News and Publications

Find out what is new and what is news with Coop Coffees, our roaster members, our producers, and in the coffee industry. Take a look at our latest newsletter, catch up on recent announcements about upcoming  events, see how the media is portraying the growth of Fair Trade, and more.
	Chris, Luis, Monika and Jose of Maya Vinic on local radio station.

We've made news!

Whether it is Cooperative Coffees in the news, our member roasters making waves, or our producer partners highlighted in the media, see the splash we are making.

	Regular, decaf or ethical? Report on a recent panel discussion including Monika Firl of CoopCoffees at the University of Vermont titled "How Green Is Your Coffee?".
	The Bean Activist Blog reacts to the recent article in the Wall Street Journal on Fair Trade Travel--highlighting Coop Coffees members Just Coffee, Higher Grounds, and Pura Vida---and their misguided report that  economic growth, and not justice, is the guiding force behind helping customers become fair trade ambassadors by seeing benefits first hand.
	Coop Coffees has a gem in its midst. Kickapoo's Fondo Paez roast just got the top slot on CoffeeReview.com with a whopping 95 point score. Read the review here.
	Pura Vida has won a bid to sell their coffee at the U.S. House of Representatives, using the good old taste test method.  Check out the Seattle Times article here.
	Coop Coffees member Dean Cycon of Dean's Beans has published a book on the trials and tribulations of being a JavaTrekker, traveling the world in search of great coffee.
	Great Profile of Peace Coffee, and Lee Wallace in Upsize magazine. Triple Play: Peace Coffee's New CEO emphasizes People,Planet, and Profits Also, read this article about fair trade from Minnesota Daily that highlights Peace Coffee

Cooperative Coffees Newsletter

Have you missed an issue of the Coop Coffees newletter?  Read the latest issue or search for any previous issue in the newsletter archives.   Available to view as a pdf file.

Fall 2006 Read about Cooperative Coffees' 2006 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in North Carolina, the Bolivian Fair Trade Cupping Competition in which we participated, and the current political turmoil in Mexico affecting producer groups in Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Roaster members band together at the AGM last year.

Announcements

Catch up on the latest events, press releases, and job postings happening in the world of Fair Trade and coffee.

• National Fair Trade Weeks 2008: Choose Fair Trade - Everyone Wins! Transfair Canada press release on fair trade weeks.
  
• World Fair Trade Day – May 10th 2008
• FTIS 2008 - 3rd Fair Trade International Symposium
• “Quinzaine du commerce équitable” (Quebec, Canada and France)
• Balle conference Business Alliance for Local Living Economies in Boston in June 5-7th 2008
• FLO announces increase in Arabica coffee minimum prices.

• Black Gold out on DVD. Listen to this NPR report on the movie
  

  
  

  Fair Trade in the Media

With Fair Trade growing as an industry, its impacts and future direction are being  questioned by insiders and observers alike.  News media are examining the role of Fair Trade in international markets, and how it affects both consumers and producers. Check out these articles to learn more about the ongoing debate concerning the future of Fair Trade.

• Fair trade still striving to create an identity  April 26, 2008. More people are beginning to recognize that fair trade is not necessarily free trade. This Vancouver Sun article looks at consumers' growing awareness of fair trade, and at the challenges in conveying a message that fair trade goes beyond a "fair price".
• A Wal-Mart PR Issue Brews Anew  April 1st, 08 Business Week article looks at Walmart's move to selling fair trade coffee, and whether or not it jives with the rest of their corporate practices (answer: no).
  
• Fears grow that food inflation threatens Fairtrade Interesting Guardian article looks at the rising prices of the commodities market, and the affect this might have on fair trade producer cooperatives.
• 'Teach us how to fish - do not just give us the fish' Does buying Fairtrade products really make a difference to people's lives? Rachel Dixon talks to three producers and finds out how their communities have been transformed.  Check out this great Guardian article.
  
• How Fair is Fairtrade?  In response to fair trade's skyrocketing popularity in the UK, this BBC article looks at the questions that have been asked (particularly by the Adams Smith Institute) on the effect fair trade has in the developing world, and finds the resulting increased self-sufficiency of producers.
• Fairtrade vs food miles  A second look at the assumption that food that comes from farther away entails a higher carbon footprint, and what this means for fair trade.
• Does Fair Trade= Environmentally Friendly? A look at the ecological footprint of fair trade goods due transport and other factors.
  
• Fairtrade Foundation response to Adams Smith Institute report.
  

• Ethics on the high street: how Fairtrade changed lives This Herald article highlights the incredible popularity of Fair Trade in the UK, where Fair Trade bananas now constitute 1 in 5 bananas sold.
  

• Article in The Independent, looks at Divine Chocolate and their model for Fair Trade where producers are equal partners and owners, in the business.
  
• Blog posting on Higher Grounds Trading Co. checks out two of their blends: Justics Blend and Fondo Paez, and gives both the thumbs up in terms of taste, price, and sustainability.
  

• Food First report.  Fair to the Last Drop: The Corporate Challenges to Fair Trade Coffee.  Check out this in depth November 2007 report on Fair Trade, which takes a look at the differences between Fair Trade as a movement, and Fair Trade as a market.
  

• Spilling the beans on fair trade. A Sept 27th feature article for the McGill Daily written by former Cooperative Coffees intern Naomi Lightman.  It examines some of the predominant issues facing the future of the Fair Trade movement.

• Fair Trade or Fairly Traded: This is a great article published in Coffee Talk in May 2007, that highlights the debates currently raging in Fair Trade circles: the place of multinationals, the role of FLO, and the minimum price of FT coffee. Many members are featured in the article, and Cooperative Coffees is given as an example of a player that is staying true to the integrity of the movement.
  

• Take a listen to this podcast, a discussion between our very own Matt Earley of Just Coffee, and Damien Luper of Transfair USA, hosted by Agroinnovation.  They discuss what they each see as the future of Fair Trade, and viable paths to achieving that future.

• Here is another article, this time from the Santa Barbara Independent called Bean Counting, discussing the merits of Fair Trade, and the current concerns being raised by the mainstreaming of the movement. 
• Take a look at this April 3rd article from Salon.com Is This the End of Organic Coffee? It examines the recently announced changes in USDA's organic certification policy which have sparked some controversy.  Left as is, they could jeopardize the very existence of small-scale organic producers in the South.

• Article on the USFT Convergence by Cooperative Coffees Intern Naomi Lightman.  Naomi and two other Coop Coffees interns headed down to Boston for the annual USFT Convergence, and were highly impressed by the depth and breath of the dialogue taking place on many tough issues.  Read about Matt`s, of Just Coffee, perspective here as well, and some of the splash his post made here

• ''Behind the Label'', Boulder Weekly, February 2007 and look here for a pdf version.  This is a great article examining the meaning of the Fair Trade label, and features some great input from Bill (our fearless president) and Matt (from Just Coffee)!
• Check out the Guardian UK February 2007 article on the role that Fair Trade coffee plays within societies in Rwanda affected by the genocide
• New Internationalist article, November 2006