize the TransFair USA logo, and look for it when they are buying coffee, not having that logo will become a huge disadvantage.

Tags: coffee fairtrade

Coldplay Supports Fair Trade

2006-04-28T20:07:00.000-04:00

During the second leg of their "Twisted Logic" tour, January through April 2006, Coldplay continues to support Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign.

It's good to see such a popular band associating itself so closely with the fair trade movement. Often big bands, like big companies, are cautious about connecting themselves directly with good causes, unless they can see that it adds in some way to their bottom line. "Will supporting this cause help us in some way?" In other words, too many companies and celebrities support non profits to profit themselves, even if indirectly.

In the case of Coldplay, band member Chris Martin has been behind the campaign since 2002 and has traveled to Ghana to see the problems of poverty there first hand.

It's good to see. Celebrities have huge reach through the media, and their genuine commitment to a cause can make a big difference.

Nestlé sells fair trade coffee. But are they a fair trade organization?

2006-04-27T08:33:00.000-04:00

When Nestlé announced it was going to start selling fair trade coffees, some supporters of fair trade were delighted, others were infuriated.

Those who were delighted saw the entry of such a huge company into the fair trade coffee arena as a sign that even the biggest buyers and sellers of coffee were finally taking notice.

Others took a more sober view, and saw the Nestlé move as simply a way to look good in front of the public. A comparison might be when a global oil company creates a “green” campaign.

One is right to be cautious and suspicious, simply because Nestlé is one of the companies which have been central to using their weight and buying power to keep coffee prices so low.

When you look at the company overall, they are still a big part of the problem.

This raises another question.

Should a company like Nestlé be allowed to benefit from the positive publicity that comes with selling fair trade coffee? But then again, how could one stop them?

One way to address this is to have two different levels of certification. Certify the coffee as fair trade...but also certify companies.

It is to address this latter issue that IFAT was created. Their role is to support fair trade by certifying companies, not just their products.

As consumers we should be aware of this, and not only choose fair trade coffees, but also, whenever possible, buy from fair trade organizations.

"Before you've finished your breakfast this morning, you'll have relied on half the world"

2006-04-26T11:36:00.000-04:00

Who said that? Martin Luther King.

Had he been a little more brutal, he might have said, "...you will have trodden on the backs of half the world."

That's what happens when we brew our coffee each morning. We are enjoying the labor of someone else's back-breaking work. And they are paid in pennies.

That's why fair trade is important. That's why buying fair trade coffee counts for something.

Buying fair trade is a simple choice, but with far reaching consequences.

And that's a beautiful thing. Brewing a pot of coffee is one of the simplest ways in which you can fight for fairness and social justice.

Enjoy the coffee, and know that your purchase had a direct and beneficial impact on someone's life.

(Here's where I found the Martin Luther King quote...Make Trade Fair.)

How much more does Fair Trade Coffee cost?

2006-04-26T10:14:00.000-04:00

Fair Trade Certified coffee typically costs about 10 cents more per cup.

This figure will vary a little. First, it depends on what you buy when you’re not buying fair trade coffee. If you normally buy poor quality coffee beans, fair trade will likely cost you more than an extra 10 cents per cup.

However, if you are in the habit of buying Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee, many fair trade coffees will cost you less.

There is nothing “fixed” about coffee prices or the premium paid for fair trade. There is simply a minimum cost per pound for fair trade coffee, at $1.26. Or $1.41 for organic fair trade.

Prices go up and down with the market. Premium specialty coffees will always cost more, and fair trade coffees will cost more because every fair trade purchase gives a little extra back to the farmers who grow the beans.

Fair Trade Coffee in K-Cups?

2006-04-25T16:06:00.000-04:00

Isn’t the some contradiction here? Fair trade supports social justice and sustainable farming practices...and K-Cups end up in landfills.

I’m sure it makes great marketing sense...but there is an ethical contradiction here.

We have added a page on this topic to the Coffee Detective site, K-Cups filled with fair trade coffee – an ecological contradiction.

Finding a non-corporate coffee shop...

2006-04-25T08:32:00.000-04:00

If you like the idea of supporting coffee shops which aren’t part of some huge corporation or franchise outfit, you can now find one in your neigborhood...or somewhere you are visiting...with Delocator.net. (USA and Canada only so far.)

Very cool idea.

Fair Trade Coffee. Exploitation Coffee.

2006-04-24T16:26:00.000-04:00

It isn’t a recent post, but I enjoyed this blog entry from Marginal Revolution.

Here’s an excerpt:

How about a genre called "Exploitation Coffee"? You pay less, and they promise to treat the workers especially poorly. That wording is a less effective marketing ploy, but that is what quality differentiation and indeed "fair trade" boils down to.

