The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„The early strategy was to certify cooperative coffees as organic, typically an easy task given that these peasant farmers seldom had enough money to buy chemicals to start with. As the organic niche filled with competitors and premiums for organic coffees narrowed, the development of the bird-friendly or shade-grown coffee niche offered another opportunity for such development, followed now by Fair Trade certification. Many development coffees now carry "triple certification,' meaning they are certified organically grown, certified to have been grown in mixed species shade attractive to birds and wildlife ("bird-friendly"), and certified Fair Trade, meaning that they fit certain social and environmental criteria that qualify them to be sold at fixed, higher-than-market prices.“

http://www.coffeereview.com/article.cfm?id=86 - Cached

Transfair USA | What is Fair Trade Certification (#)

„What is Fair Trade Certification From crop to cup TransFair USA is the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. It works with importers and manufacturers in this country to document business practices, providing a reliable consumer guarantee that indicates what coffees, teas and chocolates have been purchased from producers according to international Fair Trade criteria. These criteria are established by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), a consortium of Fair Trade groups in Japan, Canada, the US and 17 European countries.“

http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/ certification.php - Cached

World Bank Group | Agriculture & Rural Development | Executive Summary - Coffee Markets: New Paradigms in Global Supply and Demand (#)

„Several very large buyers that are now testing the market with these products claim that there is a limited supply if they should decide to make a stronger commitment. As markets for differentiated coffees grow, there is an increasing need for consumers to understand the sometimes complex verification or certification processes that apply to the standards-oriented coffees, such as organic, fair trade, eco-friendly, Utz Kapeh, and those using Geographic Indicators of Origin (GIO). The legitimacy of third-party certification is a vital market mechanism that can prevent indiscriminate use of these terms. The alternative may be a loss of consumer confidence that would cost the entire industry by damaging one of its few fast-growing segments.“

http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/essd/ardext.nsf/.../ executivesummary-coffeemarkets - Cached

Fairtrade | News | Press Release (#)

„“We are delighted that the poll shows the strength of consumer confidence in the FAIRTRADE Mark which is the only independent guarantee that producers receive a better deal,” says Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation. “Shoppers clearly like the assurance of independent certification and monitoring that the FAIRTRADE Mark alone provides. The rapidly rising sales prove that consumers are ready to put their money where their mouth is, and to play their part in creating a fairer world.”“

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/pr150504.htm - Cached

The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„It is considerably easier to convert farms to organic agriculture when the farmers never used chemicals in the first place, a common history in Nicaragua. Similarly, the preponderance of small growers in Nicaragua has encouraged implementation of Fair-Trade certification, a program whose bold little black-and-white seal assures buyers that growers have been paid a "fair" formula-defined price for the coffee, and that it has been produced by farmers organized into democratically run cooperatives. Four of the ten coffees reviewed here are also Fair-Trade certified.“

http://www.coffeereview.com/article.cfm?id=92 - Cached

www.coffeereview.com - the worlds leading coffee buying guide - Fair-Trade Coffees (#)

„Nevertheless, the Fair-Trade movement has created intense controversy and opposition inside the specialty coffee industry, including opposition from some professionals with a long and honorable record of active commitment to progressive and humanitarian causes. Furthermore, the Fair-Trade concept has provoked considerable confusion among coffee enthusiasts, who are regaled by five or six kinds of certification seals, are baffled by what they all mean, and are unclear about how they relate to the actual experience of the coffee in the cup.“

http://www.coffeereview.com/articles/print/ 14.cfm - Cached

International Finance Corporation - Projects (#)

„- ‘Fair Trade’ Opportunities. At present, ‘fair trade’ certification is available only to producers, typically small farmers who form a cooperative and sell direct into markets or through fair trade buyers who pay a specific ‘fair trade’ premium. Coffee has been at the forefront of ‘fair trade’ schemes to date, although they extend several other agricultural commodities (e.g. tea, cocoa).“

http://ifcln001.worldbank.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/.../ 69512d416216a61d85256d2000591e9a?opendocument - Cached

