So often we receive great questions in our inboxes that are blog-worthy. This question appears every so often, but with this one I was reminded of the significance of the Fair Trade labels we see everyday, as well as the purpose of all the regulations and processes behind them. Now that I reread the email I see that I didn’t really answer his question. So I’ll add now that the CRS Fair Trade program only partners with coffee companies that carry only coffee certified by TransFair or are members of the Fair Trade Federation. For more explanation read below. Thanks again to Doug for his email.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

From the CRS Fair Trade Website

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Doug sent this comment:

.................................................................

How do I know that your fair trade coffee is truly fair trade? I met a coffee buyer who visited coffee plantations and dropped out of a free trade program because he found that the workers were not actually fairly treated and compensated. When he complained, they told him not to tell. —

 

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the question. It’s a question that I think needs to be continually asked and answered if we want the Fair Trade movement to expand but still remain true to its purpose of establishing a just economic system of trade with disadvantaged people around the world. No one wants to be a “tattle tale” but in this case your friend was right to complain. Without people speaking up when they see instances of injustice being call “Fair Trade”, the term will quickly lose its meaning and credibility.

So how does one know their fair trade coffee is Fair Trade? I think the first step is to look for a label that proves it. Fair Trade growers must be certified by an independent third party to be “certified Fair Trade”. The inspection and certification of growers is done by the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO). This is an international organization that makes sure that all the growers meet their standards for certification. You can check out what those standards are at http://www.fairtrade.net/producer_standards.html. The U.S. branch of this third party certifier is called TransFair USA and they license the use of the Fair Trade certified label on only products that have been produced by growers certified by FLO. So your average person can walk into any grocery store, see the Fair Trade certified label (as shown below) and know that the growers received a fair price for their coffee.

However, that’s not the only way to know if you’re coffee is Fair Trade. There’s also the Fair Trade Federation. The Fair Trade Federation (FTF) is an association of businesses and organizations who are fully committed to fair trade. That means they wouldn’t just carry a couple Fair Trade coffees, but all the coffee they sell must be Fair Trade for them to be a member of the FTF. Some of these companies may also carry the TransFair label on their coffees and some may not. But FTF members must also go through an inspection before becoming a member and members will display the FTF label on their website (as shown below) to let customers know that the coffee they sell is Fair Trade.

So is that it? Just looking for labels? I would say that’s the quick and easy way to do it. For me, step 2 is more fun but maybe a little more time consuming. And that’s getting to know the people you’re buying your coffee from. Fair Trade is about direct relationships. Like your friend the coffee buyer, your Fair Trade coffee provider has probably visited some of the places they buy coffee from. Buyers shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions about where their coffee came from. It’s very likely your roaster will have a great story to tell about the people growing your coffee and honest observations about the bumpy road some cooperative go down on the path to certification. Either way, they should be proud to share those stories and tell you more about how they choose to do business. A great example is Larry’s Beans in Raleigh, NC. While it’s under construction at the moment, they’re working on a system (literally labeled “Fair Trade Proof”) to allow you to track where your coffee came from and view all the paperwork (including their invoices) associated with it. Cooperative Coffees, a Fair Trade coffee importer for many of the CRS Fair Trade coffee partners, has also began to publish their paperwork online. You can check out the imports from APECAFORM, a cooperative in Guatemala CRS is working with, on their site.

Like your relationship with your friend who is a coffee buyer, I think it’s important that we get our information from a good source. And in the case of Fair Trade coffee, it’s possible to have a relationship with the people buying your coffee. I hope this answers your question and please feel free to respond if you have any more.

Thank you again for helping us continue the dialogue on Fair Trade.

Sincerely,

Katy

This entry was posted on Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.