Supporting Fair Trade

On A Larger Scale

By Kendra Bobowick

When choosing between crunchy or creamy, low-fat or nonfat, sugar-free or all natural, grocery shopping could take longer than shoppers prefer. One decision is easy, however, at least for management at Big Y.

“If a product comes in fairly traded versus not fairly traded, the fair trade is the tie breaker,” said Vice President of Sales Phil Schneider, who works out of the supermarket’s main offices in Massachusetts. Big Y supports fair trade “absolutely,” he said.

Essentially, the dollars spent for a can of fairly traded goods benefit the grower or manufacturer directly. According to FairTradeFederation.org, “Fair trade is a system of exchange that seeks to create greater equity and partnership in international trading system by paying fair wages in local context, supporting participatory workplaces, ensuring environmental sustainability, supplying financial and technical support, offering public accountability, building direct and long-term relationships, and educating consumers.”

When suppliers introduced fair trade merchandise, subtle changes took place in the supermarket’s stock. “It was a deliberate decision by a manager knowing that fair trade is a positive attribute,” Mr Schneider explained.

Simply, the company promotes the concepts of fair trade.

Stop & Shop? Yes. Starbucks? Yes. Locally the Newtown Starbucks carries fair trade coffee and the Stop & Shop on Route 25 also offers products of fair trade.

Starbucks spokesperson Nicole Fallat said, “Fair Trade does a great job making sure the farmers get paid fair wages and [crops] are grown and sold in a sustainable way.” Transfairusa.org is a website that comes to her mind. The site offers, “Connect with Fair trade…”

If not fair trade certified, Starbucks coffee is purchased conscientiously. Ms Fallat said, “A lot of [our] other coffee is verified by a third party by our own terms looking at economic and other [criteria] to be sure farmers are paid fair wages.”

A Line Of Its Own

The Big Y’s World Classics gourmet line of coffee has a flavor of its own that depends on fair trade principals. As Mr Schneider noted, the company’s website tells the story of The Rogers Family Coffee Company, which manufactures World Classics Gourmet Coffee.

“The Rogers family in California agrees to pay a price that is above the coffee market and that profit the farmers earn could go toward school, clothes, food — it’s a better life for the coffee growers,” Mr Schneider explained. The practice is not new. Big Y has been working with the Rogers since 1993, he said.

According to the narrative online, “[The Rogers] goes directly to the source. There is no middle man and World Classics can cultivate effective relationships with individual farmers.” Coffee quality may be the primary goal, “The Rogers family established its own ‘Fair Price’ program,” before Fair Trade made headlines.

“In keeping with our promise to improve the quality of life of everyone who has contact with our coffee, we established ‘social contracts’ with farmers,” the website states. “The effort feeds into a fair-trade-minded ‘source aid.’ The ‘source aid’ turns coffee into clothes, as well as houses, meals, medical supplies … for coffee farm workers and their families from Latin America to Africa.”