The Coffees of Mexico (#)

„A general hopelessness has become the norm, as the market has had its way and proven that what it wants from Mexico is cheap, bulk lots of coffee for blends and flavoring. Perhaps this is why the Organic and Fair Trade certification processes have taken hold here. And we definitely support these initiatives, but something is still missing, and many of the certified coffees are simply not good in the cup. The cooperatives have grown very large, and their ability (or desire) to make cup quality the top priority is flagging.“

http://www.sweetmarias.com/ coffee.central.mexico.html - Cached

PR Distribution through United Natural Foods (#)

„Fair trade certification guarantees consumers that the coffee they purchase comes from democratically organized cooperatives of small farmers that were paid a just price for their crop. This arrangement stands in contrast to the situation of millions of other coffee farming families who have struggled during the last two years as world coffee prices have reached 100 year lows. Under fair trade farmer cooperatives are paid at least $1.26 per pound of coffee, and $1.41 for organic coffee.“

http://www.equalexchange.com/news_info/ pr3.03v2.htm - Cached

Fairtrade | News | Press Release (#)

„The trend for Fairtrade is already well established in some parts of the out-of-home sector; Costa Coffee, Pret A Manger and Starbucks all offer their customers a Fairtrade coffee option and, last month, in another first for Fairtrade, Marks & Spencer secured Fairtrade certification for all coffee sold in their in-store Café Revive chain.“

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/pr011104.htm - Cached

CRS Fair Trade (#)

„CRS Notes: Unlike the other logos profiled here, the Fair Trade Federation logo pictured above is not a certification. This means that it does not represent a third party inspection and certification system. Instead, it signifies membership in the Fair Trade Federation, an organization of wholesalers and retailers committed to uphold the Fair Trade principles identified below in all their trading relationships.“

http://www.crsfairtrade.org/what_is/ sealdeal.htm - Cached

The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„While the green coffee contained in the bag may be sourced from a co-op on the Fair Trade Register, Cafe Campesino itself is not a Fair-Trade licensee, so the roasted coffee can neither be labeled nor described as Fair-Trade certified. In order to qualify for Fair-Trade certification, all of the parties involved, from grower through roaster, must maintain certification.“

http://www.coffeereview.com/article.cfm?id=95 - Cached

India coffee - Indian Coffee, monthly magazine - Cover story, The US coffee Market, Dr.S.Radhakrishnan April 2003, (#)

„Using the North American Fair Trade certification agencies' (Transfair) registered figures the US Fair Trade sales were $58.1 million in 2000 against a volume of 1,950 MT. Approximately 79% of these coffees are also certified as Organic. Globally, Fair Trade certification agencies estimate total production capacity of approximately 75,000 MT from 255 cooperatives in 22 countries.“

http://www.indiacoffee.org/newsletter/2003/april/ cover_story.html - Cached

Java Jive #19 (#)

„Tea, unlike coffee, is grown primarily on plantations, most of which are privately owned by wealthy families or corporations. Although many of the plantations in Darjeeling are progressive and well run — with workers represented by strong trade unions, or on the TransFair fair trade register (see “Fair Trade Certification ”) — our mission is to work with small-scale growers.“

http://www.equalexchange.com/news_info/ jj19.html - Cached

View topic - How do we"know" it's triple-certified? - Coffee Forum (#)

„By comparrison many of the coops I deal with would produce less than 18mt (or less than a 20' container) every year. Even if we pay above fairtrade prices for their arabica it would take years and years for them to have enough money to pay for certification....My point is sometimes the certification system works, sometimes it is does not. You certainly would be assured that the beans you get that are claimed to be triple certified would be....“

http://www.coffeeforums.com/ viewtopic.php?p=6993 - Cached

It's All About Coffee (#)

