What is Fair Trade Certified Coffee?

28Oct2009 Filed under: Coffee Business, Coffee Companies, Coffee Farming Author: About Coffee[s] Staff

Coffee Farm

The Fair Trade Certified™ labels are owned by Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International and the Fair Trade licensing initiatives around the world. Coffee Companies pay licensing fees to the licensing initiatives, and in turn they are able to affix the Fair Trade Certified™ trademark on their packaging. According to the licensing initiatives, a majority of the fees are allocated to the cost of certification.

Fair Trade products appeal to socially minded consumers who place a high value on the Fair Trade certification seal. Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International
certifies to consumers, through the seal, that a minimum price of $1.24–$1.26 per pound ($1.39–$1.41 per pound for organics) was paid to the farmer cooperative that produced the coffee in the first half of 2007.

fairtrade Effective June 1, 2007, the minimum price was increased to $1.29–$1.31 per pound ($1.49–$1.51 for organics). Fair Trade certification includes criteria to be met by coffee cooperatives, such as fair labor conditions, freedom of association and certain environmental standards. To be certified as Fair Trade, the coffee is only to be produced by farmers who belong to farmer-owned, democratically run coffee cooperatives and associations listed on the Fair Trade registry. An estimated four percent of global coffee production is Fair Trade Certified.™