“Fair Trade Certified food products are being embraced with surprising speed by some of the nation's biggest food marketers.”

—Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2004



New partners in Fair Trade as of April 2004

Coffee:

Beans & Brews
Sandy, UT
Crooked River Coffee Co.
Cleveland, OH
Dancing Grounds Coffee Co.
Colorado Springs, CA
Dallis Coffee Company
Jamaica, NY
Duncan Coffee
Houston, TX
Golden Roast
Knoxville, TN
Java Hut Coffee Roasters
Amherst, MA
High Rise Coffee
Madison, WI
Key Coffee Roasters
Baltimore, MD
Lexington Coffee
Lexington, VA
Mother Lode Coffee Co.
Sonora, CA
Peaberry's Coffee and Tea Co.
Oakland, CA
San Francisco Coffee Roasters
Atlanta, GA
Santa Barbara Roasting Co. Santa Barbara, CA
Trade-Mark Coffee
Barrington, IL
 Vermont Coffee Co.
Bristol, VT
West End Coffee
Greenville, SC


Tea:

Traditional Medicinals
Sebastopol, CA


Chocolate:

Ciranda Inc.
Hudson, WI
Dr. Bronner's
Escondido, CA
Endangered Species Chocolate Company
Talent, OR
Multiple Organics
Point Richmond, CA
Omanhene Chocolate Co.
Milwaukee, WI
San Luis Fine Chocolates
San Luis Obispo, CA
Shaman Chocolates
Soquel, CA


Fresh Fruit:

Organics Unlimited
San Diego, CA
Charlie's Produce
Seattle, WA


Online Licensee List >
April 2004
Five Stars for Fair Trade Certified™ Pineapples
Recently, The Times of London British television chef and food expert Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall gave newly launched Costa Rican Fair Trade Certified pineapples five stars out of five in his Fair Trade Tasting. "Fruit is a good choice—it is 100% Fair Trade and usually the pick of the crop," writes Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Click here to read more about Fair Trade Certified pineapples and other fruit.
“You’ll Love” Equal Exchange Fair Trade Certified Hot Cocoa Mix, Says Expert
In the December issue of the Rosengarten Report, influential foodie and journalist David Rosengarten ranked Equal Exchange’s Fair Trade Certified hot cocoa mix eighth overall in a field of 60 well-known gourmet brands. The mix is "rich but foamy, velvety in texture, with a taste that is reminiscent, in a great way, of malted milk balls,” writes Rosengarten. “This is a one-off, which I think you'll love. And you can save the cacao fields as well!"

Click here to read more about Fair Trade Certified chocolate in the Jan-Feb issue of Organic Products Retailer.
Kimberly Visits East Africa
After a February trip to coffee farms in Tanzania and Ethiopia, Kimberly Easson, TransFair’s Director of Strategic Relationships, described the sense of hope she felt while meeting with Fair Trade farmers. She was in Africa to attend the East Africa Fine Coffee Association (EAFCA) conference where she participated in a panel on coffee certification.
African Fair Trade co-ops from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda also attended the conference. In a moving key note speech, renowned singer and UNICEF Ambassador Harry Belafonte urged the industry audience to pay fair prices for the coffee they buy.

While at the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU) in Tanzania, actor and human rights activist Danny Glover witnessed first-hand the quality and community improvements that the farmers have been able to implement thanks to Fair Trade. Colleen Crosby of Santa Cruz Coffee Roasters and Daniel Alejandrez of Barrios Unidos helped to make Danny’s visit a reality. “The trip was an incredible opportunity for us to connect with the farmers in appreciation of their hard work and successes despite the severe price crisis they face. We were impressed with the warmth and spirit of the people, the beautiful surroundings, and the resulting high quality product,” she declared.

Read more about Tanzania's KNCU cooperative >
Farmworkers Close-Up: Redlinguys
TransFair is proud to announce Fair Trade certification for Redelinguys Farms in South Africa and welcomes their organic table grapes to the US. In 2002, the workers on Redelinguys were given majority ownership of their farm, as part of the country’s post-apartheid land transformation program. At the launch of Fair Trade grapes in the UK, Nelson Mandela stated, “Support for Thandi [the South African initiative for Fair Trade farms] will help create a whole new generation of proud and committed fruit entrepreneurs, which will ensure that retailers and consumers have access to the finest fruit in the world.”
Click here for availability of Fair Trade Certified grapes and other fruit >
SCAA Atlanta ’04—TransFair Preparations in Full Swing
The annual conference of the Specialty Coffee Association of America is one of the most exciting times of the year for TransFair and our business partners.
Once again we will be hosting the annual Fair Trade Forum for those involved in the Fair Trade coffee and tea industry as well as the Fair Trade Reception for producers, industry, NGO partners, and others.

