Fair Trade Goods Make Their Way Into Local Shops
The fair trade concept has been adopted by a small number of local coffee shops who are offering an alternative to the mass produced coffee we’re accustomed to at chain establishments. These local shops have one thing in common – they sell strictly fair trade coffee in hopes of spreading awareness and making a difference in the world – one cup of coffee at a time. But is the fair trade option all it’s brewed up to be?
What is fair trade?
Fairly traded coffee, along with other items such as jewelry, handbags and clothing, offer consumers across the United States a sense of social consciousness by knowing that the growers or artisans behind the goods are being sufficiently compensated. While “fair trade” is difficult to define, in the world of coffee, the Fair Trade label and certification means something very specific.
Fair Trade coffee is certified as “fair trade” or “fair wage” by TransFair USA, a nonprofit organization whose certification guarantees that farm workers around the world are paid a fair price, direct trade between producers and U.S. importers, and sustainable farming practices. Fairtrade certification also guarantees the principles of ethical purchasing such as those banning child and slave labor, guaranteeing a safe workplace and the right to unionize.
For a product to carry either the International Fairtrade Certification Mark or the Fair Trade Certified Mark, it must come from FLO-CERT inspected and certified producer organizations.
Chris Treter, co-president of Higher Grounds roasting company in Traverse City, Michigan, explains, “Fair trade is a way of creating a more humane trading relationship between producers and the end consumers.” The price the grower receives is higher, and the consumers receive products with the knowledge of exactly where their coffee comes from.
“By buying fair trade, you’re actually putting more money into the hands of the people who are doing the vast majority of work in the coffee industry,” said Treter.
According to Dianne Westhoven, manager of Georgette’s Grounds & Gifts in downtown Maumee, customers enjoy the idea of knowing where their products come from. Plus, fair trade provides artisans and farmers around the world with fair wages for their products, while, at the same time, impacting their communities.
Georgette’s partners with a major fair trade organization called Ten Thousand Villages, which works with over 120 artisan groups in more than 30 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Both a coffee and a gift shop, Georgette’s features organic coffee from Costa Rica, equal exchange tea from California, and showcases products from non-profit organizations within the United States, as well as from countries like Vietnam, Kenya, Ecuador and Peru.
“We don’t carry anything that isn’t fair trade and fair wage,” Westhoven said. She guarantees the shop is committed to selling certified fair trade products, while the growers keep their commitment to produce organic coffee.
Where’s the bean been?
The journey of a fair trade coffee bean begins with the grower.
“Without the farmer, we don’t have a product,” said Pam Burns, co-owner of Downtown Latte, which sells only Fair Trade, Organic Coffee. Burns said the coffee beans are shade-grown on farms under canopies – the optimum method of farming in order to ensure organic production. Fair Trade beans are hand-picked, dried manually and then placed in jute burlap bags.
In contrast, the conventional method of growing coffee beans takes place in farms where farmers use plows in large fields. The idea is to grow mass quantities quickly, resulting in farmers using pesticides and herbicides to enhance the growth for corporate coffee chains.
All Fair Trade growers communicate directly with cooperatives where price points are negotiated and recommendations are offered based on popular items in the States. The next step consists of a representative from the cooperative traveling to the production country, where a direct relationship is developed. There, the coffee beans are tested and cupped to ensure customers are receiving quality coffee.
Georgette’s works directly with Cooperative Coffees out of Americus, Georgia, according to Westhoven. All the coffee beans they sell in their shop are originally from the cooperative, which then sends the beans to Four Seasons Coffee Company in Findlay for roasting.
According to Treter of Higher Grounds, the growers create cooperatives with producing companies banding together to produce large quantities of beans. “Just one grower can’t produce enough, so they pull their resources together in order to sell larger quantities to consumers,” he said. The grower then signs a contract for the coffee beans prior to receiving 50 percent pre-financing, Treter explained. “It’s a unique way of doing trade.” Giving money up front allows the growers to compensate pickers and purchase necessary equipment or materials for production. The cooperative places an order with the grower and reimburses the farmers or artisans once the products are delivered to the cooperatives. The growers are paid the other 50 percent of the funding following delivery, Treter continued.
Following production, the coffee beans are transported in containers – 40,000 pounds at a time – to the United States, where they are loaded on to semi trucks before making the journey for roasting. Each certified green coffee bean is shipped to various roasting companies, which in turn supply the coffee houses with freshly roasted beans.
Into your cup
Downtown Latte purchases 25 pounds of coffee beans a week from Four Seasons Coffee Company. Each bag arrives with a certifying logo as well as a sticker displaying where it was produced.
Beans – generally from Central America, Asia, Africa and Mexico – are delivered to Georgette’s a few times a week. “There isn’t a bean that comes in here that isn’t fair trade and organic — we wouldn’t even use it,” said Westhoven.
What is the difference between a fair trade coffee bean and a conventional coffee bean? The differences are four-fold.
Fair trade encompasses buying direct from small scale growing cooperatives. On the other hand, conventional coffee is purchased from roasters, who buy from importers, who are buying from exporters, who are buying from processors, who will buy from middle men, who then buy from growers. Bottom line: fair trade demonstrates a much more personal way of trade.
Second, since fair trade beans are harvested under a canopy of shade trees, the taste is not bitter, explained Burns at Downtown Latte.
