Buy Fairtrade coffee
Choosing fair-trade coffee means you know that the farmer who grew the coffee beans got a fair price from his crop and an additional sum to invest in local community projects. So you can really enjoy your cup of coffee.
The problem
Around the world, 25 million coffee-farming families are dependent on their crop to feed and clothe themselves. If global market prices for coffee beans fluctuate, or if bad weather adversely affects a crop, whole communities can be badly damaged. This can lead to widespread poverty in developing world coffee-growing regions.
At the other end of the supply chain the large multinational coffee roasters, who are able to use their market power to force low prices and unfair terms on coffee farmers, continue to reap big profits.
What you can do
Buying Fairtrade coffee is about creating more equal trading relationships.
Under the certification scheme, farmers receive a fair price for their crop with minimum payments guaranteed. In 2003, for example, the price of Arabica on the open market fell below 70 US cents per pound but farmers selling to the Fairtrade market still received a minimum of 121 US cents per pound.
Farmers involved in the scheme must belong to a growers' co-operative. These share the Fairtrade premium, enabling communities to invest in wells for clean water, healthcare facilities and education for their children.
How to do it
Look for coffee bearing the Fairtrade Mark. This is the only fully-independent guarantee that the farmers who produced the crop got a fair price for their product.
It is now also possible to buy Fairtrade fruit, chocolate, sugar, cotton and many more products beside.
As part of Plan A, M&S will be extending our commitment to Fairtrade - which has already seen us guaranteeing over 70,000 tea and coffee farmers a fair price - by offering Fairtrade bananas, jam and sugar.
Choosing to buy Fairtrade means that as well as getting a great-tasting cup of coffee, you're investing in better lives for millions of people.
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