# Is Fairtrade really fair?



## adamfahn

Hi all

This is an interesting blog that has been shown to me.

http://www.cafe-ita.co.uk/farm-journal/2008/10/14/is-fairtrade-really-fair.html

It discusses some issues and shortcomings with Fairtrade. We stock some Fairtrade but don't make it the be all and end all of our menu, much to the annoyance of our local Fairtrade lobby.


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## Glenn

Adam, thanks for picking up on this.

Steve from HasBean (mentioned in the blog) has talked about the biodynamic credentials of his operation by way of his Vlog (video blog) InMyMug.

Direct trade and Fairtrade are two completely different concepts and merit a thread on each.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach and some farms may opt for a Fairtrade scheme rather than an individual relationship (direct trade) approach.


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## adamfahn

That's right Glenn but what annoys me is our local Fairtrade lobby being anything but fair when it comes to tactics to force me to use ONLY Fairtrade. They will not accept that I have chosen a model of Direct Trade with RA certification too (Rainforest Alliance).

I spoke to the Fairtrade Foundation today who didn't seem too bothered by the local group's approach but do appreciate there are alternatives and all are a step in the right direction.

I also spoke to an RA director this afternoon who had a much better outlook and was far more accepting of all the other schemes out there.

For this reason, I have to say I am more infavour of RA Certification out of the big names.


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## James Hoffmann

I think the intentions of all the certifications are very noble, but I think they have been extremely lazy at communicating their goals to the consumer.

People don't understand what FT, RA Utz Kapeh or other certifications actually guarantee.

Ethical trade is important, but more so is building mutually beneficial and sustainable trading opportunities.


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## AlexV

They all think their way is the only way, which is the problem.


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## Glenn

We've put the feelers out for some FairTrade Advocates to pop along and put across their side of the story.

There does not seem to be much of a voice at this time but I am hoping that will change soon.

If anyone knows of someone who may like to be contacted for a short interview then please email me or PM me details.


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## adamfahn

Well I know the local FT lobby to me would be interested but not sure how balanced it would be!

The Adam Smith Institure published this interesting read - http://www.adamsmith.org/images/pdf/unfair_trade.pdf


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## Glenn

All viewpoints welcomed - it will make for a good debate.


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## goispro

I wish I had the choice - here in Portugal I don't know if Fairtrade even exists - if it does, I haven't come across it.


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## StudyCoffee

Well fairtrade is not fair because a lot of factors of human itself, greed, pride, lust, self-centered. sorry being harsh for first post but it is true.

All merchants want to make maximum profits but the poor people have little education so that the merchants can lie to the farmers in the third world to get the cheapest cost as possible That's nothing wrong with it but you know is the method to make that deal which makes "fair trade" not possible


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## adamfahn

StudyCoffee, appreciate the views and respect different cases but I am not quite sure what side of the arguemnt you are on??

Are you saying Fair Trade and other ethical initiatives aren't fair because people aren't?


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## jenny_adams

It's a sticky topic, you could look at it from different points of view...


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## chrisweaver_barista

I agree with James, it is the lack of communication with the certifications.

Fairtrade seem to present themselves as the only way to buy fair coffee. But it just isn't true. The information on fairtrade itself is non-existant. Constantly you hear the phrase "We guarantee a fair price for our coffee", but what does that mean? Without knowing the price, and the alternative, how can we know?

Consumers NEED to ask more questions, why is it fair? how can you guarantee where the money is going? Is it a method of selling coffee which helps the market?

Chris


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## Glenn

Another interesting *article* with differing viewpoints thanks to Ru from Coolaboola (Newcastle)


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## quellomayo

Very interesting this. My Peruvian wife and her family produce coffee and sell it to their local cooperative here near Machu Picchu in Peru. The cooperative has links with Cafe Direct in the UK which is a far trade operator. We are paid approx 420 soles for 46 kilos of green coffee (4.5 soles = 1 british pound). This price does not include a reserve amount which is paid to all associates at the end of the year. Other cooperatives locally pay more than this and the visibility of fair trade is very poor. Growers tend to just accept the cooperative policies and often they are not very well informed about just what this logo means for them. If the price paid by this cooperative is the same or less than that paid by others then where is the fair trade.

I have to point out that I am Brtish and married into the family, I am not part of the cooperative and therefore have been to no meetings but I do feel that perhaps at a local level the growers are not receiving all the info and/or help that the fair trade companies may believe they are receiving.

