Bean fair, done that

When a product carries the Fairtrade certification mark it means the producers and traders have met Fairtrade Standards. The Standards are designed to ensure that the conditions of production and trade of all certified products are more socially and economically fair than the global cash crop commodity market. There is an excellent chance that the Fairtrade coffee you are drinking is also more environmentally sustainable, even organically grown.

Alex says he did not set out to stock Schibello’s Fairtrade organic but feels good about his decision. “I tell my customers every day about how much chemicals they consume, year after year. They are everywhere – in the food, in the air, on the roads,” said Alex. “You can’t escape them. Of course, it makes me feel good to have healthy people around, but I think they are more concerned with how they look than how healthy they are. In spring and summer, people care more about healthy food – they start asking for skim milk and low fat.”

Drinkers of decaffeinated coffee can also buy their decaf from a Fairtrade coffee supplier knowing that it hasn’t been exposed to chemicals such as methylene chloride, or dichloromethane. This solvent, widely used as a plastics glue, paint stripper and industrial degreaser, is still widely used globally to remove caffeine from coffee.

Even though decaffeination is a production rather than a farming process, according to the Fairtrade spokesperson, the chemical-free Swiss Water method is used by all Fairtrade Certified coffee roasters within Australia which ensures chemical-free quality decaf product. “Some people think when they hear the coffee is organic, that there is no caffeine! I tell them just because it’s organic, that doesn’t mean it is not decaffeinated!”

Fairtrade ANZ (Australia New Zealand) is a labelling and certifying body promoting fairer trading conditions for disadvantaged producers around the world. In order to carry the Fairtrade certification mark (turquoise blue, black and green logo), the product must comply 100 per cent with Fairtrade Standards. The Fairtrade Standards require, for example, that farmers, the majority of whom are small land holders, must follow international standards for the handling of chemicals. And they must not use products that include genetically modified organisms (GMO).

Rainforest Alliance is another certification system with very similar goals to Fairtrade. Both standards give coffee drinkers the confidence that even if not certified organic, it is likely to come very close to it.