Fair Trade
Fair Trade certified coffee is a very important part of Cameron’s Coffee’s philosophy. We are dedicated to purchasing and selling Fair Trade coffee because of the following reasons: it makes a significant difference in the lives of farmers, it ensures a sustainable supply of high quality coffee, and it is the right thing to do

The Right Thing to Do
This is the first, and foremost reason why we purchase certified Fair Trade coffee. There are over 25 million producers of coffee in the world, and most of them are small farmer. Virtually all of these small farmers live in poverty-like conditions. Despite the fact that coffee is a widely consumed beverage and it is the 2nd most traded commodity in the world, coffee is at its lowest price in 100 years. Farmers are actually losing money on every pound of coffee they currently sell as a result of this low commodity price. One of the reasons that the price of coffee is so low is because the global supply of coffee outweighs the global consumption of coffee. However, this supply of coffee does not take into consideration the varying differences in the qualities of coffee. Therefore, mountain grown, Guatemalan arabica coffee, for example, is being affected by the huge supply of low grade, Viet-Namese robusta coffee.

Certified Fair Trade coffee ensures that farmers have not lost money on each pound of coffee, but in contrast, it ensures that farmers are paid a ‘living wage’ (an average production cost plus a sustainable profit). Fair Trade also helps to remove the layers of non-valued-added middlemen that cloud coffee transactions between growers/importers/roasters. The certifying and regulatory body for the global Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO) in Canada is Transfair Canada

It is important to note that neither Transfair Canada nor the FLO ever take possession or purchase coffee themselves. They are simply the NGO that monitors all Fair Trade coffee transactions from the farmer to the consumer. In order to legitimately sell certified Fair Trade coffee in Canada, a roaster must be licensed by Transfair Canada.

At Cameron’s Coffee, we recognize that farmers put the same effort into every crop they grow regardless of the “world” price. So, we choose to pay farmers based on their quality and their efforts, and not pay based on the global supply of coffee. Just because Viet Nam is producing a huge volume of low-grade robusta coffee for the world market, it is no reason that a farmer, who puts care and effort into producing a superior Arabica bean, should be penalized on his price. We are willing to pay a premium in order to serve our customers the delicious fruits of their labour, without charging our customers for this premium.

Rafael Terraza Raymundo Coffee grower from west central Guatemala's Huehuetenango region

Make a difference in a family’s life. In order to be eligible for Fair Trade certification, a farmer must be a member of a democratically run co-operative. When you purchase certified Fair Trade coffee, you are ensuring that the farmer is paid an average cost of production and a sustainable profit … in essence, a living wage. In addition to a living wage, farmers are getting access to loans/credit at reasonable rates, and in some cases, advance payment on a shipment of coffee. All of these things amount to a higher quality of life for the farmers and their families, without any additional cost to the consumer. Remember, farmers are not growing coffee to live an extravagant lifestyle, they are growing coffee for survival! Fair Trade makes a difference.Sustainable supply of Coffee.

Although Fair Trade is a social certification, it has helped make a positive impact on the environment. By paying the farmers a fair price, many farmers have been able to begin and complete the conversion back to natural, organic farming practices. Coffee grows naturally in a poly-culture or bio-diverse eco-system and does not require deadly inputs such as pesticides, fertilizers, or other petro-chemicals. This holds obvious benefits for the environment, but it also improves the lives of farmers because they no longer need to spray these chemicals on their crops by hand. In many cases, ‘conventional’ farmers end up ingesting or inhaling large quantities of chemicals when they spray them by hand. In addition, the poly-culture of forests that nurture these coffee trees can also provide many other agricultural products for the farmers to harvest. Such products include, bananas, nuts, cacao, and many more. Cameron’s Coffee is dedicated to providing a fair price to farmers, a fair wage to our employees and a fair price to our customers.

View our Fairtrade Coffees: