Starbucks.com.au Blog
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Starbucks supporting Fairtrade
Cooperation through coffee and Fairtrade
15 May 2012
Across Australia throughout the month of May Aussies are celebrating Fair Trade Fortnight (5-20 May), and they’re not alone. On the May 12 organisations and individuals all around the world celebrated World Fair Trade Day by getting involved in events including the global Fairtrade Breakfast. However, if you thought the celebrations ended there you’d be wrong - 2012 is the United Nations International Year of the Cooperative. So what does all this mean, and more importantly what does it have to do with coffee?
The majority of Arabica coffee grown around the world is produced by small-holder farmers. Over half a million of these farmers are involved in co-operatives selling into the Fairtrade system. By selling through the Fairtrade system growers get a guaranteed fair price for their product as well as other economic benefits such as pre-financing and the Fairtrade Premium. The Fairtrade Premium is paid to cooperatives on top of the agreed Fairtrade price. It is utilised to improve farmers’ living standards in a number of different areas including: education, healthcare, farm improvements and community development projects.
A high proportion of the Premium in coffee is actually spent by farmers improving business skills for co-ops and investment in improved production and processing. This means that farmers, through their participation in cooperatives, are able to better insure the long-term viability of their farms by not only having better access to information about the latest improvements in coffee farming but also through access to information regarding what traders and roasters are looking for with regard to premium quality coffee beans. In the 12 months since launching its 100% Fairtrade Certified espresso, Starbucks Australia’s sales equated to around $30,000 in Fairtrade Premium for coffee cooperatives. Recent changes to the Fairtrade Standards which saw the Fairtrade Premium per kilo of coffee increase, means that the contribution to coffee growing communities from Aussies drinking Starbucks Fairtrade Certified Espresso is only set to grow.
Most recently at an international level, Starbucks became the first business to contribute to the Fairtrade Access Fund. The Fairtrade Access Fund is a partnership between Fairtrade International (FLO), Incoffin Investment Management and Grameen Foundation establishing the first ever fund to focus on the unmet demand of small-holder farmers for long-term loans. The Fairtrade Access Fund uniquely offers a full range of loan types and technical assistance to enable farmers’ organisations to strengthen and secure their businesses, including a new facility that will allow farmers to receive timely information on Fairtrade Certification practices, crop management and localised market information. As the first investor to the fund, Starbucks contributed €1 million to help get things started.
As the coffee industry faces many challenges at the individual grower level all the way up to the global level with growing demand and the challenges of climate change amongst others putting pressure on supply chains - through such cooperation and partnerships we can work with them to create great coffee as well as prosperous and sustainable futures for growers. It’s great to see Starbucks continuing to partner with farmers through Fairtrade to help make this a reality.
Posted on Tuesday, 15 May 2012 by Daniel Mackey - Business Development Officer - Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand
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