Another concern I recently heard about cooperatives and even fair trade in general is that the quality of the green beans sourced from fair trade producers, for what ever reason, is not as high. Without getting in to the details of fair trade standards and an argument about quality (although any one that values the quality of their morning cup of Joe over some one else’s life has questionable priorities), I will say that the beauty of a cooperative structure is that even if this were true, the producer coop would have much more power in improving their product than an estate/plantation or individual farmer because of the dynamic nature of coops.

Undoubtedly, forming a successful coop is no easy task and can take many years before it is profitable. Furthermore, the benefits that a coop may accrue may not trickle down to the greater community where the coop is located anymore than a standard business might spread its accumulated wealth. However, the probability of a coop benefitting a larger community is much greater with a group, who by definition, should care about cooperation, than individual farmers who may care but often lack the resources to be as powerful.

Many of us have looked at how the current trade system is inherently unfair because corporations have amassed resources, government influence and structures that support only one thing: making money. They exert all of this power to achieve this goal and to the detriment of small producers, the environment, natural resources, less developed countries and consumers.

But what is the person at the end of this chain supposed to do? How can an individual not perpetuate and participate in this corporoate controlled trading system and connect with those at the beginning of this system? I feel that real empowerment comes from people at the beginning of the chain having a choice to stay in their countries, meet the needs of their families and become participants in their communities and consumers having a choice to support them.

If you are one person/family stuck in a cycle of poverty, then there is almost no chance of creating change for yourself. If, however, you are able to work with your neighbors, pool your resources, organize yourselves and reach out to the world then there is a chance that you can become powerful enough to make people listen to you and acknowledge you. I think that democratic co-ops are the best way to achieve this, even though it is not a perfect system, because the power is shared among all of those doing the work.

How is fair trade different from other kinds of ethical trade? Usually those kinds of trade are not looking to connect with the most disadvantaged people and change the balance of power. Their focus is often either only on prices paid, worker rights, environmental sustainablity, or running a North American business in a decent way. Does that make them bad (etc)? I don’t think so at all. It just makes them something different, with different goals.

I wish running a decent, responsible business that meets human rights standards wasn’t something so unusual. But does that make it fair trade? In my personal opinion, no. Does that make it better or just as good as fair trade? I think that is a debate worth having.

I’d say you could criticize Fair Trade for a variety of things:
• the minimum price to farmers is still very low;
• companies without much commitment to the values underlying Fair Trade are allowed to purchase a minimum amount and then heavily market themselves as “Fair Trade companies”;
• the certifiers seem to place a greater value on supply than on movement building (education, action, and co-operative development);
• the entry of plantations and multi-national businesses into the Fair Trade network conflicts with the original values of the movement (a true desire for social change and social justice) and places small farmer co-operatives (and small 100% committed roasters) at a competitive disadvantage; and finally,
• a tremendous burden is placed on producers with regards to organizational and financial transparency, and the amount of social, environmental, and economic measures they must comply with and report on, while comparably very little is asked of us in the North.

These critiques of Fair Trade are valid and many roasters, activists, farmer co-op representatives, and others in the movement have been actively involved over the past years to make changes in the system. Last year, for example, after much hard work, we were able to successfully raise the Fair Trade minimum price of coffee which had been at the same level since the Fair Trade certification system was created. (Equal Exchange raised our own minimum price even higher than the Fair Trade minimum.) Of course, the reality is that most roasters today are paying prices above the Fair Trade minimum in order to ensure a continued supply of high quality, organic, Fair Trade coffee.)

But I will say that to critique Fair Trade because the system only works with co-ops (in coffee and cacao) shows a lack of knowledge about the history of much of the global South, the widespread injustices and oppression that small-scale farmers have faced, the years of organizing, struggle, and civil wars that have been fought to demand their economic, social and human rights, a dignified life, and a democratic political system.

The histories of most coffee producing countries are filled with these injustices. Government representatives often took land away from the farmers, and offered it to transnational companies, or large landowners, even foreigners as an incentive to come and “develop” the coffee sector. The farmers, many of whom were indigenous, were then picked up under vagrancy laws, and forced to work on these plantations or be thrown in jail for “delinquency”. The new landowners were given tremendous tax benefits, credit, technical assistance and services (roads, electricity, etc.) to ensure a “healthy” coffee export sector. (Read some of these country histories on our web-site, http://www.equalexchange.coop.)

The founders of the Fair Trade movement understood this history, the unacceptable conditions in which many small-farmers lived, and the trade and agriculture policies that kept the deck stacked against them. And so, the Fair Trade movement began specifically to create an alternative form of trade to support the efforts of small-scale farmers democratically organized into co-operatives) as a way for them to build healthy organizations and communities. It was an attempt to support farmers, not through charity, but simply by paying a fair price, offering credit (most banks won’t lend to individual small farmers) and by changing the terms of trade that through history have favored wealthy landowners and multi-national businesses.

