The Issue of Fair Trade

Fair Trade coffee is a controversial topic in the coffee world. In the 1990s, the fair trade movement took root, as a way to pay coffee growers a fairer price for their coffees, and provide better opportunities for farming communities. The 10 principles of fair trade are:

Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers
Transparency and accountability
Fair trading practices
Payment of a fair price
Ensuring no child or enforced labor
Commitment to non-discrimination
Ensuring good working conditions
Providing capacity building
Promoting fair trade
Respect for the environment

On the surface there is nothing too controversial about this, but the issue these days is the quality of coffee. Coffee companies like Starbucks do wonderful things to promote fair trade, and they are the largest fair trade coffee provider, but with coffee prices at all time lows, are farmers really being paid for the quality of coffee they are producing?

The following video produced by Vocativ, a digital news service, points out that better prices for coffee are being paid for those who produce better quality coffee.

The video raises some interesting questions. Is fair trade worth it anymore? With so many coffee companies dealing in direct trade, is there any concern that the economic progress made from fair trade practices will backslide?

What are your thoughts?

Charlie