Fair Trade Coffee

I decided to talk about Fair trade coffee since we can find it all around the world. This coffee “is purchased directly from the growers for a higher price than standard coffee”i. This product requires intensive labor and the gains obtained by producers are very little; these producers are usually from developing countries such as Colombia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico. ii

Moreover coffee prices are very volatile, in 2001 we saw prove of this fact: the “Coffee crisis”. The prices of the coffee fell abruptly everywhere as a result from an overproduction. A lot of people were affected by this event, from growers to retailers; the world was simply producing a lot more coffee than it was consuming. Nowadays the Fair Trade Certification gives workers a chance to improve, to work in better conditions and offer better products according to international standards or specifications of quality and sustainable production and therefore to ensure competitiveness and a fair profit for the producer.

These are the standards for Fair Trade Coffee Certification: i

Fair labor conditions: Those who work with Fair Trade farms are able to work with freedom of association, safe working conditions, and fair wages. Child labor is strictly prohibited.

Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating the middle man and letting the farmer compete in the global market.

Democratic and transparent organizations: Through proof of a democratic market, Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide how to invest Fair Trade revenues.

Community development: Fair Trade farmers and workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, healthcare services and quality improvement training.

You may wonder why it concerns you. Well, simply because this is closer than you think. Have you ever heard of (or been in) Starbucks, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s or Sam’s clubi? These places offer Fair Trade certified coffee around the world or in many countries due to the increasing demand of this product by consumers.

Is fair trade really fair?

Fair trade certifies many different products in many countries; diversity is the perfect word to describe the situation. Developed and developing countries of course don’t have the very same opportunities and capability to compete in international markets, some countries have financial resources while others are strong in labor or natural resources. There are different opinions in this respect supporting or criticizing this practice, these are some of the arguments I found:

Pros

• Fair trade protects producers from the volatile market.


• Producers can be sure that they are going to get at least enough to cover their basic costs to continue producing.


• Producers work in better conditions.


• Fair trade coffee is not more expensive than others because it eliminates the costs of middlemen.

Cons

• Large companies attract most of the consumers due to their advertising capability.


• Since eliminates middlemen from the production chain, a lot of people loose their jobs because of Fair trade coffee.


• The price for Fair trade coffee is barely above production cost.

You can decide whether these companies support fair trade because of social or economic reasons. Why don’t we talk a bit more about one of those?

Starbucks

The first Starbucks opened in 1971 in Seattle. Their mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” They offer quality coffee and a unique service to keep the clients’ preference. Nowadays they are in 50 countries with more than 15000 stores.

Starbucks has some principles related to the coffee, their partners, their customers, their stores, neighborhood and shareholders, where they show that they make an efford to give quality products and behave with respect and responsibility in the communities where they are.

The coffee in Starbucks is responsibly grown, following standards in four areas: Product quality, economic accountability, social responsibility and environmental leadership.

Starbucks says that “Fair Trade Certified™ coffee empowers small-scale farmers organized in cooperatives to invest in their farms and communities, protect the environment, and develop the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace.”iii They started selling it in 2000.

Do you want to know more about fair trade coffee or some of the companies that we mentioned? Follow these links:

http://www.starbucks.com/

http://www.fairtrade.net/