The Fair Trade Movement: Part Three of my Interview with Bill Barrett

I've been asking Bill to respond to arguments that suggest that Fairtrade coffee isn't as good for the farmers as you would initially think. I believe that his responses raise important points that the casual observer might miss. Primarily, the largest benefit from becoming part of the world Fairtrade movement isn't the extra money that farmers receive---important though it be---but rather transforming the way people within the entire chain of commerce act towards one another. I'd invite people listening to the following sound clips to pay special attention to the implied social transformation that flow out of things like working in co-ops instead of hierarchical capitalist enterprises, engaging women into the decision-making process, thinking about the ecological implications of the way they farm, bringing in all the stakeholders to participate in decision-making---on an international scale, and, using outside objective observers (like FLOCERT and ISO) to ensure that the entire system is transparent to everyone.

Cloudwalking Owl · Is Fairtrade A Honeypot?

Mr. Barrett mentions the Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-op, but I think it needs more emphasis. According to the Wikipedia article on it, it appears to be absolutely huge. Coffee accounts for 32% of Ethiopia's export income, and Oromia controls 65% of the coffee growing land in the country. In addition, the credit union it set up is huge too. It has 6.25 million account holders, 420 branches, and, 52.92 billion Ethiopian birr in assets (that's $1.72 billion Canadian dollars).  

Not small potatoes! Image c/o Wikimedia Commons

It's also important to understand that the co-op movement exists everywhere---even in downtown Guelph. The Sumac Worker's co-op was created as an umbrella to cover the Planet Bean coffee shops and its roastery. Hopefully it will eventually expand to include other ventures. As Barrette explains the relationship in a quote on the Canadian Work Co-op Federation (CWCF) website:

"Picture a main street with several businesses that not only serve the public but also each other.  A bakery, accountant, coffee roaster, marketing firm and courier service.  From the outside they look like separate businesses but from the back end they could all be owned collectively by their workers through a single worker co-op structure. This is the Sumac vision."

More than just coffee---the start of an worker co-op empire?

&&&&

This series of articles has been something of a pep rally for co-ops. I admit it. But it isn't just propaganda---I've created first hand information by recording the interview with Bill Barrett and added links in support of everything I've written. That's the difference between ad copy and journalism. But this takes a certain expertise, time, and, effort to do. That's why I ask that if you can afford it, I'd like people to subscribe. It's easy to do with Patreon and Pay Pal. (Thanks David being the latest reader to subscribe!)

&&&&

Cloudwalking Owl · Fair Trade USA Splits Off From Fairtrade International

Several important points come from Bill's explanation of the Fair Trade USA split from Fairtrade international. Looking on line I found the following websites:

• Fair Trade USA
• Fairtrade America
• Equal Exchange

Each of these has it's own trademarked logo:

Fair Trade USA, Fairtrade America, Equal Exchange

The websites seem to bear out Bill's description. It looks like there is a Internationally-certified Fairtrade non-profit called "Fairtrade America" that competes with "Fair Trade USA". According to the Wikipedia, "Equal Exchange" is a worker-owned, for profit co-op. 

Looking at both Fair Trade USA and Equal Exchange's websites, there simply doesn't seem to be the sort of formal structures set up that would give ordinary shoppers the confidence that the extra money they pay will actually go to the people who pick the coffee beans. This doesn't mean that any malfeasance or incompetence is happening, just that if it was, it seems like it would be easy to keep people from finding out about it. 

Most people don't understand how "loosey-goosey" much of the non-profit sector really is. A lot of very big, well-known organizations consist of a very small number of entrepreneurial full time staff in head office and a mailing list of donors/members who's commitment to the organization is nothing more that writing a cheque once a year. Not only that, but with the rise of so-called "social enterprises", the line between "for profit" and "not-for-profit" enterprises can be very hard to parse out---as I showed in my article about the notorious WE charity.

Incidentally, Bill mentions that Green Mountain Coffee gives a lot of money to Fair Trade USA. I did some research and found out that the company does have some sort of relationship to Fair Trade USA. What I found interesting, however, was the fact that Green Mountain bought the Keurig coffee pod company in 1993. As I pointed out in an article in my series about solid waste, this is product is pretty much an iconic example of green-washing. What comes to my mind, therefore, is "If a company is willing to come up with an environmentally-ridiculous consumer item like the Keurig coffee cup, how ethical are they going to be with regard to Fair Trade?"  

Cloudwalking Owl · Environmental And Social Aspects Of Fairtrade

Barrett mentions that Stuart McCook at the University of Guelph has written a book about coffee rust and it's potential to limit production.

McCook and his Book. Images c/o University of Guelph

And here's a picture of coffee rust on an individual leaf and the effect it has on entire trees.

Images by Ines Diniz, c/o ResearchGate. Ain't climate change grand?

And here's one of those Smithsonian "songbird friendly" labels I mentioned to Bill.

So if you feed the birds in your yard, help them survive the winter by buying Fairtrade coffee too!

&&&&

Sometimes people from out of town complain that it's all very well for me to talk about what people can do to change the world---because I live in Guelph. The idea is that we live in some sort of Utopian community where it is a lot easier to accomplish lofty goals than it is in the benighted Hellscape that they live in. As anyone who lives here knows, that's nonsense. Any progressive things that have happened here have only come about because of decades of plodding work by people who have a vision and are willing to put in the effort to "roll that rock up the hill". Bill Barrett is one of these people. I think he should be commended for it. But first, it's important for people to learn about him. He's no saint or genius, but he is dogged and determined to make the world a better place. I think we are all better off for him having lived among us.  

I think that's about enough for one article. So stay in your bubble, wear a mask or two, hunker down, and, get your vaccination when you can. That's the way we'll see most of our family and friends again once we get out the other side of this cursed plague.

&&&&

Moreover I say unto you, the Climate Emergency must be dealt with!