What is Fair About Fair Trade?
Fair Trade has come under scrutiny recently for not delivering on its promise. This is not a bad thing. A lot of us at Just Coffee feel like the fair trade establishment has bent over backwards so far to accomodate big companies that they have let the standards of fair trade be eroded.
At JC we do fair trade the way we feel like it was meant to be done. Meaning that we think it is more than a brand name or even a set of rules. It is an opportunity to change the global economy into something that puts the needs of people before the profit margins of companies.
Fair Trade considers 5 factors in it's tenets. We will address them one by one:
A FAIR PRICE
With our importing co-op we are committing to pay a minimum of $1.56 a pound for organic coffee starting in fall 2006. Right now we pay a minimum of $1.50 a pound while the FLO fair trade minimum remains at $1.41. In 2007 we are planning to raise this to $1.61 and put mechanisms in place to make sure the price is fair to the farmers we work with.
PREFINANCING
A "fair price" only works when it is paid in a way that works for farmers. Often farmers face a severe cash shortage going into the harvest season. In the mainstream version of fair trade we see many big companies with the money to do this look the other way.
At JC we have begun working with local Madison groups like SERRV International and Rainbow Book Co-op to raise prefinancing money for our contracts. Through our importing co-op we also work with groups like Ecologic to help growers get the money that they need on time.
LONG TERM PARTNERSHIPS
Many roasters and importers buy "fair trade coffee" from different co-ops every year depending on quality and convenience. At JC we work with the same farmers every year and visit co-ops that we work with about every 2-3 months. We also host farmers here in Madison. We want to be part of the lives of the people we work with. This kind of relationship guarantees that farmers give us their highest quality coffee every year.
ENCOURAGING ECOLOGICALLY SOUND PRACTICES
At JC we encourage organic practices because it benefits the producers and their communities. We also encourage organic certification where it is worthwhile, although we recognize that this is not practical for some of the smaller co-ops that we work with because of its expense.
COMMITMENT TO COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION
Some roasters are leaving fair trade to start their own certification systems with their own agendas. One thing that is missing from almost all of these is a serious dedication to a democratically organized workplace.
At JC we work with cooperatives. We support the original vision of fair trade that aims to help small-scale producers stay on their land and off of the plantations. We absolutely agree that pressure needs to be put on plantations to improve working conditions and that those farms that are doing things right should be recognized for their efforts. However, we strongly feel that this should be addressed by another campaign by people who have the expertise and resources to monitor labor practices of big private farms.
Fair Trade
The most disheartening thing about Fair Trade is that most of the companies taking advantage of it are American owned whose only interests is in the marketing advantages it gives them. Also in most cases Fair Trade only helps the farmer and not the day laborers - its a good American scheme that helps the richer get richer when you consider the plight of a third world farmer versus the third world migrate laborer.
But in somes cases such as yours its wonderful to see the hands on effect you are having - its the only true way Fair Trade really works.
Boake Moore
Mission Grounds - The Coffee Helping Homeless Children
www.missiongrounds.com