FairTrade Coffee and Ethics

When buying coffee, most of us don't typically think of the effort and tireless work farmers go through in order to produce great quality coffee beans. More so, many of us don't realize there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes in order for us to enjoy a good cup of coffee. Whether you buy your coffee at the grocery store or Starbucks, it's something more of us should put thought into.

Buying FairTrade coffee is what I have recently been doing after researching more about the coffee industry. As an avid coffee drinker, I never used to really think about the business side of coffee production and how unfairly farmers get treated in various parts of the world. Upon researching more, I decided to buy local and fair trade coffee beans at natural food stores such as Earth Fare.

FairTrade simply means companies are legally required to pay fair prices for product. FairTrade organizations also work hard to minimize the inequality of global trade so that farmers and their families can build sustainable futures for themselves and their communities. Through FairTrade standards, there has been improvement on working and socioeconomic conditions for farmers.

As a result of discovering more about FairTrade I have been buying more FairTrade coffees, as well as local ones. My favorite local coffee is from Bold Bean Coffee Roasters here in Jacksonville. Coffee is not the only thing that can be FairTrade; there are many grassroots organizations across the nation working to improve the trade of many items and fairly represent the farmers and workers behind these products we consume on a daily basis. What are you favorite FairTrade products?