Tuesday, June 14, 2011

FAIR TRADE

I like coffee. I drink several cups each morning as a part of my wake-up routine. Occasionally I drink it at times later in the day. I like my coffee black, strong, and hot.

So it pleased me several years ago when I started hearing about Fair Trade Coffee. Fair Trade is an organized effort to get a better wage for producers of goods in developing countries. Fair Trade includes such products as the aforementioned coffee, cocoa, tea, handcrafts and numerous other items. If you are not really familiar with it, then google Fair Trade and read all about it. There are lots of articles describing its scope and purpose. You can also find lots of products that are sold under the Fair Trade banner.

This idea started small and has steadily grown. Large corporations such as Proctor and Gamble (producers of Folgers and Millstone Coffee among hundreds of other products)at first opposed the effort. Their resistance was eventually broken down because other competitors signed on to the idea. P & G now offers their Millstone coffee as a Fair Trade item. Fair Trade
items can be found in well known businesses such as Dunkin Donuts,Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, as well as many grocery chains.

Fair Trade items are more expensive, although not by much. They are also of outstanding quality. Paying a little more here at home makes possible a better wage for a poor farmer in another country who produces what we so enjoy. It is one of the easiest, yet genuinely helpful, ways that all of us can compassionately touch the larger world.

So, enjoy good java. And look for the fair trade label. Your purchase will help a family somewhere else. That makes for a double enjoyment.

1 comment:

  1. Bravo! I recommend the Keurig Brewer with "Newman's Own" which is both fair trade and organic. Good stuff!

    Here's the link: http://www.newmansownorganicscoffee.com/shop/

    ReplyDelete