Coffee Thoughts…

A glass of coffee Photo and edit by Suguri_F

As you head out to get your iced coffee today, I’d like you to think about a growing trend – one in which you may unknowingly be participating.

Fair Trade  -  the practice of offering more equitable trading conditions to marginalized producers and workers – is experiencing a powerful resurgence.

In its early days, consumers had a on again / off again relationship with fair trade. The practices first gained favor in the middle part of the last century as part of a political movement to help underprivileged nations. As consumers became more sophisticated, however, the popularity of fair trade products began to wane. Fair Trade hadn’t kept up with the times.

Today, there are many new reasons to support Fair Trade. As this report found, Fair Trade has a poverty-reducing impact for communities in the third world.

Even more compelling, however, is the movement of employees and corporate leadership who have become a driving force in making decisions to purchase fair trade products.  Check out these case-studies of how corporations embraced fair trade.

Fair trade in this century has gone b-to-b and it’s getting bigger every day.

Look around your office. Where does the artwork or the logo’d customer giveaways come from? Are they fair trade?  How about the coffee? You might be surprised.