Fair Trade Coffee

Fair Trade Coffee

What is Fair Trade Coffee?
By Julie Wheeler

Coffee is an essential part of the office routine. In today's anti-smoking environment, many non-smokers have turned to coffee for their own personal 'smoke breaks'. Having coffee with colleagues is not only a great social environment for team bonding, but also a good excuse to leave the office desk for a few minutes. Unlike the smoke break, the coffee break has the added benefit of that caffeine hit to keep you going for the rest of the day - or until your next coffee break.

The popularity of coffee has seen many coffee chains shoot up in major cities around office buildings. No longer is it just refined to the Europeans, companies like Starbucks, Hudsons, and Gloria Jeans have milked unsuspecting citizens around the world - from New York to Shanghai, coffee is a big money maker and hard addiction to kick.

With the massive monetary riches that come with coffee, there is also the harsh abuse of low paid workers in third world countries. There an initiative called 'Fair Trade' coffee which looks to approve coffee beans that abide by the United Nations charter for human rights and equality. To qualify for Fair Trade endorsement, companies need to ensure they are not employing underage workers, are not paying slave wages, and foster a safe working environment. Once endorsed with the Fair Trade mark, producers get access to the lucrative global coffee bean market with an advantage of being able to charge a premium for upholding the values required for Fair Trade.

So when you are having your coffee break, are you buying Fair Trade coffee? Are you supporting a repressive regime or paying your dues for human rights in low economic regions?

Fair Trade Coffee