„Offering Fair Trade Certified coffee to our customers builds on that commitment," said Barry Scher, Vice President of Public Affairs for Giant Food. "Fair Trade Certified is the gold standard of socially responsible certification initiatives. And Giant is happy to partner with TransFair USA to bring the Fair Trade experience to our suppliers and customers."“

http://www.aboutcoffee.net/ 2004_04_04_bcearc.html - Cached

TransFair Canada: Certification (#)

„The Fair Trade certification system begins at the production level in countries where the source products and ingredients originate. All Fair Trade Certified products come from certified producer organizations. Beyond the source, the entire supply chain is monitored to ensure the integrity of labelled products.“

http://www.transfair.ca/en/fairtrade/certification/ - Cached

View topic - I found a great new coffee company online!!! - Coffee Forum (#)

„You are right, there are lot of middle men. The Fair Trade certification means something because it is a third party, not for profit organization making the certification. The most common organization in the US is Transfair USA. It in turn is overseen by a global watchdog organization.“

http://www.coffeeforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=586 - Cached

TransFair Canada: History (#)

„In the late 1980s an international system of Fair Trade certification and labelling was introduced. It was an opportune time to establish a set of standards and labelling as there was a growing consumer demand for Fair Trade products. There was also growing commercial interest.“

http://www.transfair.ca/en/fairtrade/history/ - Cached

CoffeeGeek - The Basics of Ethical Coffees (#)

„All the participating growers receive the same price, but there is a large variance in the quality of the coffees. As a buyer this means you can't use the Fair Trade certification as an indication of quality. Also, the growers must join into co-ops to participate, leaving independent growers out.“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/cafestage/ 11-22-2002 - Cached

International Finance Corporation - Search Press Releases (English..) (#)

„Other projects supported by IFC’s Corporate Citizenship Facility include efforts to preserve the endangered sarus crane in Vietnam, to establish a market for sustainably harvested herbal products from the Balkans, and to help achieve fair trade certification for honey exporters in Kenya.“

http://ifcln001.worldbank.org/ifcext/pressroom/ifcpressroom.nsf/.../ a215f3f18ef9d9b185256db4005706a2?opendocument - Cached

Fairtrade | Fairtrade Foundation | About us (#)

„Currently there are a total of 21members of staff at the Fairtrade Foundation that work within the departments of Commercial Relations, Communications, Certification and Operations, Finance and IT. We also rely on the work of around 15 volunteers.“

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/about_us.htm - Cached

BBC - Beyond the Broadcast - Changing Places (#)

„The Fairtrade Foundation promotes fair trade, especially food (tea, coffee, chocolate, etc.) and runs all the certification and monitoring linked to the international fair trade mark.“

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/beyond/factsheets/ changing3_advice.shtml - Cached

Website Document (#)

„APECAFORM is in its fifth harvest of organic certified production. There are now 266 members under certification and 80 percent of their total production goes to the cooperative for sale to the Fair Trade market.“

http://www.cooperativecoffees.com/producers/apecaform/ - Cached

CoffeeGeek - Articles: CoffeeGeek Columnist Feedback, The Basics of Ethical Coffees by Guest Author (#)

„How widely distributed is the $1.26 price?  I imagine that with the Fair Trade Certification requirement most farmers do not meet this specification and are being paid far less?“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/articles/columns/ 18521 - Cached

Fresh Cup Magazine (#)

„   The unions are also eligible for fair-trade certification, and Oromia, for one, has already obtained its certificate.“

http://www.freshcup.com/jul03_ethiopia.htm - Cached

It's All About Coffee (#)

„Fair Trade certification ensures coffee growing communities are paid fair wages and are sustainable.“

http://www.aboutcoffee.net/2004/08/ us-coffee-roasters-want-to-perk-up.html - Cached

Transfair USA | Coffee Program (#)

„ Fair Trade Certification • Business Tools • Producer Services “

http://www.transfairusa.org/content/certification/ coffee_program.php - Cached