It's something I hope to learn more about in the coming years.


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## Pjordan

This is something I'd love to learn more about, having taken our coffee not only due to its quality but also Origin's farmer30 policy, ensuring farmers all make a 30% margin on their crop, regardless of where they are based - this must remove the issue of setting a worldwide fairtrade price. Also they're working on direct trade, have just bought in their first directly traded pallet. We'll see how this goes, hopefully will find some time to get to some talks on the subject and learn a little bit more!


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## MikeHag

Sorry to bump an old thread but I'd like to get a good understanding of Fair Trade, specifically in coffee, and even more specifically regarding the distinction between its appropriateness when discussing Speciality versus Commodity. I'm off to do some digging into recent unbiased papers/publications, but if anyone has any useful pointers then please feel free to post details or a URL. Cheers.


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## Earlepap

I read an interesting post from Steve at hasbean on fair trade a while ago. I can't find it now, and I'm sure you've read it anyway but thought I'd mention just in case.


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## lookseehear

My understanding is that the label fair trade isn't as good as it is made out to be for the farmers and that most specialty coffee is significantly fairer than fair trade (especially for the direct trade arrangements that some roasters have). I remember reading Steve's blog on it or hearing an audio boo. I'll try and track it down. Considering Has bean are supplying your beans it might be worth trying to get Steve on the phone for a chat about it as he is probably as knowledgeable as anyone.

Also, if you're worried about potential customers wanting to see the fair trade logo, then perhaps when you've checked the details you could have a 'fairer than fairtrade' plaque up. It might even be something that the customers want to find out more about as a result.


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## jimbow

Sorry, please ignore - double post.


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## jimbow

Earlepap said:


> I read an interesting post from Steve at hasbean on fair trade a while ago. I can't find it now, and I'm sure you've read it anyway but thought I'd mention just in case.


I remember this too. I think Steve may even have appeared on the radio at the time discussing Fair Trade. If you look on HasBlog you may be able to find a link to his original article.

I think the basic gist was that Fair Trade was originally intended to set a fixed price upfront for coffee trade that was believed fair for the farmers. The problem is that, since then, coffee prices on the commodity markets have sky rocketed but the farmers have not been able to benefit and are stuck selling at the fixed price set in their fair trade agreements.


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## MikeHag

Yup







thanks.

Steve's argument is very similar to ones written by Tim Wendelboe and also Geoff Watts the Intell buyeri... but then there is a counter argument by Mark Overly. I don't think any of them are sufficiently detailed for a reader to form their own conclusions, which is important to me as when the Fair Trade evangelists come knocking on the cafe door (and they will!) I'd like to be able to explain my position, rather than just refer them to a blog post by someone else.

I mean, I'd love to believe that Direct Trade is fairer than Fair Trade, but how do we know that is really the case. Do any of us really understand FT enough to wave it off as inferior? That might be a bad decision, ethically.


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## MWJB

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-6756318286045228473 Fair trade related, but not specifically to coffee, skip to 25mins for an idea of how FT relates to cocoa growers in Ghana...

Aaaahhhrrrgggg! I give up...why do none of my links, embeds or anything else work on this forum?

Google "The Great African Scandal" and a googlevideo of Robert Beckford in Ghana pops up, FF to ~25:00...


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## JamesG

Here's a link to the one by Steve: http://faq.hasbean.co.uk/questions/13/Fair+Trade+for+who%3F+A+counter+view+to+the+Fair+Trade+Debate+

There are several articles by Tim here: http://timwendelboe.no/category/fair-trade/

Isn't FT more related to commodity coffee? Isn't the FT price linked to the commodity price?


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## MikeHag

Thanks for that







I'll give it a watch as it is likely to be quite relevant since often coffee farmers are also cacao farmers.


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## Outlaw333

My issue with fair trade isn't only the 'job seekers allowance' style set up whereby the Fair Trade organisation pays the farmer what they deem 'what the farmer needs to survive' I belive $1.26 per LB of green beans, giving the farmer 'charity case' status and pay, therefore little or no opportunity to expand, improve and become truly successful.

I think the whole cooperative setup is crappy too, meaning A) With no provenance, farmers stuck in the fair trade system, however potentially fantastic their produce they are never going to get recognition in the specialty market. B) With basically no quality control exacerbating the Issue, you might have one farmer and family busting their balls to produce great coffee that will just end up blended with the other 10 farmers who just did the bare minimum to ensure yield over quality.

