[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re curious about certifications, this series is for you: Over the course of several blog posts, we\u2019<\/span><\/i>re\u00a0<\/span><\/i>explor<\/span><\/i>ing<\/span><\/i>\u00a0some of the existing certifications that are available for specialty green coffee, including taking a look at their mission, standards, and whatever auditing or other requirements are important for you to know.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the second post of this series, we\u2019ll explore what \u201cFair Trade\u201d means around the world, how to become Fair Trade\u2013certified, and how this alternative marketing philosophy can benefit farmers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Warehouse-Bags1222.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Fairtrade at a Glance” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Fair Trade at a Glance<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Briefly, to set the stage for the rest of this journey, here is a simplified list of the major standards and tenets of\u00a0<\/span>Fairtrade International<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(FLO)<\/span>\/<\/span>Fair Trade<\/span>\u00a0USA<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Los_Naranjos-1-2.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Csta_Rica-1.jpg” align=”right” max_width=”90%” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Defining Fair-trade” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Defining \u201cFair Trade\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Before Fair Trade was a certification, it was a movement:\u00a0<\/span>Throughout this piece, you\u2019ll see the term written several different ways, including\u00a0<\/span>\u201cfair trade,\u201d with lowercase letters<\/span>, which is how we refer to the general sourcing philosophy<\/span>\u00a0that came to be starting in the 1940s<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>You will also<\/span>\u00a0see\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Fair Trade<\/span>,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0two words<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0capitalized, referring to the U.S.-based organization<\/span>, standards,<\/span>\u00a0and initiatives. When the word\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Fairtrade<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0(close up) is written, it implies involvement of FLO, or Fairtrade Labeling Organization International<\/span>, which is generally known as Fairtrade International<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Confusing<\/span>, right<\/span>? Yeah, we know. That\u2019s why this next section exists.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are many ways to describe or define what Fair Trade<\/span>\/Fairtrade<\/span>\u00a0means, but the most common one you will likely hear is something simplified along the lines of \u201cit means the producer is paid more money for their work or product<\/span>,\u201d and often what the speaker means is that there is a built-in\u00a0<\/span>price\u00a0<\/span>premium for simply holding some form of Fair Trade or Fairtrade certification<\/span>. This is true: Goods that carry Fair Trade\/Fairtrade certification do come with a price premium<\/span>\u2014but that isn\u2019t the only function of this cert. It is also a mark that carries implication regarding fair labor use (no child or bonded labor, for example), environmentally sound practices, and\u2014historically perhaps the most significant aim\u2014the desire to empower\u00a0<\/span>smallholder farmers by encouraging them to band together in order to gain more market access and leverage.<\/span>\u00a0(More on this last point in just a moment.)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Defining Fair-trade 2″ _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Why is this premium price important? Good question, thanks for asking!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the 1940s, as a response to the<\/span>\u00a0cycles of exploitation and abuse that arose from\u00a0<\/span>increasingly\u00a0<\/span>globalized capitalism<\/span>, many religious, charitable, and\/or non-governmental organizations began seeking to\u00a0<\/span>develop more equitable supply chains between consumers and producers\u2014specifically producers in\u00a0<\/span>the Global South<\/span>, or countries that had been negatively economically affected by colonialism<\/span>. Business models like Ten Thousand Villages grew out of this early push, selling art, crafts, textiles, and other handmade items in order to solicit donations that would be used to strengthen those supply chains at their country of origin.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Throughout the 1960s and specifically in Europe, politicized pushback against the continued exploitation of labor through international trade gave rise to a \u201cTrade not Aid\u201d philosophy that saw the emergence of alternative trade initiatives\u00a0<\/span>(so-called \u201cfair trade\u201d)\u00a0<\/span>designed to bypass complicated chains of custody by connecting buyers and sellers more directly through business networks, shops, catalogs, and other<\/span>\u00a0highly specialized<\/span>\u00a0means. Alternative trade organizations like Oxfam came into being at this time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Cafe_Imports_Warehouse-1-5.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Defining Fair-trade 2″ _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Then, i<\/span>n the late 1980s, consumer demand for credibility and traceability led to the transformation of the fair trade concept into something more standardized, recogni<\/span>zable, and easily distributable across\u00a0<\/span>multiple (rather than specialized)<\/span>channels. The first<\/span>\u00a0official<\/span>\u00a0alternative trading certification,\u00a0<\/span>called\u00a0<\/span>Max Havelaar, was established in\u00a0<\/span>Holland\u00a0<\/span>in 1988<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0named for a 19<\/span>th<\/span>-century Dutch<\/span>\u00a0novel<\/span>\u00a0about the horrors of the Indonesian coffee trade under Dutch colonial control. This\u00a0<\/span>was the first\u00a0<\/span>certification\u00a0<\/span>that allowed certified products and to be sold<\/span>\u00a0in mainstream shops, as opposed to being limited to fair-trade-only marketplaces.