Is Fairtrade Coffee Really Fairly Traded Coffee?

[dstrand]

This is a good discussion;
We've been roasting coffee for over 12 years, and the biggest drawback to NOT offering FT coffee, is the amount of explanation it takes, when perspective customers as why you don't offer it.

We're about to launch a new online venture, and rather than dance around the issue, we've decided to go with the flow, and offer organic & fair trade.

 

[expat]

dstrand, stick to your guns. Don't go with the flow.

I created a Coffee With Conscience logo to put on my bags. On my website I tell folks what that means. It works.

I do coffee tastings in supermarkets most every weekend and people come up and ask me about Fairtrade and I tell them I'm way beyond Fairtrade because my coffee has conscience. They look at the logo, say "cool man, keep up the good work", mentally check the box in their head, pick up two bags of my coffee, and head to check out.

I also tell folks that we're "fairly traded".

Also I've started putting business card size notes in my bags that say 'Learn the truth about Fairtrade' and direct them to my website where I've got a long explanation about what's happened to Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, etc. Now I'm getting feedback from the folks that actually go and read all the stuff, because they care, saying 'good job' and 'stick to your principles' and 'thanks for raising awareness on this issue'.

If you're interested in any of the info on my website take it and use it on yours. Also early on in this thread there is a reference to an article about this subject that you should link to from your website.

Not sure why I've become so passionate about this subject. I guess I'm just sick of all the lying and all the marketers twisting 'Juan Valdez' every which way just so they can make a buck. I'm probably to the point of losing a balanced perspective on the subject -- twisting the truth does that to me -- so feel free to reign me in.

 

[eldub]

So, what's the difference between your "coffee with a conscience" sticker and a "fair trade" one? Sounds to me like you might possibly be just exchanging one sticker for the other.

 

[andyrodgers]

it may or may not be as you are thinkning

 

[expat]

Eldub, you make a good point. Maybe I am substuting one for the other . . . ? I guess the best thing is for me to ask my customers what they think about it. I can tell you that I've been amazed at the number of folks who have commented to me directly at our tastings or via email about the issue and if nothing else the Coffee With Conscience logo has been a good conversation starter. "What's that all about?" people ask, we explain. It is great to see how passionate some folks get about the issue. Kind of restores your faith in humanity.

We do work hard to ensure that the provenance of our coffee is as documented as it can be.

Our main importer has certainly been an activist. They were making no-interest micro loans to farmers back in the 70s way before the governments and NGOs got involved. They were paying premiums for coffee before Fairtrade became such a movement. To me that's coffee with conscience.

Another guy we work with has his "feet on the farm", buying direct, and paying well above Fairtrade prices. Also he helps to educate the farms he works with on improved growing and harvesting methods. Granted he specializes in coffee from one Central American country but I'd say he has coffee with conscience too.

 

[Coffeemeplease]

Fair trade doesn't exist at least not anymore in my opinion. My family has been growing coffee for the past 60 years and as the eldest grandson I decided to leave the USA once I graduated from college and learn first hand from my grandfather and uncle about my families coffee business needless to say going from Miami to Nicaragua was quite a change but my biggest surprise was just how crazy it is that here in the USA we get a false illusion of giving back or benefiting someone by buying something with a label I can assure you most coops that were certified fair trade are just trying to fill there contracts with the cheapest coffee possible they are filling containers that's their goal. Like someone else mentioned here direct trade is the only way to go that is the only way to truly do something beneficial for a origin country that's the only way to avoid all the sharks. Good news is most people are starting to realize this we had many visits to our farms while I was there and we are actively pursuing direct trade.