Dates to Remember:
Thursday, April 22—Fair Trade Forum: Room A-302 of the Georgia World Congress Center

Sunday, April 25—Annual Fair Trade Reception: Lunatique Café, three blocks from the GWCC

If you’re planning a trip to Atlanta in April, mark your calendars and RSVP for these events by this Friday, April 9th to Deborah Hirsh.
Last Chance to Sign Up!
There's still time to sign up for the Fair Trade Pavilion at the New York Fancy Food Show this June 28-30th. The NASFT has offered TransFair a showcase spot in the biggest gourmet show of the year to highlight Fair Trade Certified coffee, tea, cocoa, and chocolate.
Table-top, half booths, and one full booth are still available to TransFair licensees. Sign up by this Friday, April 9th. Please contact Charlotte Opal for more information.
California Debuts
TransFair USA, along with 15 chocolate, tea and coffee licensees exhibited at the 2004 Natural Products Expo in Anaheim March 4-7. Endangered Species Chocolate Co, Shaman Chocolates, and Ecco Bella all debuted their new Fair Trade Certified chocolate bars at this event, and TransFair had Fair Trade fresh fruit on display. A representative from an organic certification agency who came to chat with us on the last day remarked, "You guys were the talk of the show!"

More National Media Exposure for Fair Trade
Time Magazine and The Wall Street Journal are only two of the many recent publications to follow USA Today in covering Fair Trade Certified products. The March 8th Time article (“The Coffee Clash”) appeared in the special Inside Business supplement sent to over 1 million business subscribers. Other recent media hits include CBS Market Watch, The Oakland Tribune, The Arizona Daily Star, and WKRC-TV. In all, TransFair has recorded over 35 media hits in print and broadcast outlets across the country since the beginning of January 2004. TransFair also made news headlines by issuing two press releases in recent weeks. On March 24th, TransFair and Giant Food LLC announced a partnership to offer five varieties of Fair Trade Certified coffee in all 199 Giant and Super G stores. The Fair Trade Certified organic coffee is marketed under the brand name Café Javana gourmet coffee. On March 29th, TransFair also announced that it certified 18.7 million pounds of coffee in 2003, which represents a 91 percent growth rate over the previous year, and that supplemental income to farmers has reached $34 million.

Click here for updates on Fair Trade news.
 
New Faces in Business Development at TransFair
Mark Magers joined us recently as our Director of Business Development and brings a broad mix of sales, marketing, and strategy consulting experience with both startups and Fortune 100 companies. Mark was VP of Marketing and Sales at Kauai Coffee Company, the largest coffee grower in the US. He was also one of the originators of Coffee Review, the world's leading online coffee buying guide.

Andi C. Trindle Walker joins TransFair USA as Retail Accounts Manager. Andi brings 12 years of experience in the specialty coffee industry, where she has lectured and trained, as well as judged both national and international cupping and barista competitions. Andi is a current member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America cupping committee, and has served two years on the espresso training committee.

Kimberly Easson takes on new role as Director of Strategic Relationships
After celebrating nearly five years at Transfair USA, Kimberly Easson was recently promoted to Director of Strategic Relationships for the organization. The objective of the strategic relationships department at TransFair is to provide resources and support to stakeholder partners to increase awareness of Fair Trade and encourage partners’ effectiveness and impact. While continuing to foster strong industry collaboration, this new role enables Kimberly to expand her network of relationships to include Fair Trade producers, advocacy partners and international development organizations.

Click here to read more about the TransFair team.

FLO Changes Producer Fee Model
In response to the rapid growth of the Fair Trade certification model worldwide, FLO has made changes in its producer fee model. As of January 2004, FLO began charging producers a fee for farm inspection.

FLO decided to charge producers for certification to satisfy the growing demand to certify farms. With a focus on providing excellent service and growing the market, the FLO board decided to implement a model more consistent with other leading certification systems. For example, producers must cover the costs of inspection for their farms to be certified organic. The fee model was unanimously approved by the producer representatives on the FLO board, and it enjoys broad support among our producer partners.

The fee model consists of an initial inspection charge based on the size of the farm. After the initial inspection, FLO charges a small flat fee and a volume-based fee for yearly renewal. Importers are allowed to pay fees for farms with which they intend to have a partnership, and a scholarship fund is available for producer groups that need assistance.

Please address any questions about the new FLO fee system to Chris Himes, Certification Director: chris@transfairusa.org  

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