FAIRTRADE COFFEE WEEK
From : 14 May 2012 09:00 - Untill : 20 May 2012 21:00
Location : All over South Africa!
A premier event on South Africa’s 2012 coffee calendar, FAIRTRADE COFFEE WEEK is back in full swing to celebrate South Africa’s coffee culture with an increased range of Fairtrade labelled coffees. The campaign kicks off on Monday 14 May 2012 and promises to take South Africans on a journey into the vibrancy of the Fairtrade coffee industry - new flavours, new stories and lots of caffeine!
“Fairtrade Coffee Week has a special meaning for Fairtrade both locally and internationally, as it celebrates our flagship product and over 532,000 small-scale farmers involved in Fairtrade coffee production in the world”, says FLSA’s Executive Director Boudewijn Goossens, “45,220 Kg, or approximately 3 and half million cups of Fairtrade coffee, was drunk in SA in 2011. Resultantly, over R135 000 in the form of Fairtrade Premiums was paid over to small-scale coffee farmers for reinvestment into their communities. On behalf of those producers and of South African consumers, I congratulate all South African Fairtrade coffee brands for increasing the impact of Fairtrade in the East African coffee community and for contributing to a more equal and sustainable Africa.”
GET A CUPPA OF FAIRTRADE COFFEE
We invite you to go and enjoy a cup of Fairtrade coffee this week! Whether you brew your own coffee at home or you prefer to have it served in a coffee shop, here are the Fairtrade coffee options for you:
BEAN THERE COFFEE
Bean There was the first local company to launch all-African Fairtrade coffee back in 2009! They currently offer two Fairtrade coffee variants, one from Ethiopia and the other from Rwanda.
You can buy their coffee in selected Pick n Pays, as well as online or in partnering coffee shops. If you are based in Cape Town or Joburg, we invite you to get your cup directly from their roastery! They are on 44 Stanley Avenue in Joburg and on 58 Wale Street in Cape Town.
For more information visit www.beanthere.co.za
CIRO BEVERAGE SOLUTIONS
CIRO launches its first Fairtrade coffee range this week! Sourced from the Mzuzu Cooperative in Malawi, the coffee is intended for the hospitality market, including bars, cafes, hotels and restaurants.
Contact CIRO if you want to offer their Fairtrade coffee.
For more information visit www.ciro.co.za
FABINO COFFEE
One of the newest Fairtrade coffees, Fabino is a local brand selling Fairtrade coffee blends from South America.
For more information contact info@fabino.net
PURO COFFEE
A mix of Fairtrade coffee beans from South America and Arica, PURO coffee is part of an international partnership to improve the lives of small-scale coffee farmers and protect the rainforest. Locally, PURO supports the Trees4Schools organisation.
For more information visit www.mikoafrica.co.za
WOOLWORTHS / W CAFES
Breaking News!! Woolworths has switched to Fairtrade for all coffee sold in its W Cafes! Grab a cup of Woolworths Fairtrade and organic coffee and taste the difference you are making to small-scale farmers in Ethiopia and Tanzania!
For more information visit www.woolworths.co.za
THE BENEFITS OF FAIRTRADE COFFEE
From improvements to farmers' businesses and lives, to protecting the environment where coffee is grown, these are the impacts we can make in the coffee industry by drinking Fairtrade coffee every day.
(1) Better income for small-scale farmers
In the current system, only small-scale farmers organised in co-operatives that they own and govern democratically can become Fairtrade certified. This allows Fairtrade to focus its impact on small producers, who grow most of the coffee we buy every day.
Within the Fairtrade system, coffee co-operatives are ensured a Fairtrade Minimum Price of USD 1,40 per pound of coffee beans (around R 24/Kg). This allows them to cover their costs of sustainable production when market prices are very low, as well as maintain a long-term relationship with their Fairtrade buyers.
(2) Investments in business and communities
When purchasing Fairtrade coffee, buyers also pay a Fairtrade Premium to the co-operative, which is currently set at USD 0,20 per pound (around R3/Kg).
According to a research published by Fairtrade International last year, small-scale coffee farmers generally use the Fairtrade Premium to invest in business development (30%) and in production and processing (28%). The remaining third goes to social initiatives mainly focused on education, health and other community projects.
Visit our producer page to see how Fairtrade has benefited the lives, and the businesses, of small-scale farmers.
(3) Protection of the environment
Fairtrade includes strict measures to protect the environment and, when possible, promotes organic agriculture with higher prices. Standards focus on sustainable ways to manage pest and pesticides, reducing soil erosion while enhancing fertility, and manage waste and water sustainably, with the ultimate goal of protecting people and nature from toxic chemicals and train farmers in better agricultural practices. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are strictly prohibited.
(4) Support of African farming communities
Africa is the birthplace of coffee and hosts some of the largest Fairtrade coffee cooperatives in the world. Over 293,700 small-scale farmers are Fairtrade certified in Africa, more specifically in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Rwanda, Congo DRC, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast.
By drinking their coffee we are not only growing African businesses but also promoting a new way to trade and consume fairly within African borders!
BY THE NUMBERS
- Coffee is Fairtrade's flagship product - it was the first product certified and sold as Fairtrade over 20 years ago in the Netherlands
- Over 100,000 tonnes of Fairtrade coffee was sold in the world last year
- In 2011, South Africans drank over 3,5 million cups of Fairtrade coffee
- Fairtrade certified coffee cooperatives represent over 532,000 small-scale farmers - over half of them are in Africa!
- 24% of all Fairtrade coffee farmers in the world are women