Clearly there are co-operatives that are poorly administrated. Yes, corruption unfortunately exists. I understand the reticence of your friend who saw some of this during her time in the Peace Corps. I don’t think, however, that blanket cynicism is the best response. No social movement is without its weaknesses; yet, no one would say the civil rights movement, the labor movement, or the women’s movement weren’t worth supporting when individual wrong doings were discovered.

Ultimately, I guess it’s about how you think change happens. At Equal Exchange, we strongly believe in the value of democratically organized, transparent co-operatives of small farmers who understand that united they can create stronger, healthier organizations and communities, as well as offer a better, more dignified future for their families. Although the co-operatives we work with are in the business of providing the highest quality, earth-friendly, products; most were formed to offer a better life for their members. The histories of many of these groups are rooted in social movements, supported by the progressive church, non-governmental organizations, political parties, and others. We are proud to share this vision and commitment with our farmer co-operative partners.

Thanks!

Phyllis

One of the top criticisms is that FT only works with coops, and not with individual farmers/families. How, they ask, can a lone family ever hope to get fair trade and/or organic certified? That must mean this is not “sustainable,” yet another buzzword of our day. How haughty and exclusivist of us to operate this way. Who are we to tell people that they must form these coops?

I had one friend of a friend tell me about her experiences in the peace corps, in Honduras. This showed her how the coops are a bad idea, as she saw how they crumbled due to infighting, and that they created groups that were more affluent than others. She pointed me to a gourmet coffee-oriented cafe across town, that sources from individual farms and pays them handsomely for this coffee which they have worked so hard to craft. A trip to this cafe revealed that the owner goes through a roaster just like anyone else, and that rather it is the roastery that goes down and picks which farms in Latin America to supply.

This owner had a lot to say about how FT was not a good idea, again because of the above considerations. His spiel was long-winded and dizzying, but he makes his case very convincingly. You can begin to feel that THIS is the true place to get coffee. And as a barista, yes, he may well be the best in the Twin Cities. And I like what he/the roasterie is doing, but I don’t see how it would work in a retail environment like mine. What I would like to see is folks doing more work like he is, and yet not have to disparage the other forms of ethically-based commerce.

Similarly, another potential coffee vendor recently lambasted EE for being such a large company, and owned by folks other than the farmers. HIS organization is owned by directors of farmer coops, and thereby all decisions get made by them. This is TRUE worker ownership.
Well that’s neat. I like it. What I wonder is, when his company finds success, would they want to be dropped because of the fact that they had got too big? Somehow I don’t think so.

I was chatting with a friend about this stuff yesterday, and I found myself thinking that the point of these critiques is to justify being something other than fair trade. They want the points for ethical trading, but the situation doesn’t allow for FT certification (so be it, this happens, says I), and in addition to describing themselves, they see it as necessary to try and lower what’s currently being done.

I also say, yes, the top-down approach of telling people how to be organized is flawed. But that’s not how it happens! Farmers in many Latin American countries have had to get organized in order to create change, and this process has taken decades. Some coops are newer, but its building on the work of others, and going through the grueling work themselves, that lets them get to the place where they can make their own buying agreements rather than with the coyotes.

And I will leave it here for now, but if others would have more to add, I’d love to keep this going. Cheers,

Nicolas
Seward Coop
Bulk Buyer

This post resonates with me most because it speaks towards changing the system. What is most important about being an alternative trader is a focus on change, the producers, education and justice. Too many alternative trade coffee companies seem to focus on marketing and being different from the herd. When this happens the focus is taken off the farmer and changing the system.

I went into a coffee shop once with a friend and we asked if they had Fair Trade coffee. The barista explained that the coffee wasn’t Fair trade but that it was ok since the roaster knew the farmers. It turned out that the coffee came from a plantation, not a co-operative at all.

I’ve read criticisms of cooperatives as being unfair (“fair trade is unfair because it forces coffee farmers to have to join cooperatives” ) and I’ve heard FT criticisms that said that it is unfair because it “creates competition between farmers”. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at hearing these comments. It’s hard to think about how to counter these claims. Sometimes people’s misunderstandings seem to form an impenetrable fortress.

The fact remains that coffee producing countries of the world have a long history of colonialism and unfair trade agreements. We need to work hard to change this. Fair Trade is a small but very powerful tool that can make a big change. But it is the reorganizing of our priorities and the way that we think about trade and our relationship with the people that produce our food that will make an even bigger impact.

-Brian O’Connell