Fair trade, sustainable coffee
Like it or hate it, we live in a consumer nation. As a result, we must be reminded of the immeasurable power that we exercise when we choose to purchase a product. That decision effects the bottom-line of that company and ultimately impacts its ability to survive or fail. Coffee is grown all over the world, from Central and South America to Africa to Southeast Asia. It is the chief export for many countries. Furthermore, it is the most highly traded commodity after oil—it’s that big! Did you realize that the farmer earns very little even though they are growing the product? We want to ensure that the farmer receives a “fair trade” for growing the coffee. For this reason we deliberately buy Fair Trade coffee which eliminates some middle men and ensures that the farmer receives a living wage. We hope that as consumers you will choose to purchase and consume freshly roasted, fair-trade coffee. In doing so, we will bring the coffee from the harvest to your cup.
- Coffee is the world's second most valuable commodity exporting by developing countries, after oil. The global coffee industry earns an estimated $60 billion annually. Less than 10 percent of those earnings end up in the hands of coffee farmers.
valuable export
- Profits for coffee-producing countries have declined dramatically. In 1985, for example, 38 cents of every dollar spent on coffee in the United States returned to producing countries. By 1995, that share dropped to 23 cents—a 40 percent fall.