Ethical Sourcing
Introducing the Fairtrade Access Fund
It’s hard to pass a Starbucks without grabbing a cup of delicious Fairtrade coffee. Not only is the coffee great quality but the Fairtrade certification guarantees small-holder farmers a fair price and investment in environmental and economic developmental projects that benefit the whole community. Today, I am so happy to be sharing an exciting new development. Fairtrade International, together with Grameen Foundation and Incofin, are launching a new Fund for smallholders. And guess who was the first company to put up their hand, and put in their money? Yes – Starbucks.
Proud to Support Fairtrade
Hi everyone. Monday 28th of February is the start of Fairtrade Fortnight and I thought I’d take the opportunity to tell you why I’d like you to support it!
Did you know that through Fairtrade, small-holder farmers, and their families can get better incomes for their hard work. This allows them to hold on to their land, keep their kids in school, and invest in the quality of their harvest so they can continue to grow high-quality coffee. This is because Fairtrade pays a guaranteed price for their coffee as well as a social premium that can be used for local projects.
History in the Making
I’ve recently returned from a trip to China where Starbucks signed two historic Memoranda of Understanding to invest in growing high-quality coffee in Yunnan province. We’ll be collaborating with the People’s Government of Pu’er City (Yunnan Province) and the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. These agreements signal cooperation between Starbucks and China to revolutionize the Chinese coffee market and help local farmers there grow new, high-quality coffees that are sure to be prized throughout the world.
Although we will continue to buy coffees from many countries, this opportunity allows us to help build China’s specialty coffee market from scratch. We’ll open another Farmer Support Center, manage a base farm to grow coffee for production and create a demo farm that offers training on soil quality, tree planting and pruning, and education about C.A.F.E. Practices. We will also operate wet and dry mills. Between the agronomists and partners with years of leadership in the coffee industry, we have the experience necessary to be very successful. I am excited about the immense opportunity this partnership represents.
Welcome Spring
The long dark drizzly days of winter are now behind us and spring is here. For me, that means back out into the yard to continue the seemingly never-ending list of things to do – weeding, planting and pruning. This year my big project is building two new vegetable garden boxes.
In my free time I may be an aspiring gardener but during the week, I am an ethical sourcing manager for Starbucks. Just like gardening in Seattle, coffee farming requires great care and planning – but it’s on a much larger scale and serves as a source of income for millions of families.
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