Fair trade coffee is part of the movement towards economic and social justice for excluded and disadvantaged coffee producers. It promotes environmental sustainability and the payment of a fair price to small coffee producers, guaranteeing them a minimum price.

Over the course of many years, Alternative Trading Organizations have been set up to establish trading relationships with coffee-farming co-ops in the Third World and to pay small coffee farmers a living wage for their labour. Fair trade is not charity; it represents a radically different approach from the way international trade has been traditionally conducted.

Most coffee consumed comes from producers who are paid around 11 cents for every dollar spent by the coffee-consuming public compared to 28 cents for every dollar spent by the coffee-consuming public under fair trade arrangements. Fair trade gets rid of “middlemen” in the export country and aims to empower marginalized coffee workers and producers.

Fair Trade coffees are closely connected to organic coffees. In fact, most certified organic coffees are also certified fair trade coffees.

Organic fair trade coffees have been strongly supported in Europe for decades, and they are steadily gaining in popularity elsewhere. One could say they have hit the mainstream, with fair trade coffee now sold in many major supermarket chains. However, despite ongoing efforts to raise consumer awareness, fair trade coffees still have a long way to go before they become the norm.

More about the Fair Trade Logo.