So everyone from Starbucks to Costa Coffee to McDonalds have gone 100% Fair Trade. They don’t just offer fair trade coffee as a choice, but have programs to help benefit coffee farmers and their communities. There’s been plenty of debate about the worthiness and real-value of being fairtrade certified or rain forest alliance certified, especially in barista blogs. And it can now also be seen as almost an industry standard.
This all sounds well and good but what does this mean to the customers?
According to the Times Online,
“the consumer has been largely left out of the loop. Fewer than 50 per cent of consumers are aware that any of the outlets offer Fairtrade beans. As this month’s survey shows, a clear majority are completely unaware of many of the higher-profile commitments to Fairtrade. In the case of Starbucks’ 2010 pledge, 58 per cent are unaware, the same percentage of consumers is also completely unaware of Costa’s foundation. For Pret’s commitment, 69 per cent of consumers are completely unaware”
We find this kind of surprising. Do they not see the fair trade signs in their favorite coffee cafes or does the impetus lie on the companies to do more about this lack awareness?
I guess I am part of the minority who always check if what I buy, including coffee is Fair Trade!
Another major issue is that many people simply do not know what fair trade coffee even is! They see it on the shelf and have no idea what it means, so they do not buy it. There needs to be some more education given to the public so they can at least make an informed decision either way.