It is well known that price discrimination can either raise or lower the average level of prices, but it does increase price dispersion. We can expect it to increase wage dispersion as well. It is harder to predict whether price discrimination will raise or lower wages at the bottom level of the scale.

By increasing output, fair trade can bid up wages for coffee producers. But fair trade also diverts some drinkers from Exploitation Coffee. If the switching effect is large, wages for producers of Exploitation Coffee can fall. Just as we have created two classes of market prices, so have we created two classes of market wages. If you believe that coffee producing firms have some degree of monopoly power, this is sustainable and again will increase profits but possibly worsen human misery for the poorest.

These are all "existence theorems." I would not be surprised to learn that current benefits from fair trade are positive. But since I am a development optimist, I have reservations about the institution in the longer run.

He makes a good point. If more and more coffee is purchased through fair trade cooperatives, then it is likely that less coffee will be purchased from the poorest coffee farmers who are not protected by the fair trade umbrella.

This is why it’s important, if one is thinking in terms of the well being of the growers, to spend your money on good coffee, as well as fair trade.

Buying good quality coffee encourages all coffee farmers to improve their growing and processing practices. It also means that when we pay a premium for quality, some of that increase in price will trickle down to all coffee farmers.

To protect the poorest farmers, the answer is not to buy only fair trade coffee, but also to buy quality coffees.

What Starbucks says. What Starbucks does.

2006-04-23T20:07:00.000-04:00

There is often a significant disconnect between what big companies say, and what they actually do.

Often under pressure from customers and consumer groups, corporations will say what they think people want to hear.

Unfortunately, they don't always follow up on their promises.

The best publicized instance of "I say it, but don't do it" in the world of fair trade coffee is the Starbucks Challenge. Two bloggers took Starbucks at its word when it promised it would always serve a customer fair trade coffee, even if it meant making a single cup with a French press.

The two bloggers challenged their readers to go to their local Starbucks and ask for a cup of fair trade coffee. Hundreds of people from all over the world took up the challenge. In most instances, they didn’t get what Starbucks promised.

The Times of London picked up the story recently and took a look at how much fair trade coffee big companies like Starbucks and Nestle really sell. The percentages are small. That said, the volume of beans sold is still significant.

Here is a short excerpt from the Times article:

Starbucks, meanwhile, could certainly do better, as could many of the other biggies. In the last financial year, only 3.7 per cent of the coffee it sold globally was Fairtrade, though this is up from the 1.6 per cent of the previous year. Nescafé’s Partners Blend, the Fairtrade option launched by Nestlé, accounts for only 0.02 per cent of its total coffee sales.

The moral of the story? Keep pushing the big companies...and make sure they keep the promises they make.

Buying Organic Fair Trade Coffee is even better...

2006-04-23T09:09:00.000-04:00

When you buy a pound of fair trade coffee, a minimum payment of $1.26 goes to the farmer, through his or her cooperative.

Many people assume that fair trade coffee is always organic. Not so. While the fair trade agreements limit the use of agrochemicals and encourage sustainable practices, there is no requirement for fair trade cooperatives to stick to organic-only practices.

So if you want your fair trade coffee to be organic, you need to look for it.

And here’s the good news. As an incentive to coffee farmers, the fair trade system will pay $1.41 per pound for fair trade coffee if it is grown organically.

Yes, you have the choice to buy organic fair trade coffee, even if you may have to look a little harder to find it.

You’ll find more on this topic on the Organic Fair Trade Coffee page at CoffeeDetective.com.

Only 1% of coffee is grown within fair trade cooperatives.

2006-04-22T15:40:00.000-04:00

What about the other 99% of coffee growers?

In an open letter on his site, Jeremiah Pick writes both about the importance of buying fair trade coffee, and also about the need to support and encourage other growers by buying specialty gourmet coffees, even when we’re not buying fair trade.

It is an excellent piece of writing, balanced in its support of both fair trade and other quality coffees.

Beyond fair trade..here’s another way to protect the earth when you buy coffee.

2006-04-22T09:47:00.000-04:00

Coffee sellers are an imaginative group, and many seem to have their hearts in the right place.

Beantrees Coffee, a seller of organic coffees, now sells what it calls BioGems Blends. For each bag sold, they donate one dollar to The Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit working to protect the world’s most threatened environments.

This isn’t the same as fair trade coffee, but it’s another expression of how the simple act of drinking coffee can support good causes.

When Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club starts selling fair trade coffee...

2006-04-21T07:34:00.000-04:00

I found an interesting article on the subject of how Wal-Mart is stepping up the competition with Costco by selling more “affordable luxuries” like fine wines, gourmet food and fair trade coffee.

I’m not sure how fair trade coffee comes under the heading of affordable luxuries...but if that’s what it takes to get Wal-Mart to sell it, I have no complaints.

When a company of this size, and this buying power, steps in and starts buying and selling fair trade goods, you can expect the impact to be significant.