Even though the situation in Ethiopia etc isn't perfect(with the whole lack of provenance thing) at least the coffee is cupped and price determined by quality and farmers are rewarded for putting in the hard work.

It may or may not have been said before but these are a couple of big flaws I spotted in the system


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## Milesy

I would rather pay more to a farmer that worked hard to produce good quality coffee and recieved the benefits of it rather than him working hard to be given what I can only describe as charity along side other farmers who are not working as hard or producing as good a product. Any working man wants to be recognised for hard work and paid accordingly among his peers for it.


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## oldroaster

Ethics or environment? What use is ethics with no environment? Surely, it should be a combination of the two. Interesting article here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/04/green-coffee


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## Jurang Wholesale Limited

We made a commitment to just doing Fairtrade, however, it wasn't and isn't done blindly. I think direct trade is great too and there is many other business models which do not exploit. For me personally the main issue is traceability and transparency. Although on this forum many of us clearly know excellent (little) roasters who have fantastic records in both those areas, many "members of the general public" are a) not interested enough in really good quality coffee and b) are heavily affected and influenced by flash branding. That's why these people fall prey to the likes of oppressive companies like Nestle and Kraft who really don't care about anything other than making money. To counteract that Fairtrade is great and surely anything but buying from companies that really don't give a crap needs to be welcomed.

However, ultimately what's required is a change of heart/attitude by consumers. A few years ago I wrote an article on it which argued for exactly that; it featured on Wiki for a while before it got removed because it was hosted on our company server (commercial reasons etc.). Google 'Fairtrade or Fair Trade; does a philosophy need branding' if you are interested.

Basically don't throw the baby with the bath water (on either side). Someone mentioned educating your consumers, using a 'Fairer than Fairtrade' system etc. all great stuff! Nazi style lobbying by FT groups is annoying I agree. I think examples from Cafedirect, Equal Exchange and Traidcraft show that this is not just about some 'charity' and 'feel good' system but more about sustainable development. Fairtrade isn't perfect and certainly not the "be all and end all" - but let's take it as a start and see how we can embrace the central values and implement them better.

If you are still looking for a good advocate on this forum; I'd perhaps try Cafedirect?


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## MikeHag

Great - thanks very much







I believe I met the owner of Cafe Direct at the Glasgow UKBC heat, so I'll see if I still have his card.


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## uma_bica

goispro said:


> I wish I had the choice - here in Portugal I don't know if Fairtrade even exists - if it does, I haven't come across it.


Now that you mentioned that I recall looking at Delta's (probably Portugal's biggest roasting company) website and they do seem to have that:

http://www.delta-cafes.pt/pt/produtos/take-home/comercio-justo

Unfortunately they don't seem to have a website in English (or I couldn't find it). The same seems to apply to Nicola:

http://office.nicola.pt/cafe-e-cha/lote-mundo-novo/oferta


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## Outlaw333

Don't get me wrong I do belive fair trade is a good start and when another option could be the likes of Nestle, Sara Lee, Kraft etc, fair trade are offering a better alternative for sure. I just belive that the way they work by winning over the naive consumer by telling only half the story and pushing this idea that they are the only way that farmers can achive a 'fair' price for their produce and thus creating the 'Fair Trade Evangelism' and the obvious things that go with it, coupled with how the production end is formatted, I just think the system is flawed and needs a thorough overhaul and a little more honesty applied. As it was just pointed out earlier in the thread(sorry can't quite remeber who said it) Fair treatment of producers should not need to be branded and almost become an exploitation in itself.


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## Jurang Wholesale Limited

Outlaw333 said:


> Fair treatment of producers should not need to be branded and almost become an exploitation in itself.


Outlaw ... we meet again ...that's exactly the point I made in my article last year - does a philosophy need branding?


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## Outlaw333

Ah it was you who said it! I thought so but because I couldn't read it to double check I said I couldn't remeber incase I gave credit to the wrong person! It is a very good summary of the issue anyway.


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## SandMulls

The notion of being fair is subjective. It is something that will rely on the point of view of each individual. For some, fair trade will say it is fair, providing profits for entrepreneurs, which in turn pay salaries etc. to employees. On the other hand, some people will consider it as an overkill, especially at the source of the merchandise. so one couldn't really say whether it is absolutely fair, or absolutely not fair. Just my two cents here.


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