Comments on: Just Ideas: Make That Coffee Fair Trade

By: Melissa

Melissa — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:29:44 +0000

Another fan of Land of a Thousand Hills–in addition to paying the farmers a living wage, proceeds from every bag actually go back into microfinance loans for widows of the genocide in Rwanda. And it’s really good.

By: Drew Dyck

Drew Dyck — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:08:56 +0000

Drinking fair trade coffee is a great starting point. But our committment to justice must extend beyond sipping the right coffee. Sometimes in the west we tend to find ways to do what we’re already doing (ie drinking coffee or shopping) in a slightly more equitable way and call it charity when it can simply be a way to assuage our conscience without inconvenience.
Drew Dyck

By: nooc

nooc — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:24:01 +0000

The current coffee situation (aka “crisis” in coffee producing nations)… is very complicated and ultimately requires a political solution. It stems from international deregulation of the industry, a glut of low-quality coffee (especially of the inferior Robusta beans), and multinationals setting prices far below what it costs growers to actually produce the beans.
You can google things like the International Coffee Agreement to learn more.
Not really sure how to influence the situation politically so I’m kind of in “do what I can” mode… mix my buying between fair trade and other premium coffees, never buy multinational, make sure everything is 100% Arabica beans (so as not to support the market for inferior Robusta beans).
US coffee drinkers might want to check out http://www.saintscoffee.com... buying a pound of fair trade/organic from them not only supports the growers but they also use a portion of the proceeds to feed orphans.
I can personally vouch for the quality/taste of their “St. George the Dragonslayer” blend. (Awesome name, huh? – “I need a cup of Dragonslayer”)

By: Rich Barrett

Rich Barrett — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:58:56 +0000

nooc has some very good info above.
I’ve been doing a little reading also and am learning that Fair Trade might be more hype than we realize, and in an effort to appear like we care about the “least of these” Christians are jumping on board without doing their own research.
The reality is that the world consumes so much coffee every day that Fair Trade is not even close to being able to meet the demand. Not saying we shouldn’t move in that direction, but the reality is that large, commercial growers are necessary to meet the world’s hunger for the bean.

By: Carole Turner

Carole Turner — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:38:04 +0000

Hey, My church, HPC, serves Community Coffee in their cafe. I researched and found out that they practice Fair trade THEN read in Christianity Today about how the CEO of the company, back in the 90′s, started implimenting Fair Trade practices even before their was such a thing.
I do go to Starbucks sometime but I give my business to Community Coffee as much as possible. It’s a local Louisiana company, very small, but their coffee is great and I like knowing they are helping the communities they are getting their beans from.

By: nooc

nooc — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:46:01 +0000

I’m learning there are several sides to the fair trade story.
While not as fashionable – the reality is that most premium coffee purchases trickle down favourably to the grower. Anything shade-grown or organic and most of what you pay a premium for at a cafe. This includes your non-fair-trade favourite at Starbucks. What’s to be avoided universally is purchasing cheap, generic and/or multinational-branded coffee.
Premium coffee from Starbucks or other sources won’t trickle down as much as actual fair-trade certified but it’s competitive.
And bear in mind that fair trade certification means the grower has to be part of a collective… so individual growers or family operations don’t qualify regardless of quality or growing methods… and they don’t survive unless you create the market for their stuff through non-certified avenues that offer their premium coffee.
And since certification is more dependant on economic criteria than quality/flavour… the motivation to constantly be striving to grow the best possible coffee can be muted.
Some of the above assertions above are not first-hand knowledge on my part but are true as far as I’ve heard/read.
Just suggesting there may be value in digging a little deeper before choosing how your church or personal purchases will best benefit growers.
You may want to see if your supplier is involved in “Direct Fair Trade” – which doesn’t just deal exclusively with cooperatives – and sometimes exceeds the payment to farmers that certified fair trade does.
As one example, check out: http://www.levelground.com/direct_fair_trade

By: Greg Smith

Greg Smith — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:06:47 +0000

Hi guys… great comment… here’s a great place to find free trade coffee:
http://www.landofathousandhillscoffee.com/

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:12:33 +0000

Our church sources fair trade coffee from Equal Exchange which is supported by quite a few denominations: http://equalexchange.stores.yahoo.net/info.html
No other affiliation.

By: John Felkins

John Felkins — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:06:49 +0000

Check out Ugly Mug Coffee. These guys are awesome.

By: Steve K.

Steve K. — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:06:27 +0000

Joshua, thanks for making this suggestion. I think we take for granted how these “small” decisions (like whether or not our coffee is fair trade) add up to make a large difference as more and more of us combine our efforts.
I’ve discovered that I can order fair trade coffee at Starbucks simply by asking for it. The barista has to prepare it via French press, which usually takes 5 more minutes but there is no extra cost and the wait is worth it to know that my coffee purchase is not contributing to the UNfair treatment of coffee growers elsewhere in the world. Oh you can’t get “half caff” with a French press coffee, so it’s either full-tilt or unleaded (I usually go full-tilt myself ;-)
So the next time you’re ordering your usual “venti with room” at Starbucks, ask for fair trade coffee. You’ll be glad you did.