Students Develop their Own Fair Trade Espresso Blend

2006-04-18T08:39:00.000-04:00

Students are naturally drawn to making political and social statements, and taking action. So universities are a good place to listen. Turn your ear to the local campus and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what is important to young people.

According to a recent article in the Puget Sound Business Journal, local students have done a little more than just raise their hands and voices in support of fair trade coffee.

The Fair Trade Coalition, a University of Washington student group, not only decided to support fair trade coffee, but actually got together with a local coffee company, Tully's Coffee. They then selected an espresso blend after tasting samples with Tully's toastmaster, Brian Specimen.

Good for them. The detailed action they took is a lot more powerful than just looking on the web and finding a supplied of fair trade coffee. Far better to put your boots on, find a local supplier and get involved at the community level.

Is Fair Trade Really “Fair”?

2006-04-15T20:37:00.000-04:00

Alex Singleton has written a provocative article that argues against fair trade, claiming that the fair trade system, while benefiting certain regions and cooperatives, actually worsens the predicament of the poorest coffee farmers.

The article is worth reading and thinking about. It’s no good just taking a fixed view that fair trade “must” be good, and therefore all arguments against it “must” be bad.

If fair trade is to grow and develop, then all those who support it need to understand its weaknesses as well as its strengths.

Towards the end of his article Singleton makes a very good point:

By using premium beans Starbucks on average pays three times the commodity price, despite the majority of its coffee not being officially fair trade. In fact, the average price it pays is $1.20 a pound, almost the fair trade price of $1.26. Despite attacks from anti-globalisation activists, the truth is that Starbucks has done more than anyone else in expanding markets and raising incomes for coffee producers in developing countries. It is the coffee chains that are the real superheroes of the coffee market, not “fair trade” campaigners.

I agree. I think the practice of using quality coffee beans has had a huge and beneficial impact on the coffee industry at all levels.

Fair Trade Coffee Sales Hit 100 Million Pounds

2006-04-14T20:18:00.000-04:00

According to a recent article in AgReport Farm Market News, TransFair USA has certified 100 million pounds of fair trade coffee for sale in the U.S. since 1998.

That’s quite a milestone.

Other figures in the article are encouraging, but slightly puzzling.

The article states: “...nearly 90% of Americans say it's important for companies to not only be profitable, but to also be mindful of their impact on society and the environment, with 70% saying they're more likely to support companies that do.”

90%? When I see a figure that high, apparently representing “all” Americans, I wonder how and where they conducted their polls. A lineup at Starbucks?

I don’t mean to be overly cynical, but I think more than 10% of Americans have more urgent issues on their minds...like paying their rent and getting food on the table. I’m not sure that even 70% of Americans have the luxury to pay extra for goods and services from companies which are socially and environmentally responsible.

Fair Trade is an important issue, and if we want the movement to maintain its credibility, we have to be very careful with the figures we publicize.

Maybe these figures really are accurate. But I doubt it.

When a Whole Community Supports Fair Trade

2006-04-13T07:14:00.000-04:00

In terms of support for Fair Trade and Fair Trade coffee we often think in terms of individuals making choices. We and people we know make the choice to buy Fair Trade goods.

From time to time we hear about a student union asking for Fair Trade coffee at their colleges and universities. No big surprise there...we have all been that age, and it’s perhaps the time when we are most likely to gather together with others and make our political and social views known.

But this is the first time I have heard of an entire town getting behind the Fair Trade movement.

In just one session the town of Welwyn Hatfield in England voted to support Fair Trade goods.

That’s an amazing leap. And it is encouraging to see Fair Trade being recognized and supported at the community level.

How Coffee Importers can make a Difference

2006-04-12T09:04:00.000-04:00

When we hear about Fair Trade and organic coffees, it is usually at the retail level. That is to say, coffee retailers and coffee shops make a point of letting people know that they sell Fair Trade coffees.

We also hear about the countries from which Fair Trade coffee is available, like Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru and others.

But what about the companies in the middle? The shippers, importers and roasters? Do they have any commitment to Fair Trade coffee?

It would be tempting to say no, and view these middlemen as being part of the problem, not the solution.

Happily, not all middlemen in the coffee business are “bad”.

Sustainable Harvest is a coffee importer and is very much committed to sustainable coffee growing practices. Here’s what they say on the home page of their web site:

Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers are green coffee importers of specialty coffees from the top organic and fair trade farms from around the world. Our customers are the most successful and quality-conscious roasters and retailers in North America.

We created the Relationship Coffee importing model as a way to help small farmers of exemplary coffee survive the current coffee crisis. Our business model is based upon the foundation of transparency, sustainable prices based on quality, and facilitating direct contact between roasters and growers.

