Fairtrade International

Happy International Coffee Day to all coffee lovers out there! What’s the secret behind quality coffee that not only taste good, but does good? Fairtrade coffee is produced with great skill, care and attention by award-winning farmers who pour their hearts into every bean. Every sip you take is the result of their hard work and commitment to delivering top-quality, flavour-packed coffee that also supports people and the planet. We shone the spotlight on three of our 2024 Golden Cup winners to hear what each of them have to say about how they deliver quality in every cup. For professional coffee cupper, Mario Ernesto Paz, and Golden Cup winner from Cafico in Honduras, crafting the ideal blend is a true art form - dedication, passion, and a commitment to quality go into every bean, just like an artist creating a masterpiece. 🎨 What exactly is the Golden Cup? It’s Fairtrade’s annual competition, where coffee producers from 10 countries go head-to-head, showcasing the best specialty coffees – the highest quality of coffee – across aroma, flavour, and quality. Choose Fairtrade and support a future where every cup you drink helps build stronger, more sustainable communities. 🌱☕️ #futureisfair #ICD2024 #coffee #choosefairtrade Video footage by Sean Hawkey. Video produced by Der Tisch - Communications & Design Studio for Fairtrade International.

What is your favourite coffee variety? ☕ Fairtrade coffee brings you great variety without compromising on quality. Each variety of coffee offers a unique taste experience. Whether it’s a little sweeter, bolder, floral or fruitier. On the eve of International Coffee Day, we’re excited to shine the spotlight on three of our 2024 Golden Cup speciality coffee - the highest quality of coffee - winners to hear what each of them have to say about how they deliver quality in every cup. 2024 Golden Cup winner from Honduras Iris Lorena Perdomo from Cafés Especiales Corquín, variety is at the heart of producing quality coffee. For Iris, cultivating different coffee varieties isn’t just about flavour - it’s about preserving the rich heritage and biodiversity of their land. Every bean she grows is in harmony with nature, free from harmful chemicals and with deep respect for the environment and their community. These aren’t just coffee beans. They’re a story of sustainability, tradition, and exceptional quality - crafted by passionate hands. The Golden Cup competition celebrates this excellence and brings together Fairtrade-certified cooperatives to have their specialty coffees scored across various categories like aroma, flavour, and acidity, as well as judged on their production quality. So tomorrow on International Coffee Day, raise your cup to coffee that’s better for people and the planet. 🌍 #futureisfair #ICD2024 #coffee #choosefairtrade #sustainablefarming Video footage by Sean Hawkey. Video produced by Der Tisch - Communications & Design Studio for Fairtrade International.

🌱 Exciting Opportunity: Global Product Manager Cotton/Textile 🌱 We are on a mission to drive positive change in the cotton and textile industry! As part of Fairtrade International’s strategy, we are implementing a dedicated Cotton & Textiles strategy, led by a coalition of national Fairtrade organisations across the globe, including Fairtrade Deutschland, Max Havelaar France, The Fairtrade Foundation, Fairtrade Belgium, Fairtrade Sverige, Fairtrade Africa, and Fairtrade India. We’re looking for a Global Product Manager Cotton/Textile to spearhead this initiative, ensuring the development and implementation of our Cotton & Textile strategy. If you’re passionate about ethical sourcing, sustainable textiles, and making a global impact, this is your chance! 🌍 📅 Application Deadline: October 17, 2024 🔗 Learn more and apply here: http://fairtr.de/lcP #Fairtrade #Sustainability #EthicalSourcing #Cotton #SustainableTextiles #CareerOpportunity

This week, we had the incredible opportunity to welcome the #FairChangers to our Bonn (Germany) headquarters! 🎉 These passionate young men and women represent our commitment to supporting youth in shaping fair global supply chains. 🤝 The group consists of 10 dynamic young men and women—five from Germany and five from Kenya, both consumers and producers—who engage in a unique exchange program. Together, they are gaining valuable insights into each other's cultures, perspectives, and activities along fair global supply chains, fostering stronger global connections. 🌱 One member of the group is Brenda (26) from Kenya, a coffee farmer and proud member of the Kabngetuny Cooperative. This was her first time visiting Germany, and her experience has been eye-opening! 🙌 She described it as fantastic and said that being able to visit a roaster here in Germany and interact with Fairtrade Germany and Fairtrade International has given her first person connections and insights we would take back home. Brenda also shared how Fairtrade has transformed her farm through the Fairtrade Premium, the extra sum of money given to Fairtrade cooperatives that they democratically decide how to use, which helped her cooperative purchase solar dryers—making coffee drying more affordable, eco-friendly, and efficient. ☀️🌿 The #FairChangers program, launched in 2022 and funded by Fairtrade Deutschland and Fairtrade Africa, is a pilot project that truly embodies the power of global collaboration. Here’s to building a fairer, more sustainable future together! 🌍 #Fairtrade #Fairchanger #futureisfair #Sustainability Felix Ouma Lukas Zärtner Daniela Marina Hess Mercy C. EdMónd Maséga GIET BTech Eng Natalie Fischer Aileen Böckmann Lena van der Kamp Aldo Daniel Chipana Rahma abdi Gina Stelzer Kelvin Mwaura

Following our deforestation study released yesterday, Fairtrade's Senior Advisor Climate and Environment, Juan Pablo Solís Víquez, recently spoke to the EUobserver about the unbearable compliance costs of EU deforestation law for small-scale farmers. Read his full opinion piece here 👉 https://bit.ly/4gugOLc "Fairtrade International is deeply concerned that many small-scale cocoa and coffee producer organisations will be cut off from trade with the European Union market because of the EU Deforestation Regulation that will start to apply on 30 December 2024. "This is not because these producers farm on deforested land but is due to the ambiguities in the regulation. "The producers need clear definitions of key terms, a thorough explanation of the rules on the traceability requirements and data governance across supply chains, and specifications of the criteria that will be used to verify compliance from the European Commission. And they need it now, not later."

