Fair Trade Coffee Meaning

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Fair Trade Coffee Explained When I woke it was pitch black. I couldn’t see a thing. I was dizzy, groggy, and could hardly think. Completely disoriented, I felt my way down a long cold hall. Eventually my fingers came across a small button. I pressed it without thinking of what might happen. I could hear a rumbling and then a dripping noise followed by the most pleasant odor I have ever smelled before. That button was attached to my coffee pot. As a student, I feel that I speak for many when I say that there is no way to start a day than with a hot cup of coffee. As a matter of fact, Coffee is among some of the top globally traded commodities in the world. Since it has become such a large commodity, it has be questioned if the methods of producing …show more content…

Most people notice fair trade in grocery stores like Trader Joe’s or World Market but you can also encounter it through local businesses. Coffee shops in Richmond such as Stir Crazy, Black Hand, and Globe Hopper sell fair trade coffee. There is even a bean roasting company, Blanchard’s, which roasts fair trade imported coffee beans. This is great news in the eyes of FLO and FTUSA. The fact that so many shop’s and stores sell fair trade coffee means that many farmers and workers are being paid fairly for their product. According to the prices and premiums set by Fair Trade International, the fair trade minimum price is $1.40 per pound for conventional and $1.70 per pound for organic coffee. If we compare this to the $1.32 stated earlier, fair trade farmers will make on average 8 to 38 cents more per pound of coffee than non-fair trade farmers. Fair trade farmers also receive a 20 cent per pound premium on top of the minimum price. The premium requires that the farmers put at least 5 cents back into the improvement of production and quality of their product. This gives the farm more money to help pay for better working conditions and also help pay the workers a better wage. With more money going to the farms and a fair trade label on the product, consumers can rest easy that the product they are buying is helping provide a proper wage for the farmers and pickers of the coffee beans. Is fair trade really helping those who produce and cultivate coffee beans? Many will argue that it is not and some argue that it is actually causing more harm than good for the coffee

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