We've all heard a lot about buying fair trade and organic products lately, especially when it comes to everyday necessities like coffee. But what exactly does "fair trade" imply? And why is buying Fair Trade And Organic Coffee so important?
What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is a system of buying and selling goods and commodities in which local producers and communities involved in the commodity's growth and production are honored and paid a fair wage. Fair trade may also include policies that respect the local natural environment and promote people-to-people connections, fairness, and sustainability.
Almost 85% of Fair Trade Certified coffee is organic as well. And while organic coffee is usually more expensive, fair trade coffee is not. Despite the slightly higher price per bean, the list below will provide some compelling reasons you should consider supporting the international community of fair trade coffee producers.
- Supports Environmental Sustainability
When you buy fair trade, organic coffee, you also support environmental sustainability by reducing and eliminating the use of harmful toxic agrochemicals, pesticides, and other chemical additives. Furthermore, many fair trade coffee farmers use sustainable production methods to ensure that the natural environment thrives for future generations.
- Fair Price
You believe that products should be priced fairly, and the international Fair Trade Labeling Organization has set a base price for certified fair trade coffee. As a result, neither you nor the workers who produce the beans are taken advantage of.
- Supports Local Communities & Workers
By purchasing fair trade, organic coffee, you are assisting the workers, organizations, and communities involved in the production to earn a living wage. This is a direct protest against commodity practices that deprive workers of the minimum wage needed for basic food, shelter, medical care, and education. Buy from the Best Coffee Shops in Chicago.
- Invests in Local Community Building
When you purchase from a fair-trade producer, you also invest a small portion of your money in that community. Unlike coffee producers who move into villages and towns and adopt local customs and culture, many fair trade coffee cooperatives reinvest profits in local businesses and communities.
More importantly, fair trade producers consistently provide a social premium to specific community development initiatives such as housing, healthcare, education, leadership training, and women's programs.
- Tastes Better & Healthier For You!
Organic, fair-trade coffee is better for your health and tastes better. As global coffee demand grows, mass-production methods result in lower-quality coffee. Organic coffee grown sustainably is often grown slowly and under the canopy of a rainforest. It is also grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, which allows the coffee to retain all its nutrients.
Organic coffee is processed without the use of harsh chemicals that are commonly used on non-organic beans during the pressing process. Furthermore, organic coffee plants produce soil that retains its complex nutrient base. These plants can then slowly and steadily feed nutrients into the beans, giving them a robust, smooth flavor. It also allows the native soil to keep its diverse nutrient profile (as compared to the depleted soils commonly found on full-sun coffee farms).
- Help Increase and Preserve Biodiversity
In the winter, many birds in the United States migrate to "coffee country." Unlike mass-produced coffee, which sometimes deprives animals of their natural habitat, traditional fair-trade coffee plantations in countries such as Colombia and Mexico provide some of the last remaining bird habitats. According to studies conducted in these two countries, organic "shade-grown" coffee plantations have up to 95% more bird life than large-scale, rain-forest-stripped "sun-grown" plantations.
- Remove the Middle Man
Before reaching your lips, that $4.00 Vente Mocha Latte may have passed through the hands of up to ten different farmers, exporters, brokers, processors, roasters, and retailers. Fair trade and organic coffee work directly with cooperatives of small bean farmers to eliminate these costly middlemen.