Fair trade is a fast-growing alternative market intended to bring better prices and greater social justice to small farmers around the world. But what does a fair-trade label signify? This vivid study of coffee farmers in Mexico offers the first thorough investigation of the social, economic, and environmental benefits of fair trade. Based on extensive research in Zapotec indigenous communities in Oaxaca, Brewing Justice follows the members of the cooperative Michiza, whose organic coffee is sold on the international fair-trade market, and compares them to conventional farming families in the same region. The book carries readers into the lives of coffee-producer households and communities, offering a nuanced analysis of fair trade’s effects on everyday life and the limits of its impact. Brewing Justice paints a clear picture of the dynamics of the fair-trade market and its relationship to the global economy. Drawing on interviews with dozens of fair-trade leaders, the book also explores the movement’s fraught politics, especially the challenges posed by rapid growth and the increased role of transnational corporations. It concludes with recommendations to strengthen and protect the integrity of fair trade. This updated edition includes a substantial new chapter that assesses recent developments in both coffee-growing communities and movement politics, offering a guide to navigating the shifting landscape of fair-trade consumption.

Coffee, as a commodity and through its global value chains, is the focus of much interest to achieve fair trade and equitable outcomes for producers, processors and consumers. It has iconic cultural and economic significance for Colombia, which is one of the world's major coffee producers for the global market. This book examines sustainable coffee production in Colombia, specifically the initiatives of Nestlé to create shared value. It describes the transformation of the coffee landscape by the development of economically, socially and environmentally viable and dedicated supply chains. Suppliers have been encouraged to shift production and quality paradigms, in order to develop long-term and sustainable strategies for higher value and premium quality products. This has been partially achieved by establishing a robust partnership with the Coffee Growers Federation and other public, private and social actors, thereby taking control of the institutional architecture and knowledge base that exists in the country. The book provides an important lesson of corporate social responsibility and the creation of shared value for the benefit of farmers, corporations and consumers.

It contains within it two concepts: • the concept of 'needs,' in particular the essential need of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and • the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs." Since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the international community at large has endorsed [...] Sustainable Coffee Trade 3 The Role of Coffee Contracts 2.2 Sustainability in the Coffee Sector As one of the most important commodities in terms of value traded globally, coffee plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of millions of rural households across the developing world. [...] A brief overview of some of the major challenges faced by the coffee sector provides a broad foundation for approaching the relationship between sustainability in the coffee sector and the contracting systems used in the coffee trading system. [...] The decline in coffee prices in the international market, particularly over the past two decades, has had significant impacts on production technology, the living conditions of small farmers and rural workers, the environment in producing regions and the balance of trade of the exporting nations.1 2.2.2. [...] The current growth in a variety of certification systems for sustainable coffee is evidence of the potential role of contracts as enforcement tools for the implementation of sustainable practices both at the producer level as well at the processing and trading nodes of the supply chain.

In a world of high finance, unprecedented technological change, and cyber billionaires, it is easy to forget that a major source of global wealth is, literally, right under our noses. Coffee is one of the most valuable Southern exports, generating billions of dollars in corporate profits each year, even while the majority of the world’s 25 million coffee families live in relative poverty. But who is responsible for such vast inequality? Many analysts point to the coffee market itself, its price volatility and corporate oligarchy, and seek to "correct" it through fair trade, organic and sustainable coffee, corporate social responsibility, and a number of market-driven projects. The result has been widespread acceptance that the "market" is both the cause of underdevelopment and its potential solution. Against this consensus, Gavin Fridell provocatively argues that state action, both good and bad, has been and continues to be central to the everyday operations of the coffee industry, even in today’s world of "free trade". Combining rich history with an incisive analysis of key factors shaping the coffee business, Fridell challenges the notion that injustice in the industry can be solved "one sip at a time" - as ethical trade promoters put it. Instead, he points to the centrality of coffee statecraft both for preserving the status quo and for initiating meaningful changes to the coffee industry in the future.

Can private standards bring about more sustainable production practices? This question is of interest to conscientious consumers, academics studying the effectiveness of private regulation, and corporate social responsibility practitioners alike. Grabs provides an answer by combining an impact evaluation of 1,900 farmers with rich qualitative evidence from the coffee sectors of Honduras, Colombia and Costa Rica. Identifying an institutional design dilemma that private sustainability standards encounter as they scale up, this book shows how this dilemma plays out in the coffee industry. It highlights how the erosion of price premiums and the adaptation to buyers' preferences have curtailed standards' effectiveness in promoting sustainable practices that create economic opportunity costs for farmers, such as agroforestry or agroecology. It also provides a voice for coffee producers and value chain members to explain why the current system is failing in its mission to provide environmental, social, and economic co-benefits, and what changes are necessary to do better.

A cup of coffee stimulates your mind they say. That is true. This is what happened to me. I was on my way home to Stockholm after a weekend similar to a military drafting outside London. In other words, I was all worn out. I strolled into one of Starbucks coffee shops at a train station in London. Surrounding wallpapers welcomed me saying "Shade grown coffee from Chiapas." I ordered the coffee and read the brochure about Starbucks program for Sustaining Coffee Communities that was placed on the desk. The coffee and the brochure woke me up. It led me all the way up to the mexican highlands in the state of Chiapas. I wanted to find out if Fair Trade could be a way to achieve sustainable development for the marginalized Maya indigenous people? As consumers we can all raise our awareness. Further more, we have the freedom of choice what to buy. Fair Trade Coffee is an alternative for each and one of us consumers in a free market. I hope this study can serve as a guide for you and enlighten your path while making your own decision. How would you like your Coffee?