Consuming Producers Fair Trade and Small Farmers

• Published in: Ethical Consumption p. 60
• Main Author: Peter G. Luetchford
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United States Berghahn Books 15.03.2012; Berghahn Books, Incorporated
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: Agricultural economics; Agricultural geography; Agricultural land; Agricultural management; Agricultural sciences; Agriculture; Agronomy; Anthropology; Applied ethics; Applied philosophy; Behavioral economics; Behavioral sciences; Biological sciences; Branding; Brands; Business; Business administration; Business operations; Collective farms; Commerce; Consumer behavior; Consumer economics; Corporate communications; Crop economics; Crops; Economic disciplines; Economics; Ethical consumerism; External corporate communications; Fair trade; Family farms; Farm economics; Farmlands; Farms; International trade; Marketing; Philosophy; Social ethics; Trade
• ISBN: 9780857453426; 0857453424

My local supermarket stocks over one hundred kinds of coffee from a dozen different suppliers. The products range from the instant freeze-dried coffees of global companies, through specialist coffees associated with specific regions, to fair-trade goods bearing social and environmental messages. These latter, niche-market coffees attract purchasers by distinguishing themselves from mainstream brands. In the case of Fairtrade coffee, certified by the Fairtrade Foundation and bearing its mark, the appeal is linked to development goals operating through a minimum price paid to producers, coupled with a social premium. Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (the FLO) describe this as a ‘communal fund