In my last post, I probably left some of you dangling when I raised questions about fair trade and its legitimacy. Truth be told, just as with multi-billion dollar investment funds, everyone and everything is open to fraud and misuse ... even fair-trade branding -- especially when the fair-trade label is used to gain market share and to sell coffee at higher prices.
About a year ago, "Fresh Cup Magazine" wrote an article on "The Future of Fair Trade: can the model continue to help farmers?" This paragraph in the article caught my attention:
"But despite continued market access and a guaranteed price [with fair-trade marketing], farmers are still struggling. Many coffee professionals believe price increases based strongly on quality — rather than the C-market and the fair-trade floor price that is tied to it — are the answer. Inman has been in the coffee business nearly 20 years and has not seen fair-trade pricing necessarily translate to increased quality down the line or to great improvements in growers' communities."
The article goes on to describe some innovative "quality-based pricing standards", which ultimately will result in a more sustainable and higher price for the farmer:
"Non-certified coffees that earn fair-trade or higher prices (often called Direct Trade, a term that Chicago's Intelligentsia Coffee is in the process of trademarking) are what some have called the next level of sustainability. These programs, offered by Intelligentsia and other roasters like Portland Roasting, with its own Farm Friendly Direct label, aim to reward quality in the cup that, in theory, naturally will reap a price that exceeds the fair-trade floor and results in better livelihood for farmers."
Cauzal Coffee is proud to source its award-winning coffee through the Farm Friendly Direct program, which focuses on sustainable, shade-grown, and organic coffees -- paying growers a premium price that is typically 30% above Fairtrade prices. Subscribe to receive the Cauzal Connections blog by Email