Graphic By Andrew Burleson

Duncan Coffee to beginoffering Fair Trade variety

By: Lacy Ledford

Posted: 7/6/04

Duncan Coffee executives may decide to offer Fair Trade coffee at
Texas A&M, depending on the success of online Fair Trade coffee sales
this summer.

Fair Trade Certified coffee is a partnership between consumers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean that guarantees small coffee farmers a fair price for their harvest, access to credit and direct access to American markets.

Jay Arekere, secondary adviser for A&M's Texas Environmental Action Coalition, said that former TEAC member and A&M graduate John Chisenhall began campaigning on behalf of Fair Trade Coffee about
a year ago. Chisenhall's goal was to see that Duncan Coffee Company
began selling Fair Trade Coffee on the A&M campus.

"I received an e-mail from John recently, and he thinks that Duncan Coffee has agreed to begin serving Fair Trade coffee at A&M now," Arekere said.

According to the Global Exchange, an international human rights organization, the fair payments to farmers are invested in health care, education, environmental stewardship and economic independence.

A&M expressed its support for Fair Trade coffee March 7 in a University resolution that stated support for Duncan Coffee Company to purchase and sell certified, organic Fair Trade and shade-grown coffee from a Fair Trade cooperative.

Duncan Coffee is now providing Fair Trade organic coffee from various countries its online store.

There are also environmental impacts of the Fair Trade coffee movement.

According to a press release by TransFair USA, the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade practices in the United States, Fair Trade farmers protect the land and wildlife habitat by intercropping plant species and maintaining strict waste management control.

Assistant manager of College Station's Texas Avenue Starbucks Kristen Kowalski said, "We usually have bags of Fair Trade coffee for sale and brew one of them on the 20th of every month."

Kowalski said that customers have asked about what Fair Trade coffee is, and how it impacts coffee drinkers.

"It's a great way to encourage conversation between the baristas and customers, and to let the customers know what Fair Trade coffee is and why we sell it," Kowalski said.

Coffee Station owner Vlad Vladimirov said he has been supporting Fair Trade coffee at his business for several years.

"We have been serving Fair Trade coffee since about 1997, which was even before my time here."