Fair Trade Coffee
By: Yalda Uyani
Brad Hallwood
Jesse Watt
Joy William
Agenda
 Fact and Figures – Canadian Coffee Consumers
 Effects of Coffee Trade
 Fair Trade
 Key Elements of Fair Trade
 Compare the following coffee companies
 Tim Hortons
 Starbucks
 Ethical Bean
Facts and Figures about the
Canadian Coffee Consumers
 Canadians consume more than 40 million cups a day-an
average of 2.6 cups daily for each coffee drinker
 63 % of adult Canadians drink coffee on the daily base
 Almost two-third of the coffee is consumed at home
Question
If so many people drink coffee, how
is it possible that the famers are still
poor?
http://vimeo.com/3983264
Effects of Coffee Trade
 Small family farmers grow over 50% of the world’s coffee.
Majority come from Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and
Mexico.
 When you buy a cup of coffee or a pound of your favourite
coffee beans from the local shop, here is a breakdown of
where your dollars go:
 55% goes to the shippers and the roasters
 25% goes to the retailers
 10% goes to the exporters
 10% goes to the growers
Effects of Coffee Trade
 Unfair coffee trade can be seen as "sweatshops in the fields.”
 typical field worker on a coffee plantation makes about $3.20
a day.
 Unsafe working conditions also put the health of farmers and
field workers at risk.
 In many farms children are used for cheap labour.
Fair Trade
Fair Trade
 Fair trade agreements guarantee that the
farmers/producers receive a fair price for their products.
 If it is labelled “Fair Trade Certified” then the product has
met standards set by the Fairtrade Labelling Organization
International (FLO)
 TransFair is the organization that audits and certifies fair
trade goods in Canada
Key Elements of Fair Trade
 Producers are paid fair price
 Fair trade helps improve the independence of the producers
 Fair trade provides a safe and healthy working environment
Key Elements of Fair Trade
 Decreases the risk of using Children for cheap labour
 Work by women is valued and rewarded
 Improves environmental practices and methods of
production
Tim Hortons – Coffee Partnership
 Provide financial assistance to improve quantity and quality of
coffee – technical training
 Consult with farmers – help them get their coffee to the
market at the best time and best price
 Provide educational and medical care assistance
 Educate farmers – environmental management
Tim Hortons
 Don’t disclose where they purchase their coffee from
 Don’t state how much financial assistance is provided for
training, education, and medical care
 They serve more than 3 million cups of coffee per day,
which is more than Starbucks
Starbucks – Fair Trade?
Starbucks Fair Trade Advertising:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=116912161652952
Starbucks – Fair Trade?
The Good:
• Starbucks has been Fair Trade Certified since 2000
• Starbucks is the biggest purchaser of Fair Trade coffee
– 39 million pounds in 2009
• The largest buyer of Fair Trade coffee in the world
Starbucks – Fair Trade?
Class Questions:
• How many people drink Starbucks coffee?
Starbucks – Fair Trade?
Class Questions:
• How
many people believe they are drinking
fair trade coffee when at Starbucks?
Starbucks – Fair Trade?
Class Questions:
• Do
you specifically ask for a certain brand /
Ask them to brew a fresh cup for you?
• Most
likely you are probably not drinking Fair Trade
coffee…
Starbucks – Fair Trade?
The Bad:
• Less than 5% of Starbucks coffee sold is Fair Trade
• Starbucks charges more for Fair Trade coffee
• Starbucks very rarely features a Fair Trade coffee as its “Coffee of the
day”
• Often you will have request a Fair Trade coffee and wait for it to be
brewed
Ethical Bean Coffee
 just. Better - Fair Trade Certified, BC Kosher Certified, Organic
Cerified and B corporation Certified
 One of Canada’s leading suppliers of 100% Fairtrade Certified
organic and shade grown coffee.
 Producers they purchase from are safe from the volatilities of
the coffee market.
Ethical Bean Coffee
 roasted in a 100% carbon neutral facility that has been
designed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) standards
 Biodegradable and compostable cups and cutlery used at
the roaster's on site café
 bag-return program that invites consumers to drop off all
empty coffee bags (even competitors) for storage until a
suitable recycling solution is found
 2010 Ethical Bean became a certified B Corporation. Their
products, practices and profits result in positive change that
benefit both environmental and social causes
Summary
 Tim Horton’s does not purchase fair trade coffee
 Starbucks purchases a few fair trade coffee products
 Ethical bean purchases 100% fair trade organic coffee
products and runs its cafes sustainably
Summary
 It’s your choice as the consumer to purchase fair trade
products
 Emerging trend of sustainability and corporate social
responsibility will pressure Tim Hortons and Starbucks to
change their practices
Questions