Santa Cruz Sentinel
June 24, 2000
By Jennifer Pittman, Sentinel business editor

When Father Hector Cruz of Our Lady Star of the Sea church drops by the Santa Cruz Roasting Co. today, it's not just for a cup of joe. He'll be blessing coffee beans that some of the poorest farmers in the world toiled to grow. He is joining coffee-shop owner Colleen Crosby to encourage socially conscious coffee-drinking.

Mayor Keith Sugar also is expected to be on hand with a proclamation calling for awareness of international coffee-production practices.

It's a long time in coming, according to fair trade advocates who say typical coffee production has dire environmental consequences and keeps small farmers dirt poor.

Fair-trade certification allows for cooperatives through which the owners of small coffee-bean farms can sell larger quantities, according to Deborah Hirsh of TransFair USA, an Oakland-based non-profit organization that monitors the practices of farmers and bean-sellers, and grants certification to those who follow fair trade practices.

Fair-trade labeling "encourages farmers to form themselves into a collective, which gives them power and volume, and they can tap directly to an importer," Hirsh said.

More than 500,000 farmers in 20 countries are represented in the 300 certified fair-trade co-ops, she said.

Crosby has been a long-standing advocate of environmental and social causes. The company's decision to expand its sales of beans grown by small farmers to support their economic progress is a natural one, she said. About one-quarter of her beans are now certified fair trade.

"We're trying to promote what we think is a positive idea and encourage people to learn more," Crosby said. "We're just in the beginning of a larger movement now. I'm sure there will be more roasters coming on board as more consumers request it."

It's not just a Santa Cruz political movement.

To date, 45 roasters, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area, have signed on to sell at least some fair-trade certified coffee.

TransFair tracked and certified 99.5 million pounds last year. Recent contracts with Starbucks and Tully's, two of the nation's largest coffee franchises, should double that number this year, Hirsh said.

Although certified coffee costs more -- $1.26 a pound vs. 80 to 90 cents -- Crosby said the price of a latte won't be increasing.

Retailers reap about 1,500 percent profit per cup of coffee, and should be able to absorb the cost without too much trouble, Hirsh said.