Fair Trade America interviewed key people at three companies that have committed to Fair Trade. Their responses should be enough to convince you how important it is to buy / coffee, chocolate, & tea that has the FairTrade seal (and the Organic seal, of course). Vague terms such as ‘fairly traded’ or ’sustainably grown’ are often used to cover up products that aren’t certified by international Fair Trade standards.
FairTrade empowers small growers and producers. When you buy food, insist that the shops, cafés, and restaurants you patronize serve only FairTrade products!
Three Questions for … World Fair Trade Day
To celebrate the brands that have made this choice, Fairtrade America’s Alli O’Connell connects with Kicking Horse Coffee(Elana Rosenfeld, CEO), Divine Chocolate (Callie Yew, Communications Specialist), and FAIR. (Alexandre Koiransky, Founder) on their Fairtrade stories, advice on ethical sourcing, and the growing market of ethical consumption in the U.S.
We’re excited to celebrate World Fair Trade Day on May 11th alongside brands that are committed to transforming global trade. Tell us a bit about your history with Fairtrade and why you decided to source from Fairtrade certified producers?
Elana: 100% of the coffee we use is certified Fairtrade and Organic. We’re only interested in using coffee that’s good and fair for both our coffee drinkers and for farmers. We believe we can’t have one without the other. We made this commit-ment more than 10 years ago, at a time when many people told us it couldn’t be done; that we simply wouldn’t be able to source enough beans that adhere to this standard. We stuck to our commitment and have proven that it can be done. That choosing good can also mean great. And we’re proud to be great without compromising.
The benefits of sourcing Fairtrade coffee are many. Above all, the Fairtrade system empowers farmers and their communities. It also provides critical stability to these farmers in an industry that can sometimes be volatile, unpredictable and subject to dramatic price fluctuations. For Kicking Horse Coffee, Fairtrade also helps our farmers to grow with us, to help provide for our growing demand.
Continue Reading…
Leave a Reply