Trade issues on the front page? From World
Trade Organization meetings to NAFTA to International Monetary
Fund policies, international trade receives a surprising
amount of attention these days. Likewise, the founders of
Cooperative Coffees carefully addressed our trade practices
in our Articles of Incorporation and in our everyday operating
policies. We are committed to fair trade, rather than free
trade practices. Free trade can be summarized as the elimination
of trade rules in favor of allowing the open, free market
to determine who will succeed. Results? With no rules, the
poor and disenfranchised often get left behind.
In contrast, Cooperative Coffees adopted
self-imposed standards by which we conduct our business
with small farmers. Sometimes a few rules are a good thing.
Why did we do this? We purposely source our coffee from
the little guys and we recognize that many of these partner
producers are inherently disadvantaged when operating in
an open market. They often do not have access to capital
and basic market information. And export channels within
their countries are often designed to make it extremely
difficult for the producer to directly market their product
- forcing them to deal with one or more middlemen. Acknowledging
these difficult circumstances, Cooperative Coffees circumvents
traditional trade routes and develops direct relationships
with producers based on fairness and an open exchange of
information.
Several fair trade organizations such
as TransFair USA and the Fair Trade Federation are working
hard to promote and expand the consumer market for fairly
traded products. All participants in the fair trade movement,
including Cooperative Coffees, adopt a code of trade practices
similar to those summarized on the following page.
