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Sustainable
coffee should be as organic as possible, shade-grown, and
fair trade. Fair-trade coffee means that a bottom price per pound is set to insure farmers an income from growing coffee. If the coffee market in New York goes below that price, the farmers growing fair-trade coffee will still get that floor price. If coffee goes above the set price (currently $1.50/lb), the farmer will get the higher price. So the farmers are protected on the lower end of the market.
We
believe in fair-trade coffee and believe it is the future
of the coffee industry. If farmers can’t make a decent
living growing coffee, they will grow other crops. So fair-trade
coffee helps insure we’ll still be able to buy great
coffees next year and the year after. And it’s the
right thing to do. Coffee farmers are some of the poorest
people on the planet.
A
unique business venture called Cooperative
Coffees, Inc., (of which Heine Brothers'
Coffee is a member) has recently organized to import green
coffee purchased from and in partnership with small-scale
farmer cooperatives. In addition to making the importing
process more efficient, the Cooperative will engage in Fair
Trade Practices that support the producing partners.
Here
are the basic principles of Fair Trade that Cooperative
Coffees, Inc adhere to:
- Farmers
are guaranteed a minimum "fair-trade price" of $1.50 per pound for their coffee. If the world price rises above $1.50, farmers will be paid a small (5 cents per pound) premium above market price.
- Coffee
importers provide credit to farmers against future
sales, helping farmers stay out of debt to local coffee
"coyotes," who charge unsound rates of interest.
- Importers
and roasters agree to develop direct, long-term
trade relationships with producer groups, thereby cutting
out middlemen and bringing greater commercial stability
to the extremely unstable coffee commodities market.
Learn
more about this cooperative.
Let’s
all enjoy great coffee, from the seed to the cup!
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