🌳 For many farmers, deforestation isn't just an environmental issue - it’s driven by economic factors. Forest conservation often requires resources that low-income farmers struggle to afford. Today, Fairtrade International is proud to release a new study highlighting how Fairtrade certified cocoa and coffee cooperatives are better positioned to protect forests as compared to non-Fairtrade cooperatives. This assistance is crucial as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) begins taking effect later this year. At Fairtrade, we believe that supporting farmers is key to driving meaningful change. When farmers have the right knowledge and enough resources, they don’t just conserve forests – they also foster better microclimates, protect water sources, enhance biodiversity, and safeguard wildlife. How does Fairtrade make a difference? 🌍 Fairer Prices: Farmers benefit from the Fairtrade Minimum Price - a financial safety net - and an additional Premium. These funds enable cooperatives to invest in the forest conservation measures needed for climate-resilient cocoa and coffee production and contribute to better livelihoods that can reduce pressure on forests. 📚 Training & Education: Through Fairtrade Producer Networks, farmers access specialised training on agroecology, agroforestry, and other critical topics, boosting their capacity to combat deforestation. 🌱 Fairtrade Standards: Our rigorous standards guide farmers in implementing effective forest protection strategies, aligned with EUDR requirements. Notably, some Fairtrade farmers have become leaders in their communities, even advising non-certified farmers on deforestation prevention practices - a testament to the positive ripple effects. However, we know that farmers alone cannot bear the compliance costs alone linked to laws imposed by the EU. Dive into the full study to learn more about how Fairtrade can make a difference in forest conservation and beyond 👉 https://bit.ly/4dZGflP #futureisfair #fairtrade #sustainability #deforestation #climateaction 

Today our Global CEO, Sandra Uwera Murasa, joined industry, development and policy leaders, delivering a keynote address at the Sustainability Osapiens Summit, 2024 #SoS24 In her speech today she advocated on behalf of over 2 million Fairtrade producers and on the targeted interventions needed to enforce sustainability regulations in Fairtrade markets. She also emphasised the need to put producers at the heart of the regulation and compliance conversation, to clearly understand their realities at the grass root level. “The responsibility of complying with new legislation must be distributed more equitably across all stakeholders in supply chains. It cannot be shouldered by producers alone.” “What we continuously advocate for is that any new regulations should be designed with farmers and workers in mind, and accompanied by resources and programmatic measures to assist them in achieving compliance.” #futureisfair

For the coffee and cocoa industries, all eyes are on the end of the year when the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will take effect. 🌳 Join our free webinar on September 18 to find out how Fairtrade contributes to forest protection and tackling deforestation – we’ll present findings from a new study – and supports companies’ EUDR due diligence steps. You’ll also gain insight into Fairtrade cooperatives’ EUDR readiness journeys, and perspectives on what is needed now. You’ll hear from Juan Pablo Solís Víquez, Senior Advisor Climate and Environment and Nora Burkey, study researcher, Founder and Executive Director of The Chain Collaborative. 📅 Wednesday, 18 September 2024 🕑 15:00 – 16:00 CEST ✏️ Register here: https://bit.ly/4el9Nuh

Have you ever seen a Fairtrade product and wondered what is special about it? With so many labels out there, it may be hard to know what Fairtrade stands for, how we work, and what type of impact do we want to see in the world. As a leader in the global movement to make trade fair, Fairtrade supports and challenges businesses and governments and connects farmers and workers with the people who buy their products. Get to know us a little bit better. There is more behind your cup of Fairtrade coffee than you may think. https://bit.ly/4e0yZ9t #futureisfair #fairtrade #sustainability

Do you believe everyone deserves a living income? We do. That’s why we are working towards living incomes for farmers. One way we do this is by setting Living Income Reference Prices - the price a typical farmer household with a viable farm size and a sustainable productivity level needs to earn a living income from the sales of their crop. You can now access our Living Income Reference Prices filtered by commodity or country in one spot via our new tool. The tool will be updated with new information as it becomes available, including reference prices for living wages (a wage that covers the basic needs of workers and their families). You can also find more information about how the prices were calculated. To date, Fairtrade has more than a dozen country - or region-specific Living Income Reference Prices for a range of products - including cocoa, coffee, coconuts, cashews, and mangoes - developed through a robust research and validation process with farmers and other local industry experts. Living Income Reference Prices are now recognised as industry standards and can be paid voluntarily by any commercial buyer. It’s part of our growing portfolio of digital tools to help companies better understand how they can work to make sustainable supply chains a reality. #futureisfair http://fairtr.de/lcy