Is Fair Trade Fair?

It is one of the great discussions within the specialty coffee industry.  We are working with a large retailer that is asking for a Fair Trade certified hot cocoa drink mix.  The company has specified that the product needs to have the Fair Trade logo on it because it believes customers will react favorably to it.

I am a big believer in the fair trade system.  (Uncapitalized, in this context, and, unfortunately, always undercapitalized!)  However, in this instance, we are faced with one of the ironies of using the branded Fair Trade logo.  Namely, products can only be branded with the Trans Fair logo if they come from a cooperative.  One of our cocoa sources is in Ghana, and we have a very strong relationship with them.

Because of the governmental system in place in Ghana, farmers sell their beans directly to the government, and in return receive a reasonable price.  In Ghana, 9 million people make their living from growing cocoa, so it is in the government’s interest to ensure the price is as high as possible, and they have successfully done so for decades.  But this company is not a co-op.  So we can’t use their cocoa for this product.  Which is a shame, since we would be purchasing a significant amount of cocoa powder, the money would go straight back to Ghana, and make a significant impact on all of their lives.  It is a curious system.