Agros Blog

“If I were to ask you what the single largest commodity in the world is, you’d probably reply immediately: “oil”. But if I were to ask you what the second largest commodity in the world is, would you know the answer?

More money changes hands in the buying and selling of coffee than any other global product – save for oil. For those of us coffee lovers in the United States, we make up the largest consumers; drinking one-fifth of the world’s supply. However few of us realize that the farmers who actually produce the coffee live and work in conditions that have been described as “sweatshops in the fields”. Most rural coffee farmers around the world are caught in cycles of poverty and debt due to receiving prices that are far less than actual production costs.

In response to this crisis, coffee producers, buyers, traders, etc.. have established “Fair Trade” standards that are meant to insure that coffee is purchased under equal and fair conditions. To be certified as a Fair Trade coffee importer you must meet strict criteria; paying coffee farmers at specific prices per pound, offering sufficient credit to farmers, and providing agricultural assistance where needed. Fair Trade for farmers means better health care, education, community development, and living wages for their labor. In fact, the “Fair Trade” designation and standards are used for more than just coffee…here is just one other example: Fair Trade Sports.

For more than a year now, Agros has benefited from a key partnership with Camano Island Coffee Roasters (CICR). CICR is a certified organic, shade-grown, and fairly traded coffee company. In fact, they even purchase and roast coffee from Agros villages! They also offer a nationwide coffee club, where subscribers receive two-and-a-half pounds of Fairly Traded (and delicious) coffee delivered direct to their home. The benefit to Agros is that subscribers can designate that $1 of the subscription prices goes direct to Agros. It’s a win-win for all: the farmer, Camano Island Coffee Roasters, Agros villagers, and you.

The folks at CICR are great people, their coffee is excellent (full disclosure: I am a CICR coffee-loving subscriber), and their commitment to the Fair Trade movement helps assure that coffee farmers reap the true rewards of their work.

Click here for more information, and go to Camano Island Coffee Roasters for their external website.