<\/span><\/p>\n The rest of Europe and the United States took inspiration from Max Havelaar, and the 1990s saw several new international initiatives to solidify and legitimize the fair trade philosophy. Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO International)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>came into being in 1997, creating an amalgamation of like-minded certification organizations around the world and attempting to standardize them along the lines of their policies and procedures.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Fairtrade International (FLO) is the longest-standing standard-setting body, and its certification arm (FLO-CERT) is the oldest entity of its type<\/span>. In 2012, the United States\u2019 standard-setting body, Fair Trade USA, split off from FLO in order to create and support its own set of certification requirements and prerequisites.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The primary ide<\/span>o<\/span>logical difference between Fair Trade USA and Fairtrade International is that\u00a0<\/span>FLO certification is only available to smallholder producers who belong to democratically run associations or cooperatives, while FTUSA recognizes<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>cooperatives as well as individual and<\/span>\u00a0large-scale producers<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Fai<\/span>r<\/span>\u00a0Trade USA defines \u201csmall-scale\u201d as those farms that have 0\u20135 permanent workers\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span><\/i>\u00a0less than 25 total workers; large-scale operations have more than 25 permanent workers\u00a0<\/span>or<\/span><\/i>\u00a0more than 100 total workers.<\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Defining Fair-trade 2″ _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n This last point is relatively key to understanding the evolution of the movement and philosophy behind fair trade: Perhaps\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span><\/i>\u00a0pivotal tenet of Fairtrade International was the initiative to encourage smallholder farmers to simulate an economy of scale by banding together into associations and cooperatives with democratic leadership. This aspect of the movement was intended to provide the<\/span>m\u00a0<\/span>with greater access to a competitive marketplace, create pathways for producers to share and pool resources, and to provide greater transparency and traceability to producers who have historically had their products sold anonymously and for little (if any) profit back to their pockets. To this day, FLO certifies only smallholder farmers who are affiliated with democratically operated grower groups<\/span>, as the benefits to the collective action and advocacy has always been the primary goal.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Defining Fair-trade 2″ _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Fair Trade USA, on the other hand,\u00a0<\/span>asserts that\u00a0<\/span>individual and even large-scale plantation operations\u00a0<\/span>should be<\/span>\u00a0eligible for certification, which makes\u00a0<\/span>FTUSA\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0primary focus more about the other standards (agrochemical abatement, labor protections, etc)<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0as well as the premium associated with the certification<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and the guaranteed\u00a0<\/span>security that comes with the\u00a0<\/span>floor price.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Becoming Certified” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Becoming Certified<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Producers who are interested in becoming certified will need to apply and be audited, which means first needing to comply with the requirements of\u00a0<\/span>FLO-CERT<\/span><\/a>, FTUSA<\/a>, or other overseeing entity. The process might take several months or longer depending on how much\u00a0<\/span>current operations need to change in order to be compliant.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Certification costs will\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>vary based on the complexity of the process: For example, organizations will likely need to make investments in their operations both on the group level and the individual farm level in order to achieve certification compliance, which will add expenses above and beyond the cost of the application and auditing. Auditing costs will also vary based on the number of producers and contracted labor, and more.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The initial and annual fees to the certifying organization\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span>\u00a0paid per unit, such as 3c\/lb.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sellers (such as Cafe Imports) also need to be registered with the Fair Trade\/Fairtrade certifying bodies in order to prove our own compliance (e.g. that we are paying the proper premiums and using the seals and logos appropriately). Roasters who want to sell items that are labeled as Fair Trade\/Fairtrade will need to do the same<\/span>\u00a0and can do so by filling out an application with their preferred entity<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.7″ src=”\/\/cdn.cafeimports.com\/images\/Warehouse-Bags1262.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Is Fairtrade Better” _builder_version=”3.7″ text_orientation=”justified”]<\/p>\n Is Fair Trade\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Coffee\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Better?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As with any other certification, model, philosophy, and practice in specialty coffee, there is no cut-and-dry answer to this question: We encourage our customers to take some of the significant pros and cons of this certification into consideration before coming to a conclusion.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are certainly benefits to Fair Trade\/Fairtrade certification, including:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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