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In 1997, coffee has been the first product to be certified « Fair Trade » in the world. With a growth of about 50% every year, coffee lovers can now choose from as many blends as brands coming from the four corners of the world.

The Story behind Fair Trade

We can trace the origins of Fair Trade down to the projects organized by North-American and European churches in the 1940's. Their goal was to relieve the refugees and the communities suffering from poverty by selling their artwork in the western countries. Compared to the structures of the conventional trade, these Alternative Trade Organizations were offering more money in return to the communities of the Thrid-World by a direct trade and fair prices.
In 1988, the price of coffee on the international market dropped dangerously and this gave an opportunity to Fair Trade to introduce the market. The first brand has been "Max Havelaar", named after a fictive character that was fighting against the exploitation of the coffee slaves in the Dutch colonies.  The Dutch brand "Max Havelaar" was offering to the principal directors of the coffee industry the opportunity to adopt a new standard system based on Fair trade criteria.

It is in 1997 that FLO, the Fair Trade Labeling Organization, which protects the Fair Trade seal, is born and regrouped the brand "Max Havelaar" and all the other brands having the same goal of fair trade prices under the Fair Trade we know today.

What is Fair Trade?

The seal « Fair Trade Certified » does not only mean that the product is certified but as well the producers, the importers and the roasters are conforming the International criteria of the Fair Trade. This certification means:

* The cooperatives of producers, certified by FLO, are inspected, on site every year. There are two types of cooperatives: small family producers and bigger farms that require more employees. The small producers need to regroup under a cooperative to be able to sell their coffee with the Fair Trade certification. The cooperatives are run under a democratic, transparent and participative way; they decide how the Fair Trade money will be spent in their community. They have to respect the laws that dictate the labor conditions, the quality and the environmental norms, including the national and international ones such as the ones of the International Labor Organization.

* Production Criteria
  • It is strictly prohibited to use toxic pesticides: FLO is encouraging the producers to become organic producers.
  • The producers need to put in place an incorporate management system of their production. These strategies are giving an opportunity to the farmers to equilibrate their agricultural production (cocoa, bananas, oranges, sugar cane, etc.) and diversify their economical interests while preserving the environment. The Fair Trade coffee farms grow several different shadow trees which is profitable not only to the coffee trees, but also to preserve the quality of the grounds, which prevents erosion, the ecosystems et biodiversity of the region, threaten by the deforestation, profitable to the hybrid coffee trees, growing directly under the sun.
  • Forced or servile labor or have kids under the age of 15 years old as employees are strictly prohibited. The coffee workers have to enjoy the liberty of association and collective negotiation. The workers, seasonal or temporary, or even women, have to receive the minimum national salary. All dangers in the working environment has to be minimized.
* Minimum guaranteed Fair Trade price and premium are directly given to the cooperatives

The minimal Fair Trade price for a pound (lb) of certified Fair Trade coffee, as per FLO, is US$1.31. This price is divided in two parts:
  • The minimum Fair Trade price is US$1.21/lb
  • A social premium, to be reinvested in the community is US$0.10/lb
  • When the cooperative is also certified organic, the cooperative receives a premium of US$0.20/lb, for a total of US$1.51/lb.
* Periodic reports and regular verifications of the transactions are done by FLO's inspectors. They revise the financial documents of the cooperatives as well as the Fair Trade transactions. They compare the data of the producers with the ones of the importers, given by TransFair and the other national initiatives. This way, all the transactions are verified and compared to make sure of the integrity of the trade and every single anomaly is studied and revised. FLO as well revise the financial status to make sure the Fair Trade premium is given directly to the farmers.

The businesses, importers and roasters, are inspected as well, on site in regards to the established criteria. The importers must be engaged in a long-term trade relationship, directly with the cooperatives of producers. This relationship, more direct than the one known on the regular market, gives the producers the assurance of a security of receiving the highest benefits for their work; this way they won't end up selling their product to intermediates at a lower price and they can plan their investments. Every single transaction is monitored by TransFair: for every unit of product that has been bought, TransFair receive the documents, contracts and agreements and bills from the certified importers. These documents are a proof that all the criteria of Fair Trade are respected and that the farmers had been paid the fair price for their product. All the steps of the transaction have to be detailed and be numbered with a unique identification number, to insure of the integrity of the one transaction.

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Tags: certifed coffee | fair price | Fair Trade | Fair Trade Certified | FLOcert | Max Havelaar | minimum guaranteed price | production criteria | Transfair