Burns also notices a slight difference in pricing between beans from various countries, depending on the harvest. “It’s a more expensive product when you’re looking just dollar for dollar. But when you’re looking at the big picture, it’s a social justice thing,” she said. “Are you going to save a buck at somebody else’s expense or are you going to do the right thing for everybody?”
Lastly, fair trade is good for the environment. Organic farming allows small farmers to return nutrients to the soil after harvest, creating a third difference. Also, fair trade is an eco-friendly process, demonstrated by harvesting by hand, rather than machinery using large amounts of gas and oil.
Payments for the goods are much higher than what the producers would receive in their home countries, according to Westhoven. “It’s really having a social conscience; supporting people and paying them what they deserve so that they can send their kids to school and support their family and not live in total poverty,” she said.
Burns also notices more and more customers tuning toward the green movement at the coffee shop. She said utilizing products that are sustainable from the onset helps everybody around the globe. Burns said, “We like to think we’re acting locally, but affecting things globally.”
“It’s a better life for everybody. You are supporting people’s livelihood, but the product that you are getting is way better because 99 percent of Fair Trade farmers grow nothing but organic coffee,” said Steve Beem, sales representative for Four Seasons.
“It’s better, period.”
GOING DIRECT
Ralph and Gini Behrendt, owners of Flying Rhino in Downtown Toledo, aren’t fully sold on the Fair Trade label.
“The intent of Fair Trade is admirable and I have read several articles that have stated the successes of Fair Trade at the farmer and village level,” says Gini Behrendt. “But I have also talked with people who have direct first hand knowledge of farmers who have not benefited from the Fair Trade membership.”
Behrendt explained her concern of “Fair Trade” as a buzz word, used more for the marketing and money aspect than for the social intent. Because many farmers may not fit the criteria for Fair Trade certification due to size or growing practices not easily available to them, they are left out of the equation.
Benhrendt adds, “There are so many other organizations trying to do good to the farmer. Today, ‘fair trade’ is becoming one of those words that encompasses many organizations, but other organizations are not recognized because they have their own logo.” For instance, Rainforest Alliance is another certification organization working to promote sustainable growing practices and fairly traded coffee. Companies working under the Rainforest Alliance certification, such as Daterra Coffee, are sometimes overlooked by coffee shops and consumers looking exclusively for the Fair Trade logo.
Daniel Ragland, formerly with Electric City Roasting in Scranton, PA, and current Toledo resident, also admits “the idea behind Fair Trade is great.” However, he has noticed some flaws in the system. “When Fair Trade first came out, they didn’t have any quality control.” Ragland explains that taste was often compromised when buying Fair Trade coffee, but that “Fair Trade has gotten better with that in the long run.”
However, with the buzz of Fair Trade, the practice of direct trade is easily overlooked by suppliers and consumers. According to Ragland, close to 50 percent of the coffee at Electric City Roasting is from direct trade. “Direct trade is where the roaster travels to the farm personally,” explained Ragland. The roaster “scores” the taste of the coffee to ensure quality, and then sets up an agreement with the farmer to “lock in” their product.
“You end up getting in a long-term relationship with these people,” said Ragland. Many direct trade suppliers take photos during their visits and help create awareness and raise money for the farmer’s community at their shops as well.
While Fair Trade coffee is purchased from the farmers above conventional commodity value at the minimum price of $1.26 per pound ($1.41 for certified organic, Ragland said that direct trade buyers usually pay over 20 percent above that. With the additional costs of exporting, importing, and shipping the coffee, direct trade costs much more. “Quality has to be an issue,” explained Ragland.
Seal of approval?
Not all coffee suppliers can afford the direct trade route. “It takes a lot of expense to buy your coffee in this way,” said Behrendt. “Many micro-roasters (including Flying Rhino) are not able to go directly to the farms to purchase coffee. We have to rely on the relationship and integrity of our suppliers.”
Because of the expense, many coffee shops turn the Fair Trade to ensure sustainable growing practices and fairly traded products.
“There are going to be flaws, especially when you’re talking about importing and exporting. You have to take the best of what you can,” said Mazzen Hakki, owner of Shai Mediterranean. He and his wife, Samar, opened Shai last December, but had the concept of an organic and fair-trade focused eatery over four years ago.
For Hakki, the decision to sell exclusively Fair Trade coffee was a moral one. “When you hear the farmers’ stories you want to help them,” he said. “And our purchasing Fair Trade coffee helps a little bit. You’re dealing with the small farmers and their product personally.”
And the decision has paid off. While Shai Mediterranean loses a little bit on the profit side due to the higher cost of Fair Trade coffee, Hakki said, “The quality was important to us, and I think the quality is better.” Plus, their customers love knowing the coffee they drink is Fair Trade certified.
For Ralph and Gini Behrendt of Flying Rhino, the label isn’t everything. “We are taking everything with a grain of salt and not jumping on any particular bandwagon. We step back from Fair Trade as a marketing label and try to take a broader view and approach to the coffees we offer.”
While local coffee shops are noticing more of a push for purchasing fairly traded items, they realize that most customers do not fully grasp the concept. And the complexity of coffee’s growing and trading process doesn’t make it any easier.
The good news is that consumers are questioning what’s in their cup and how their decisions affect the lives of farmers all over the world. Through organic farming and fair trade practices, Burns from Downtown Latte believes they are doing things the way it’s naturally supposed to be done. She said, “By doing this, we’re giving back to the farmers.”
And, no matter what kind of bean you prefer, almost everyone can agree that giving back to the farmer is, simply, in good taste.