22 Jun 2023

Coffee for the future

At Fairtrade, we believe that every cup of coffee should not only taste delicious but also contribute to a better world and fairer practices for farmers and workers in this sector.

Coffee CENFROCAFE Peru 2020
Given the crucial role that women play in their families, household economies, and communities, it is essential that progress toward women’s equality does not reverse course.

Fairtrade coffee helps build sustainable livelihoods

Fairtrade coffee is more than just a label; it's a commitment to coffee farmers and workers around the world. With Fairtrade, farmers and workers receive fair prices for their beans, enabling them to invest in their communities, education, and healthcare. Fairtrade also pushes for safer working conditions and prohibits child labor, supporting farmers and workers to build sustainable livelihoods and secure a brighter future for their families.

  • Fairtrade aims to give farmers stability in times of economic crises or unpredictablity through the Fairtrade Minimum Price, which protects farmers and workers from sudden price drops by providing a financial safety net.

  • Another way that we help improve the livelihood of farmers, is with the Fairtrade Premium – an extra sum of money paid on top of the selling price that farmers and workers can use to invest in their communities, land resources, or projects of their choice. Since 2015, €565 million in Fairtrade Premium has been generated just through coffee sales.

  • For Fairtrade, investing locally means building stronger, more resilient producer organisations. This allows farmers and workers to have more market accessibilty, stronger negotiation power, and the ability to use their voice democratically in the voting process.

  • Through an extensive collaborative effort, Fairtrade has implemented Living Income Reference Prices (LIRP) for coffee in four Fairtrade origins: Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala*, Indonesia, and Uganda. These are prices that coffee farmers must receive in order to earn an income that provides decent housing, nutritious food, education, healthcare, emergency funds, and other necessities that constitute a decent living standard.

Why choose Fairtrade coffee?

Coffee farming is a hard and volatile way to make a living and farmers and workers are often overworked and underpaid. We know there are two key actions you can take to improve farmer livelihoods: push for fairer prices and invest in local organisations. For pricing, the logic is simple: to improve livelihoods in any sense, you need more money. That's why we’re striving to secure higher incomes for coffee farmers.

Here are some reasons to choose Fairtrade:

No. 1

Fairtrade coffee is the most globally recognised Fairtrade product.

18%

of Fairtrade coffee farmers are women.

663

Fairtrade certified coffee farmer organisations.

€565 million

in Fairtrade Premium generated from coffee sales since 2015.

Nearly 9 in 10 people

who recognise the Fairtrade label trust it, compared with much lower trust in companies' self-reported sustainability of performance.

We are the only certification that is equally (50%) owned by farmers which allows them to use their voice when making key decisions in the voting process, creating new strategies, and pushing for change in their sectors. We also help cultivate long-term relationships between farmers and stakeholders that lead to sustainable practices and more resilient supply chains that adhere to due diligence standards.

Fairtrade protects the environment

Supporting Fairtrade coffee means supporting the transition to a more sustainable, climate-friendly industry. We shape our standards and policies around the goal of returning coffee back to it's natural roots with small-scale farmers growing coffee under a forest canopy. This method helps to increase carbon capture and boost biodiversity in the fields, resulting in less use of pesticides, healthier soil generation, and safer environments for farmers, workers, and natural pollinators.

The popularity of coffee means that many companies focus on using unethical and unsustainable practices to produce coffee quickly and at high amounts leading to damages to the environment and natural resources. We want to change that.

This is why we facilitate a system where farmers and workers have the necessary tools to grow quality, sustainable coffee that's beneficial for the land, climate, and overall coffee industry. We also recently announced that we will be changing the pricing structure for Fairtrade coffee which aims to strengthen protections for coffee farmers and workers against the growing impacts of climate change and global volatility.

Now more than ever, we are committed to helping farmers adapt, mitigate and become more resilient and supporting businesses and consumers to be part of a more sustainable supply chain.

Projects like the Fairtrade Climate Academy- developed in collaboration with thousands of farmers worldwide- focus on raising awareness, sharing best practices, highlighting diversification and alternative energy sources, and providing tools to help farmers be more adaptable to climate change.

Being fair tastes great

It is a common misconception that you must sacrifice quality and flavor in order to be more sustainable.

Fairtrade coffee is produced with great skill, care and attention by award-winning coffee farmers. It’s great tasting, high-quality coffee with a vast array of flavour profiles. Our coffee is produced by coffee cooperatives that unite farmers and their communities, offer technical support, and create sophisticated quality control systems to deliver amazing coffee to roasters and shoppers alike.

To bring more awareness to Fairtrade coffee, some of our Producer Networks created the 'Golden Cup' global competition. This event brings together Fairtrade certified organisations across the globe to encourage smaller scale coffee farmers to improve coffee quality and provide them an opportunity to network with potential buyers and others in the industry.

  • We continuously strive to improve quality through Fairtrade Standards incentives such as a Fairtrade Premium payment of 20 cents per pound for conventional coffee and an additional 30 cents per pound if produced organically. Additionally, at least five cents per pound of the Fairtrade Premium must be dedicated to improve production or quality.

  • Besides these economic incentives, the Fairtrade Producer Networks are constantly raising awareness among the cooperatives in their regions about quality issues, encouraging them to focus their training and investment efforts towards quality improvements.

  • When you choose Fairtrade coffee, you’re doing your part to help build a fairer system of trade. You’re supporting more sustainable livelihoods for coffee farmers around the world. And you’re supporting cleaner, greener methods and means of production.

Interested in working with us?

Companies can work with Fairtrade in different ways, from being traders and processors of Fairtrade goods, to licensees and retailers of finished Fairtrade labelled products.

Learn more here: https://www.fairtrade.net/act/...

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