What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is all about fair prices, fair working conditions, sustainable environments and fair terms for farmers and workers.
When working with Fair Trade, companies pay fair prices which help to fight against “injustices of conventional trade” that traditionally discriminates against the poorest and weakest countries. It helps create better working environments and aids them in improving their lives.
80% of coffee is produced by 25 million smallholders as it is one of the most popular beverages worldwide.
The production of coffee is a complex process and within the many different stages, there are many people. This means millions of people are reliant on each other to complete their work.
You would expect this industry to be reliable in terms of work and money, however there are many factors that coffee production relies on, such as weather conditions and disease outbreaks through crops. Coffee farmers and workers are never able to predict their income year to year due to the instability.
How does Fair Trade help?
With the help of Fair Trade, certified coffee producer organisations are guaranteed at least Fair Trade Minimum Price. This covers the cost of production and acts as a “safety net when market prices fall below a sustainable level”.
In addition to this, they receive Fair Trade Premium which they can use to invest in their business or community improvements to further working and living conditions throughout their lives.
To find out more about how Fair Trade helps not only the coffee trade, but many other industries, check out their website here.
Fair Trade at Coffee Seller
At Coffee Seller, we know using Fair Trade products is a serious matter for a lot of businesses, so we are constantly looking out for new products to stock for our customers.
We already have some Fair Trade products available here:
What other brands and products would you like to see Coffee Seller stock? Let us know via email here.