The Fair Trade Certified coffee movement exists today to ensure that the small size
coffee producers, who make up the majority of the world's coffee production, receive a
fair price for their coffee. Mass producers of coffee are able to grow their products at a
cheaper expense, often with lower quality, and as a result, they can sell their coffee for a
cheaper price. The problem with this is that the smaller producers must lower their
coffee prices in order to attract any business at all. Unfortunately, the small producers
have had to lower their prices so far that they cannot even survive on the money made
from their sales.
Fair Trade organizations began in the late 1950's. They started in Europe and the
United States, whose organizations bought goods directly from the third world countries
in which they were produced. These third world companies and producers were
previously too dependent on commercial middlemen, who often paid them unfair
amounts for goods.
The Fair Trade organizations of Europe and the US made sure that
these third world producers receive a fair, livable wage.
When buying Fair Trade coffee, you are benefiting people and the environment in
several different ways. First of all, the conditions under which Fair Trade coffee is
grown helps to protect the environment. In order for coffee to get the Fair Trade
Certification, the coffee must be grown according to strict regulations. Large farm
producers of coffee are able to afford to clear a field of trees and use chemicals and
pesticides to increase their coffee production, thus hurting the natural state of the
environment. Fair Trade coffee is mostly grown under the shade of trees, without
chemicals. This eliminates the problem of deforestation in an already disappearing rain
forest, ensures that animals living in this forested...