Fair Is Square In Fair Trade Coffee

I think I’m as green as the next person. I recycle, I dry my laundry outside in warmer weather, and I reuse as much as possible instead of buying new. I also love coffee. Surprised about that one, aren’t you? 😉 I drink quite a few cups of coffee to get my morning started most days every day.

I even have refillable mugs for Starbucks and QT so that I don’t waste a styrofoam cup each time.  I was thrilled when I was asked to participate in a BzzAgent campaign involving coffee. As part of the campaign, I got to try out a bunch of free coffee samples so that I could tell people what I thought.

It wasn’t just any coffee. It was Green Mountain Coffee which has one of the largest selections of Fair Trade Certified coffee. I wasn’t really sure what that meant or why I should look for Fair Trade Certified items so I was glad that they included all kinds of information to fill me in.

Fair Trade Certified coffee means that the middleman is cut out of the equation when dealing with the farmers that grow these coffee beans. A bunch of farmers get together and agree to certain standards and growing practices in exchange for a fair price for their beans. This keeps the farmers from being taken advantage of and gouged by the middleman and they get to receive a fair price for their beans.

They sometimes get a premium on top of the market price that would never be possible without Fair Trade. Then they get to choose where they can invest their profits back into their communities. How cool is that?! We, the coffee drinkers get coffee from beans that were grown without chemicals and conserving water. The farmers get a fair price for their beans plus they get to help improve roads, drinking water, and schools in their area.

There are also strict labor laws in place with Fair Trade so you don’t end up having your beans grown by workers in poor conditions. I had no idea that Fair Trade existed but I think it’s a pretty great thing now that I do. I’ve been trying out the Green Mountain Fair Trade coffee samples this week that they sent me. All of them are pretty tasty and just as good as the other coffee I’ve been drinking.

I really like the Sumatran Reserve and the Pumpkin Spice. I saw that there’s a Fair Trade Spicy Eggnog flavor coming out in December. That’s a must have in my book! Check out Green Mountain Coffee’s Facebook page for more information and make sure to look for their Fair Trade Certified coffee beans and k-cups to do your part in being green.

What’s your favorite coffee flavor? Have you heard of Fair Trade before?