In an industry where millions of growers are still struggling to make enough money simply to feed their families, it is heartening to see a coffee importer follow a business model that is designed to help small farmers.

Fair Trade Coffee finally available from Kenya

2006-04-09T10:35:00.000-04:00

Good news indeed.

This new addition to our choices of fair trade coffees was recently announced and written up well on Business Wire.

Here’s an excerpt:

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 2006--Answering great and long-felt consumer demand, TransFair USA -- the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade goods in the United States -- is pleased to announce that Fair Trade Certified(TM) Kenyan coffee is finally available on the market. While Kenyan coffee is one of the most sought after origins in the world, particularities in the Kenyan auction system have prevented many coffee farmers from accessing the fast-growing Fair Trade market, or from getting a fair deal on their sales to markets that they were able to access.

Coincidentally, we just added a page on Kenya coffee to our Coffee Detective site a few days ago.

The history and social and environmental impact of coffee

2006-04-07T07:12:00.000-04:00

If you want a quick primer on the history of coffee, plus some insights into Fair Trade Coffee and the social, political and environmental impact of coffee growing, this article is excellent.

A quarter of a billion people rely on coffee for a living

2006-04-06T20:14:00.000-04:00

That's an amazing figure.

When you think of the simple act of making coffee in the morning, or dropping by your local coffee shop, it's hard to make the leap...from drinking a cup of coffee to the lives of a quarter of a billion people.

You'll find more on this topic, and some other good links, in this issue of emagazine.com

Buyer Be Fair – The Promise of Product Certification

2006-04-01T19:37:00.000-05:00

Buyer Be Fair is a documentary film from Seattle independent producers John de Graaf and Hana Jindrova.

The film goes beyond just fair trade coffee, and explores how fair trade as a movement can contribute to social justice and environmental protection in developing countries.

Coffee as a force for social change in Rwanda

2006-03-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

We all know how the country of Rwanda has been through some turbulent and tragic times. There is an interesting article on fair trade coffee in today's Carolina Newswire about how one group there is trying to use coffee as a means to improve the lives of local communities. It never ceases to astonish me how something as simple as drinking coffee can be such a powerful agent of positive change.

How to support small coffee farmers

2006-03-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

We have just added a new page about coffee farmers to the Coffee Detective site. It takes a look at two ways to support small coffee farmers -- buy Fair Trade and buy quality beans.

The Politics and Commerce of Coffee

2006-03-25T12:22:00.000-05:00

The world of coffee is profoundly complex. Coffee is grown by poor farmers in developing countries and purchased by affluent consumers in the West. But along with our consumption comes a growing social consciousness. Coffee has become more than just a beverage. It also stimulates talk and action on social and political issues.

As our awareness grows, so does the pressure on companies such as Starbucks to brew and sell fair trade coffee.

But coffee roasters and retailers can do more than just respond to consumer pressure, they can also stimulate it.

This is the case with Thanksgiving Coffee, under the stewardship of Paul Katzeff. He not only roasts and sells coffee, but is also an activist in support of coffee growers. His is a company with a deep political and social conviction.

If only other areas of business were so driven by social conscience...

Fair Trade is the Fastest Growing Specialty Coffee

2006-03-24T20:49:00.000-05:00

If you have a little time on your hands, and some coffee on the stove, read this article from Reason magazine on the growth of both the specialty coffee market and the fair trade movement.

As you’ll see, nothing is simple. There are no easy answers. But we still contend fair trade is the best answer so far if we want any kind of equity between coffee drinkers and the farmers who grow the coffee beans.

Right now, outside of fair trade, people like us happily pay for specialty coffee drinks...while the farmers can barely feed their families.

Fair Trade - Does it Really Work?

2006-03-24T18:31:00.000-05:00

When you buy a bag of fair trade coffee at your local store, how do you know where the money goes? You pay a big premium, in the expectation that the promised $1.26 will get into the hands of the small farmer who grew the beans. Is this always the case? It's a legitimate question, and an important one. If the system can't be trusted 100%, then it will fail. Buyers of Fair Trade coffee need to be able to know for certain that the extra money they pay will get into the right hands. The International Herald Tribune published an interesting article on this topic earlier in the week.

Fair Trade Coffee

2006-03-24T18:10:00.000-05:00

This blog will explore new developments in the growth of Fair Trade coffee. There is a great deal of news out there on this topic, and we'll try to help make sense of where the movement is going, and how it is impacting coffee growers. We'll also be keeping an eye out for big companies doing bad things. You can find a primer on fair trade coffee here.

Disclaimer: We also write the Coffee Detective web site. We don't sell anything, so there is no conflict. On that site we write about all kinds of coffee, not just fair trade. But we believe small farmers have a right to earn a living wage. And right now, fair frade seems to be the best way to help them. So we'll be using this blog to tackle the part of the coffee business we care about most.