I agree with many of his points. I have always thought Fair Trade benefitted the bigger growers (and bigger consumers) unfairly. But unfortunately he's inaccurate with the specifics, which reduces his credibility with me. Like:
this charity that I'm not party to does irk me when I see supermarket chains raking off a dollar for every quarter or less that supposedly goes to the impoverished growers.
The CSM article says:
The fair-trade model seeks to ensure livable wages as well as environmental and cultural sustainability for small farmers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia by establishing a base purchase price of $1.26 per pound - about $.75 more than the current market price.
Where's the other .50/lb? And, while he says:
pay the $2,431 it costs to join the club, and the $.02 per pound volume charge
The CSM article says:
Germany's Fair Labeling Organization (FLO), which certifies all fair-trade coffee in the world, charges farmers $2,431 to certify plus an annual base of $607 for recertification and $.02 per 2.2 pounds of coffee sold under the fair-trade label.
$.02 per kilo, not pound. He failed to mention the base recertification fees.
Dana Leighton - Espresso hack and CoffeeGeek moderator
Please allow me to speak for myself for a moment, not necessarily that of my employer.
It is interesting to see an article, however serious or comical, to state an opinion other than one of full support for Fair Trade products. I will keep my personal criticisms and/or praises of TransFairUSA aside, but if you look to the media sources that have covered the Fair Trade Movement ( Click Here (www.transfairusa.org)), there is almost never a voice of critique. Both in mainstream forums and specialized coffee industry magazines, you only find exhaltation of the wonderful things TransFairUSA has done for the plight of the small farmer...and they have brought attention to an issue that was almost ignored before. However, every solution to a problem needs to be analyzed thoroughly, with all sides represented.
It is extremely rare that you walk into a small coffeehouse or roaster and the owners/employees have the ability to really explain the complexities of trading futures...but they will usually tell you how they (and not other companies) are the ones who really care about the life of a farmer and are making a difference by serving certified Fair Trade coffee. While their intentions are good, how do they know what impact they are having? It seems like a bit of blind faith is often associated with the average FairTrade supporter. This is extremely frustrating to be in an industry that is so heavily criticized, yet so few in specialty coffee educate themselves on the issues at hand. Instead they recite sound bites from their favorite newspaper or magazine and feel like they are changing the world.
My post here is not in response to TransFair and its work at all. I am responding as a consumer who wants to see a fair representation in the media to the immensity of a problem that one organization will never have the ability to solve. Especially when only one side of the argument is ever heard.
Actually, this isn't the first time "fair trade" coffee has been criticized. Kenneth Davids has always been publicly skeptical of its merits. His point is that overpaying for coffee does nothing to bring the quality up. The specialty quality beans are where the money is. If smaller growers are able and savvy enough to re-invest any surplus funds to bring the quality up, they can command an even higher price for their beans than the mere fair trade price.
The author of this article laments that grocers use fair trade as an opportunity to mark up the coffee even further. So what. The important thing is more money is going to the countries that produce the coffee.
I don't believe that fair trade is a panacea but it isn't all bad.
In some cases, Fair Trade has worked; that is, the extra money the farmers make has gone into improving the quality of the coffee.
However, the fair trade movement is not especially about quality, and Transfair has gotten it's potshots from the left for emphasizing it. The relation coffees Trey's employers, Intelligentsia and other good roasters do, is a more direct path, since the roaster is directly involved in helping and paying farmers to grow better coffees. Two years ago I cupped some very below average Honduran coffees with Geoff; after a few years of their work with the growers, the same coffees are a joy to drink.
However, the main point is being missed by everyone, even the "Austrian school economist" who should have seen it instantly (probably been reading too much right wing politics and not enough micro-economic theory). The support for Fair trade is not coming from charity but from a large group of consumers buying "ethics" the same way Chanel buyers buy "prestige." Given that this is almost always done to impress third parties with one's great personality, the marketing of ethics labels that are as empty of content as designer labels are today is not far in the future. Show you care! Buy Tom Joad Coffee (TM Sara Lee Co) .
I think there are some great themes hit upon here in this thread.
I've now been to two SCAA Conferences - Boston and Atlanta. The most notable thing in my mind about TransFair/FLO is the incredibly immense and nicely done section of the trade show floor - probably equivalent to 20 booth spaces. Raw trade show floor space is not cheap and neither was their setup and fixtures. It takes big money to finance a space like they did - including flying in their reps, some farmers and putting them up for the duration.
After seeing TransFair at Conference and a couple other coffee-related shows, there is no doubt that TF/FLO is Big Business. The Wall Street Journal article stated that FLO hasn't raised it's price ($1.26) in years - hasn't the world been affected by inflation?
When it comes to Fair Trade, I've become very skeptical. No one, not even the TransFair reps I've spoken to seems to be able to really give serious insight into how the Fair Trade thing is helping farmers. I like Another_Jim's comment that it's buying prestige amongst your friends. Go to Whole Foods Market and pay for Fair Trade Coffee and you can talk about it's virtues the next time your friends are over for dinner.
One thing that concerns me for the Specialty Coffee industry is the necessity for Fair Trade. Fair Trade PRESUMES that the quality of the coffee is higher, but that doesn't necessarily seem to be the case. Fair Trade is simply a marketing designation and one that farmers must pay in excess of $3,000 the first year (entry fee, recertification and per kilo fees). That means the small campesino must grow and harvest no less than 16,700 lbs (8.4 tons or 7,576 kilos) of coffee cherries to get the 2,381 pounds of green beans that will yield him the $1.26 market price - and that's just to afford the FLO fees! Never mind paying the rent, buying agricultural products, buying clothes, buying food or sending his kids to school. Not to mention that we're talking about the third-world.
Fair Trade is probably a nice thing for places like Safeway or Whole Foods to have. Something to serve their yuppie/enviro-conscious clientele. Or Starbucks, to keep things "green."
But for the true specialty coffee retailer, I don't think Fair Trade is necessary. Working with roasters who have a direct relation with the farm will often ensure a better quality bean and a better wage for the farmer. It's this kind of relationship I think those of us on the specialty side of the industry needs to focus on, rather than some marketing hype that is Fair Trade.
a coffee shop close to me serves roasterie coffee, and they have a bulletin board talking about the advantages of co-ops. one place (i think in brazil) has a school with high speed internet connection, and before the roasterie showed up there, they didnt even have a phone.
i believe more in the advantages of co-op than fair trade. but i care most about the quality of my coffee.
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