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2010-04-01

What is Fairly Traded coffee?

Coffee has been the leader in the Fair Trade movement.

The fundamental concept is that producers should be paid a livable wage for what they produce with no strings attached. For Café Fair, this means that we guarantee our Grower Partners a fair price for their coffee. This minimum price is set by an international organization called the Fair Trade Labeling Organization (FLO) International and it assures you that Café Fair’s grower partners, thru their co-operative, will be paid enough for their coffee to provide for their families.

Café Fair takes it further by acting as your ambassador. We meet with our main producers to develop a face-to-face commitment, because Café Fair is about trust and commitment and not just about the money. It is so important to make this personal connection, to have a face-to-face dialogue to build our understanding of each other's interests, and to dispel rumors and misinformation. One surprising question came from a group of Grower Partners in Chiapas, Mexico. They asked if we used their coffee to make bombs! This says something about the perception of the US in the third world.

How Does It Work?

Ultimately fair trade connects you, the socially conscious consumer, with producers from the third world. Café Fair is proud to be a major link in that chain. Café Fair is the face and the voice of you, the coffee drinker, reaching out to our Grower Partners in a spirit of respect and honesty.

As your agent we search out co-operatives of producers who are democratically run and who can assure us that the premium prices we are paying reach the individual grower’s family. Since Café Fair pays the co-op, it is essential that you know that those dollars reach our Grower Partner’s families.

In addition to these checks, we also advise the co-ops and their members on how to improve the taste quality and to see for ourselves how they are treating their environment. We express the concerns of socially responsible coffee drinkers regarding the treatment of children and animals, the water supply, and issues of forest management. In addition we observe these practices first hand so we can better assure you that these issues are not just rhetoric. By choosing Café Fair coffee you make these values a reality.


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