Fairtrade Foundation coffee, the brand that approves the “ethically sound” coffee used in the Students for Georgetown Inc. coffee shops, recently fell short of its humanitarian standards in an impromptu inspection of one of its Peruvian coffee farms.
In the investigative report for The Financial Times, writer Hal Weitzman spoke to a farm worker and received reports of ten and a half hour workdays, below minimum-wage pay and sub-standard accommodations.
photo by Simone Popperl
Despite the report, Corp CEO Bryan Carrol (SFS ‘07) expressed his confidence in the Fairtrade organization and seemed willing to forgive the allegations.
The Corp made a universal switch to Fairtrade-approved coffee last year, after student encouragement suggested that Fairtrade-labeled coffee would be appreciated in all shops, not just Uncommon Grounds.
“Based on our mission, it seemed clear that we should only be using Fairtrade coffee, ” Carrol said. “They are the only organization attempting to do any good.”
The Corp receives its coffee from Kaffe Magnum Opus, a producer whose small farms have received the approval of the British Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International and therefore the right to bear the socially conscious label.
FLO has established a 20-nation cooperative to help educate impoverished agrarian communities on the importance of organic, environmentally sound products, as well as to help small farmers develop solid incomes and offer sufficient pay for workers.
According to Fairtrade’s web site, all farms are welcomed into the production circle once, after inspection, they are found to satisfy the organization’s guidelines concerning organic produce, farm size and number of workers.
Fairtrade presents itself as “an independent consumer label which appears in products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal.”
Fairtrade labels are not just limited to coffee, they also certify products such as cocoa, honey and even wine, according to Fairtrade’s web site. In an editorial response to The Finanical Times article, FLO Director Luuk Zonneveld, sought to defend Fairtrade’s inspection standards.
“No certifier is able to check that at no time are workers paid below minimum wage. The issue comes up everywhere,” he wrote. “Poor people struggle to pay their workers fairly.”
According to The Financial Times, immediately after the appearance of Weitzman’s article, Fairtrade dispatched an investigative group into Peru to help remedy the working situation.