 

[CanadianBrian]

All very good comments.
Expat, what is your website so that we can have a look?
I was dismayed when I took a look at the real numbers of what it costs the farmers to become "fair trade,organic certified" etc. It takes them how long to recoup these costs if they are a small/micro grower? Most of these farmers can't afford the costs.
Brian

 

[wmark]

My business partner recently returned from a trip where he met the head of the country's coffee federation. He mentioned that the guy couldn't get the bad taste out of his mouth after a meeting with SB. As mentioned earlier in this forum, they beat you up soooooooo bad, they negotiate to the fraction of a cent. They don't care that some farmer's have taken more care and have a better bean. They want to buy it all (in the area), and they want it at this price..take it or leave it.

 

[expat]

All very good comments.
Expat, what is your website so that we can have a look?
I was dismayed when I took a look at the real numbers of what it costs the farmers to become "fair trade,organic certified" etc. It takes them how long to recoup these costs if they are a small/micro grower? Most of these farmers can't afford the costs.
Brian

CanadianBrian my website is davenportcoffee dot com

 

[CanadianBrian]

Wow expat that is a fantastic website. Very informative and your blogs are great too. Congratulations on this and your ability and quest to educate coffee drinkers.
Brian

 

[expat]

I'm humbled! Thanks very much for the feedback.

 

[wmark]

[h=1]Canada’s organic food certification system ‘little more than an extortion racket,’ report says[/h]

Canada’s organic food certification system like

No completely coffee related but coffee is the same

 

[expat]

WMARK, I encourage all readers to follow the link in your post. I did clip this out of what I read . . .
========================
The organic certification industry’s “dirty little secret,” they write, is that “organic crops and livestock are not tested in Canada before they are certified, thus making organic certification essentially meaningless.”

The organics industry rejects that notion and defends the integrity of its members and the system. “Organic farmers and processors undergo scrutiny with audits and inspections against Canada’s organic standards. The organic standards in Canada are very robust,” said Stephanie Wells, Senior Regulatory Affairs Advisor with the Canada Organic Trade Association.

The CFIA said organic products are subject to its regular chemical residue monitoring program, along with all other food products. The federal agency, itself, does not provide certification, but rather accredits private businesses to do it. Most are for-profit businesses.

“The greatest perversion lies in the fact that most CFIA-accredited organic certifiers also collect ‘royalties’ of between 1% and 3% on their clients’ gross revenue,” the Frontier Centre report says. “So, a certifier really has no incentive whatsoever to crack down on a client who might be breaking the rules.”
===========================================

So basically this is the "Fox in the Hen House" part of the article on my website (which you can see here: More about Coffee with Conscience | Davenport Specialty Coffee RoastersDavenport Specialty Coffee Roasters).

All of this "organic" stuff has really become disheartening as the big retailers (think Wal*Mart) jump on board. Frankly, there just isn't enough organic food to go around. There aren't enough organic farmers in the U.S. to fill Wal*Mart's shelves as well as Whole Foods and so many others. So do you smell a rat?

And then folks like Whole Foods publicy confess that they've been misleading people and well, maybe what they were saying was organic really wasn't.

Then I read that the GMO folks are trying to get their crops labeled as "organic" so who can you believe anymore? Seems like everyone is in it for the almight buck.

Hopefully in other niches of agri-industry there are folks liks so many of the people in the coffee business that are blazing the tail of 'direct trade' and are shouting from the rooftops the truth about the sad state of Fairtrade and UTZ and Rain Forest Alliance and FSC and . . . the list of impostors goes on.

I really think we're in a war. I trust that the good guys will win or else we're all in deep do-do.

 

[wmark]

A friend of mine is a food inspector and has access to testing results.
Some organic foods are really more harmful than non organic. The problem is that most consumers, while they mean well, have to invest far too much time in every single product.

ie bananas, no benefit in eating them over non organic BUT eating organic root vegetables reaps a great benefit as they are vastly sprayed and absorb much of the chemicals sprayed onto the soil.

Here in Canada, no difference in the testing results for organic and non organic chicken.
No difference in organic and non organic coffee...........in fact, alot of coffee, while not certified organic is in fact organic as the poor farmer can't afford shoes, nevermind chemical fertilizers and pesticides.