Press Releases

CITY COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTION SUPPORTING FAIR TRADE

NYC, NY- June 14, 2005—Today, the New York City Council passed a resolution, introduced by Council Member Gale Brewer, that encourages the purchase of Fair Trade Certified coffee by city agencies and food service venues. The resolution also acknowledges the work of local groups that have been working to promote Fair Trade in New York City.

“By supporting this resolution and calling for the purchase of Fair Trade products by the city government, the City Council is sending an important message that global trade can bring quality products without exploiting farmers, their families, and the environment,” said Gil Kulick, of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, whose Environmental Action Committee has been active in promoting passage of the resolution. “This resolution shows the world that New York City supports, in a tangible way, justice and fairness for struggling farming communities around the world.”

Throughout the world, millions of farmers depend on the revenues from agricultural products to survive. However, lack of market access and volatility in market prices has kept farmers in a cycle of poverty and debt. When prices fall below the cost of production, as they have with coffee for the last several years, farmers are unable to feed their families, keep their children in school, and stay on their land.

Fair Trade seeks to empower small farmers to organize into business cooperatives, develop their own market expertise, bypass local middlemen, and bring their coffee directly to the market, which allows them to make small but important gains in their living standards. Small farmers are certified to be producing Fair Trade coffee if they are organized in democratic cooperatives and use environmentally friendly and sustainable growing methods.

New York City businesses stand to reap substantial economic benefits from increased public awareness and support of Fair Trade coffee. The city boasts half a dozen Fair Trade coffee roasting companies – including Gillies Coffee, the city’s oldest coffee merchant – and dozens of retailers selling Fair Trade coffee in all five boroughs.

“Fair Trade is a real lifeline for farmers and a real no-brainer for New Yorkers” said Scott Codey, a spokesperson for the New York City Fair Trade Coalition. “A number of cities around the country have already passed Fair Trade resolutions. The U.S. Senate serves Fair Trade coffee - so does the House of Representatives. Even the World Bank serves it. Today we can proudly say that our elected officials support Fair Trade in the Big Apple.”