Fair Trade Certified™ coffee is one of the ways that Starbucks fulfills that commitment.

The Fair Trade movement is based on the same principles as our coffee purchasing standards: negotiating outright prices, engaging in long-term relationships, dealing directly with producers, investing in social and community projects, and protecting the environment. Our standards help ensure that all coffee farmers from whom we buy receive fair prices for their crops.

Fair Trade Certified™ prices

In the Fair Trade certification system, importers, roasters and retailers purchase coffee at favourable guaranteed prices from farmers who are registered with the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International.

To purchase Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, Starbucks pays a minimum of $1.26 (U.S.) per pound ($2.77 per kilogram) for non-organic green arabica coffee and $1.41 per pound ($3.10 per kilogram) for organic green arabica coffee.

For all of its coffee, Starbucks pays premium prices that are substantially over and above the prevailing commodity-grade coffee price. In fiscal 2002, the commodity average price was $0.40-0.50 per pound. During that same time period, Starbucks paid an average verified price of $1.20 per pound, excluding freight, for green coffee purchased at outright prices.

Bringing Fair Trade Certified™ coffee to the world

Since forming an alliance with TransFair USA in April 2000, Starbucks has purchased nearly 2 million pounds of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, including 1.1 million pounds in fiscal 2002. Our purchasess have increased steadily. Starbucks is licensed to sell Fair Trade Certified™ coffee in 17 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S.

Working with Fair Trade farmers

In July 2002, Starbucks, the Ford Foundation and Oxfam America announced a pilot project in collaboration with a large Fair Trade co-op in Oaxaca, Mexico. The goals of the project are to increase the supply of high-quality Fair Trade Certified™ coffee and enable the 16,000 participating farmers to earn premium prices for their crops.

Starbucks and the Ford Foundation, a philanthropic organisation that works to reduce poverty and promote international cooperation, each contributed $125,000 for the first year of the pilot project.

Oxfam America, an organisation dedicated to creating solutions to hunger, poverty and social injustice around the world, will work directly with farmers in the co-op on improvements to their post-harvest quality control techniques.

By providing farmers with tools to improve their skills, and thus the quality of their coffee, we hope to increase their opportunities for self-sufficiency and sustainability.

Other CSR-related links

Coffee Purchasing
Coffee Sourcing Guidelines
Conservation Coffee™
Environment Mission Statement
Organic Coffee
Providing Farmers With Access to Credit
Social Development Projects
Starbucks and CARE
Tazo® and Mercy Corps