W H Y   F A I R   T R A D E ? From Wikipedia : Fair trade is an organized social movement which promotes standards for international labor, environmentalism, and social policy in areas related to production of Fairtrade labeled and unlabeled goods. From Transfair USA : Fair Trade Certification empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace. From Global Exchange : Fair Trade . . . [assures] consumers that the coffee we drink was purchased under fair conditions. To become Fair Trade certified, an importer must meet stringent international criteria; paying a minimum price per pound of $1.26 (recently bumped up to $1.31), providing much needed credit to farmers, and providing technical assistance such as help transitioning to organic farming. Fair Trade for coffee farmers means community development, health, education, and environmental stewardship. This all sounds terrific, doesn't it? But how does Fair Trade really work in the coffee industry? Hopefully like this: a group of small coffee farmers gets together and forms a coop, agreeing to complete financial and organizational transparency, as well as making a commitment to assist coop farmers with negotiating issues, crop and harvest improvement, processing and delivery efficiency, and social serivces. (fluctuating prices, etc.) Once the co-op is joins the "Fair-Trade" register, they are guaranteed a minimum of $1.31/lb ($1.46 organic for Fair Trade/Organic). The reason Fair Trade price minimums have become so important relates to the wildly fluctuating market price for green coffee beans. A few years back, for example, Vietnamese coffee flooded the market and coffee prices plunged; many small coffee farms experienced tremendous hardship, as the price they received for their crops didn't begin to cover their costs. The Fair Trade minimum price ensures that co-op members will be able to make a living, even when the market dives. Also, the route from grower to consumer becomes more direct; instead of being purchased by a "middleman" who then negotiates with coffee importers, the co-op itself works wth importers. This "middleman" is guided by profit motives entirely independent from the best interest of the grower. Fair-Trade co-ops, conversely, operate entirely in the best interest of the grower. To be fair, we should point out that plenty of independent small farms and larger estates and plantations work diligently to ensure their workers earn a good wage, have access to health care, and generally operate in the "Fair-Trade" mode, although they can't be certified as such.  The reason we currently choose only Fair-Trade certified coffees relates to transparency issues; when we buy Fair-Trade certified coffee, we can be certain the growers are getting their fair share. For an interesting set of facts about Fair Trade coffee, please check out this link: http://transfairusa.org/pdfs/fastfacts_coffee.pdf

W H Y   O R G A N I C ? Buying organic products may seem to be simply a matter of personal preference. We don't want pesticides touching the food we eat, so we look for organic produce, meat, coffee, even fabrics. But hey, if some people don't care what they put in or on their bodies, so be it. No harm done. Well, not so fast; when it comes to coffee, in particular, buying organic means being good to the environment. Coffee plants thrive at high altitudes, growing  amid the shade of trees and other vegetation. Strip those trees away to get more plants per acre, then apply pesticides, and no question: you get a much higher yield of coffee berries. On the other hand, you eliminate habitat for birds and other animals, pollute the air and water, and cause unnatural erosion. Essentially, you kill the land. Organic certification works to ensure verifiably good stewardship not only of the land, but of the air, water, and fauna A good deal of outstanding specialty coffee is uncertified passive organic, adhering to generally accepted organic farming practices which nurture, rather than rupture, the ecosystem. Obtaining organic certification is not always economically feasible for coffee growers, and because of this we may miss out on some exceptional beans; however, we choose to stick with certified organics for now, for the same reason we stick with Fair Trade coffee. It is our sincere hope that the certification process, both for Fair Trade and Organic coffees, becomes more accessible--read affordable--to all coffee growers. Geoff Watts of Intelligentsia Coffee, presents another side to the debate over organic certification. Check out his arguments here: WATTS WORKS - DIRECT TRADE AND ORGANIC CERTIFICATION .