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Trader
Joe's trades fair
Consumers nationwide turn to Trader Joe’s
for its large selection of tasty, all natural foods. Now your
Trader Joe’s purchases can help improve the lives of farmers
too. Trader Joe’s carries a growing line of Fair Trade
Certified products brought to you with great pride from farmers
around the world. Trader Joe’s latest Fair Trade offering
is the rich-tasting Five-Country Blend Fair Trade Espresso.
The new blend joins one other Fair Trade Certified coffee and
two Fair Trade Certified tea products on store shelves. You
can find a Trader Joe’s location near you at TransFair's
Where
to Buy section or on Trader
Joe's website. |
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Consumer
demand prompts Albertsons to offer Fair Trade Certified coffee
in 140 stores
Supermarket shoppers can make a difference. Albertsons Supermarkets,
the nation’s third-largest supermarket chain, recently
invited its customers to write in with product requests. They
asked for Fair Trade coffee. Now consumers have the opportunity
to purchase great-tasting, socially responsible Fair Trade Certified
Coffee in all 140 Albertsons stores in Oregon and Washington.
Albertsons Fair Trade Certified coffee is distributed by Equal
Exchange, one of the nation’s leading Fair Trade coffee
companies. To find your nearest Albertsons, check out TransFair's
Where
to Buy section. For more information on Equal Exchange,
go to www.equalexchange.com.
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Kuapa Kokoo produces "best of the best" cocoa and improves farmers'
lives |
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Cocoa
is big business in Ghana, where it accounts for more than 30
percent of export earnings. Kuapa Kokoo, a Ghanaian cooperative
of cocoa producers, takes advantage of Fair Trade practices
to give farmers resources to keep cocoa quality high, protect
the environment, and improve their lives.
Kuapa Kokoo's motto is "Pa Pa Paa" which means "the best of
the best." Its beans are used to make high-end products such
as Divine Chocolate and The Body Shop cocoa butter. |
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The Kuapa Kokoo co-op has helped its 35,000 members earn the
income they need to maintain this tradition of quality. Kuapa
Kokoo farmers have reduced their dependence on middlemen who
give them low prices by purchasing scales for weighing cocoa
beans and by gaining access to information about world market
prices.
"Before, we farmers were cheated," says Comfort Kumeah, a Kuapa
Kokoo member. "We got little money from the purchasing clerks
and no bonuses. I joined Kuapa because they trade with the well-being
of farmers at heart."
Fair Trade prices also allow co-op members to sustain artisanal
farming methods that preserve the forest canopy and minimize
the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Members improve their
standard of living through access to credit and banking services,
labor-saving machinery, investments in community projects, improved
healthcare, and education. Learn more about Kuapa
Kokoo and Fair
Trade Certified cocoa on our website. |
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Fair
Trade coffee ranks as one of the world's finest cups
Fair Trade Certified coffees further proved their reputation
for high quality at the April cupping trials of the 2003 Specialty
Coffee Association of America's annual conference. After being
invited for the first time to compete against the world's finest
specialty coffees, Fair Trade brews from Ethiopia, Mexico, El
Salvador, Honduras, Colombia and Costa Rica finished in the
top five in each of their country's competitions. Transfair
USA brought over 75 farmers from thirteen countries to the Boston
event where they successfully offered their hand-sown beans
to roasters and green-coffee buyers.
Fair Trade coffees have been recognized for excellence with
numerous awards, including Food & Wine Magazine's "Best Coffee"
award, First Place in the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Board's
Blind Coffee Tasting for 2002 and top rankings in "Cup of Excellence"
cupping trials. Already in 2003, Nicaragua's Prodecoop co-op
has earned a top five ranking in one of these prestigious national
competitions. |
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Student
movement for Fair Trade gathers momentum
The nationwide student movement for Fair Trade continues to
gain steam. Yale University, Georgetown University and Cornell
University have all passed resolutions demanding that all coffee
served on campus be Fair Trade Certified. Georgetown has already
converted all cafeterias to 100% Fair Trade, and Yale students
expect their resolution to take effect by the Fall 2003 semester.
Student groups have also negotiated with Seattle's Best Coffee
to offer more Fair Trade. The Seattle-based coffee supplier
will debut two new Fair Trade Certified coffee lines, including
a decaf blend, at more than 200 college campuses this spring.
"Students around the country are endorsing TransFair's mission
of improving coffee farmers' lives and have asked us to increase
our Fair Trade offerings," explained Steve Schickler, President
of Seattle Coffee Company, parent company of SBC.
You can also bring Fair Trade Certified coffee, tea, and cocoa
products to your campus and community. Read about campus
success stories and download our Fair
Trade Resource and Action Guide for Student Organizers |
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Fair
Trade helps preserve mountain forests in Oaxaca, Mexico
“We’ve stopped cutting down trees as we used
to do, and now we’re growing oxygen!” says
Tolentino Martinez Perez of the CEPCO Fair Trade cooperative
in Oaxaca, Mexico. Small-scale farmers like Perez have
traditionally used “passive organic” farming
methods to grow coffee under the canopy of a forest ecosystem
without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
When grown in this manner, coffee and cocoa provide a
sustainable livelihood for farmers without destroying
natural resources. The growing market for organic coffee
is providing a strong incentive for Oaxacan farmers to
maintain their traditions and preserve some of the last
remains of Oaxaca’s endangered forests, which provide
habitat for toucans, eagles, and other rare creatures.
But achieving organic certification can be prohibitively
expensive and requires knowledge of organic production
techniques. With premiums from the Fair Trade market,
farmers like Perez are able to set aside funds for organic
inspections and technical training from local agronomists.
In this way, Fair Trade is encouraging environmental stewardship.
Learn more about the environmental
benefits of Fair Trade on our website. |
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