Fair Trade vs Free Trade

Fair Trade vs Free Trade

Trade issues on the front page? From World Trade Organization meetings to NAFTA to International Monetary Fund policies, international trade receives a surprising amount of attention these days. Likewise, the founders of Cooperative Coffees carefully addressed our trade practices in our Articles of Incorporation and in our everyday operating policies. We are committed to fair trade, rather than free trade practices. Free trade can be summarized as the elimination of trade rules in favor of allowing the open, free market to determine who will succeed. Results? With no rules, the poor and disenfranchised often get left behind.

In contrast, Cooperative Coffees adopted self-imposed standards by which we conduct our business with small farmers. Sometimes a few rules are a good thing. Why did we do this? We purposely source our coffee from the little guys and we recognize that many of these partner producers are inherently disadvantaged when operating in an open market. They often do not have access to capital and basic market information. And export channels within their countries are often designed to make it extremely difficult for the producer to directly market their product - forcing them to deal with one or more middlemen. Acknowledging these difficult circumstances, Cooperative Coffees circumvents traditional trade routes and develops direct relationships with producers based on fairness and an open exchange of information.

Several fair trade organizations such as TransFair USA and the Fair Trade Federation are working hard to promote and expand the consumer market for fairly traded products. All participants in the fair trade movement, including Cooperative Coffees, adopt a code of trade practices similar to those summarized on the following page.