Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a social activist, but in the last few months, when buying coffee, I've made a concious effort to buy Fair Trade coffee wherever possible.
For those who aren't aware of Fair Trade coffee, and the
Fair Trade movement:
Originally Posted by CoffeeSearch.org
Fair trade coffee is coffee that is traded by bypassing the coffee trader and therefore giving the producer (and buyer) higher profits. Fair Trade does not necessarily mean that the extra money trickles down to the people who harvest the coffee. TransFair USA is an independent 3rd party certification that ensures that:
- Coffee importers agree to purchase from the small farmers included in the International Fair Trade Coffee Register.
- Farmers are guaranteed a minimum "fair trade price" of $1.26/pound FOB for their coffee. If world price rises above this floor price, farmers will be paid a small ($0.05/pound) premium above market price.
- Coffee importers provide a certain amount of credit to farmers against future sales, helping farmers stay out of debt to local coffee "coyotes" or middlemen
- Importers and roasters agree to develop direct, long-term trade relationships with producer groups, thereby cutting out middlemen and bringing greater commercial stability to an extremely unstable market.
Starbucks, among other retailers, sell Fair Trade, which IMHO tastes just as good as "regular" coffee, and most times it's cheaper.
I suppose that buying Fair Trade coffee is in the same vein as buying fruit and meat at farmers markets, without the middle man being involved. I'm not sure of any online retailers for the rest of the world, but
here is the OxFam website regarding Australian retailers that stock Fair Trade.
So down to the main point of this thread:
Do you buy Fair Trade Coffee?
Would you consider buying Fair Trade Coffee?