Fair Trade Coffee

Fair Trade is not charity, it is paying people fairly for their work.

    Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect that seek greater equity in international trade. Fair Trade helps coffee producers in developing countries to gain direct access to international markets, as well as to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. This includes access to capital and training. The coffee farmers then are able to improve their equipment and grow a quality product which is sold at a fair price. This leads to investments in community infrastructure, sustainable farming practices, schools for the children, and thriving families and  communities.

Fair Trade empowers farming families to take care of themselves - without developing dependency on foreign aid.

The Fair Trade Certified label guarantees:

A fair price

The Fair Trade Certified label guarantees that farmers and workers received a fair price for their product. The Fair Trade price means that farmers can feed their families and that their children can go to school instead of working in the fields.

Quality products

By receiving a fair price, Fair Trade producers can avoid cost-cutting practices that sacrifice quality. The Fair Trade producers' traditional artisanal farming methods result in exceptional products.

Care for the environment

Most Fair Trade Certified coffee, tea and chocolate in the US is certified organic and shade grown. This means that the products you buy maintain biodiversity, provide shelter for migratory birds and help reduce global warming.

Community impact

Empowered by the economic stability provided by Fair Trade, members of the COSURCA coffee cooperative in Colombia successfully prevented the cultivation of more than 1,600 acres of coca and poppy, used for the production of illicit drugs. In Papua New Guinea, the AGOGA cooperative, is investing in a medical team to meet the healthcare needs of its isolated rural community. In the highlands of Guatemala, indigenous Tzutuhil Mayans in the La Voz cooperative are sending local kids to college for the first time. Near Lake Titicaca, in Peru, the CECOVASA cooperative is assisting members from Quechua and Aymara indigenous groups in raising coffee quality and transitioning to certified organic production.

Most of the information on this page is from Transfair