By now you know that I believe coffee to be a lucrative commodity and relationship builder. Moreover, it has become a powerful tool for pushing forward a transition into more sustainable ways of production, along with fair trade certifications aiming at safeguarding the rights of the workers within the coffee production sector.
Today’s The Brief focuses on the role that the demand for coffee along with consumer awareness has played in ensuring improved terms, via for example Fair Trade certifications bringing about social and environmental, ethical, and economic impact, in addition to human impact enabling farmers and workers to invest in their lives and take more control of their future.
I remember that I started to think of fair-trade coffee and other products when I was working in our family restaurant in the 90’s. I wanted to serve coffee that had been produced without making our planet sick. I also wanted to serve coffee that has been fairly paid for, where the money involved had been fairly divided between workers, producers, and others involved in the supply chain.
Fairtrade certifications today, 30-something years since my awareness for it increased, is both a complex system with positive aspects and areas for improvement.
With that said, can coffee though in itself be a stronger player (without certification systems), optimally put forward in ensuring the health of our planet and the economy of the laborers, producers, and consumers involved before the beans hit our cups?
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