A new wave of gourmet coffee is emerging to cater to our cravings for social and economic justice as much as it does our cravings for caffeine. The Fair Trade Certified mark has been developed to assure consumers that the coffee we drink was traded under Fair Trade conditions. Since coffee is the U.S.'s second largest import after oil, and Americans consume one-fifth of the world's coffee production, there is a large potential for social and economic change.
Most small coffee farmers receive prices for their harvest which are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. Intensive coffee farming also leads to environmental problems, such as the contamination of air and water supplies through pesticide poisoning, which also affects farmers. Industrial coffee farming also contributes to tropical forest deforestation; the Smithsonian Institute has documented that the eradication of the natural environment of songbirds (trees providing shade to coffee) is a major contributor to songbird extinction.
Fair Trade Certified coffee works to correct these imbalances by guaranteeing stringent international criteria; paying a minimum price per pound of $1.26, providing much needed credit at fair terms to farmers, and providing technical assistance such as help transitioning to organic farming. Fair Trade means community development, health care, education, economic independence, and environmental stewardship for coffee farmers around the world.
The Fair Trade monitoring organization, TransFairUSA, is now certifying coffee suppliers nationally and can help you to get Fair Trade coffee into your local store or cafi. For information about where to find Fair Trade Certified coffees, contact:
Fair Trade Certified coffee can be found in over 13 countries, offering the quality beans of 500,000 farmers organized into 300 fair trade cooperatives in 20 countries worldwide.
Global Exchange is building a coalition of activists, church groups, educators, labor unions, businesses, coffee drinkers, and anyone who cares about social justice to be part of an education for action team to increase consumer demand for Fair Trade coffee in our own neighborhoods. Join us to make every cup you drink a vote for Fair Trade for coffee farmers by calling (415) 255-7296 and asking for Deborah James, and check out our website at www.globalexchange.org/economy/coffee.
We have succeeded in lobbying our city councils in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland to pass purchasing restrictions, limiting the city's coffee purchases to brands that are Fair Trade Certified and organic--could our city be next? City officials can make a big impression in supporting that buying Fair Trade Certified coffee is a simple, easy thing everybody can do on a daily basis to support fairness for farmers around the world.
At least when it comes to our daily brew, there is finally an independently monitored alternative to sweatshops that sets a standard for Fair Trade in the global economy.
What you can do:
- Buy Fair Trade Certified coffee. Call (415) 255.7296 for retail orders.
- Ask for Fair Trade coffee where you shop - grocery stores and cafis. A sample letter is on the webpage listed above. Get others to write letters and collect signatures on a petition.
- Make sure that your local workplace, church, school, or other organization serves Fair Trade Certified coffee at coffee hour or other events, and endorses the campaign. Wholesale distributors are listed on the website.
- Organize an educational presentation at your local church, school, or community group, and show the video "Santiago's Story: the Real Juan Valdez" by TransFairUSA, (510) 663.5260.
- Get involved in the Fair Trade movement! Contact Deborah James at (415) 255.7296.
