Fair Trade Coffee
Purchasing coffee that is “Fair Trade Certified” guarantees that coffee growers have received a fair wage for their labor. Coffee that is sold with the “Fair Trade” label
(see below) has numerous environmental and social benefits. Like other socially and environmentally responsible purchasing options, the consumer movement in favor of Fair
Trade coffee, has been growing in popularity in the last several years. Hundreds of college campuses, church groups, and coffee companies across the country have joined humanitarian organizations such as Oxfam International in encouraging this environmentally and socially preferable system of exchange.
Social Benefits : Fair Trade coffee certification began in response to a sharp decline in commodity coffee prices on the world market in the last decade, dipping below 50 cents per pound in 2001. The ramifications of this are far-reaching. Frequently noted social effects have been the inability for farmers to send their children to school due to a lack of funds for supplies and a need for their labor in the fields, flight from rural areas in search of work, and a turn toward other potentially more profitable cultivation, most notably illegal drugs. Implementing Fair Trade practices can counter these trends because it requires that farmers receive a fair price for their labor. In addition, Fair Trade purchasers in the U.S. often establish social programs at the source of the coffee beans, including plans to diversify local economies away from coffee dependence and prevent overproduction that can lead to major price drops.
Environmental Benefits : During the 1970s and 1980s, farmers, especially in Latin
America, who had traditionally grown coffee as one of a diverse variety of crops were encouraged to implement intensive monoculture techniques. The new practices led to widespread deforestation, pesticide pollution, and wildlife extinction due to habitat destruction. Crop rotation, which is required for Fair Trade certification, reduces these impacts. Although Fair Trade does not require environmental standards beyond crop rotation, it explicitly encourages environment-friendly practices, and in practice Fair
Trade producers are small farmers on small plots. These plots usually have shade trees as cover crops, protecting the soil and the wildlife and songbirds that live in the trees. Many producers also use “passive” organic techniques. Between 80% and 85% of coffee grown and marketed in the Fair Trade system is shade-grown and organic.
Resources : Visit www.transfairusa.org
for a list of retailers that sell certified fair trade coffee. Or contact Greening Princeton at greening@princeton.edu
for more details.