Image: www.stumptowncoffee.com
Fair Trade coffee is so yesterday. A few independent coffee roasters are taking on the status quo on even some of the best production and trade practices in the coffee-growing business. We recently had the pleasure of visiting Stumptown Coffee in Portland, OR and were excited to see what they (and others, like Counter Culture Coffee out of Durham, NC) are doing with direct trade coffee. Direct trade coffee purveyors often have higher-than-market pay minimums, as well as quality that they say exceeds that of their fair trade counterparts. For example, over half of Stumptown Coffee Direct Trade coffees are more than $1/lb above the current Fair Trade price. (Their least expensive Direct Trade coffee is more than 20% above the Fair Trade price.) This, they say, "is what makes the difference between a good cup of coffee and a ridiculously good one."
While concepts and ideas like "local," "Fair Trade," "cruelty free," and "transparency" can now be said to be fully operating in the cultural domain, the consumer notion of doing the right thing for the common good is an even stronger guiding principle that establishes hope, even in what seem to be hard times. Importantly, we see consumers seeking out those products, services and retail outlets that they feel represent forward-thinking, higher domain experiences within which sustainability has profound connections at personal, social and global levels. Going forward, what we find fascinating, and of great value to manufacturers, retailers and service providers, is that many of the core beliefs and aspirations surrounding sustainability behaviors represent personal journeys for consumers: These philosophically and objectively driven travels are inspired by not only individual hope for higher quality experiences and standards of living for themselves and their communities, but are quickly becoming a broadly focused expectation to find such qualities reflected in the stores, employees, brands and products they buy, interact with and use on an everyday basis.
And as socially conscious terms like "ethical consumption," "sustainability," "organic and natural" and "fair trade" are now so regularly used that they have entered into the mainstream, consumers will be looking for continuing this personal journey seeking deeper connections to sustainability and their personal values. In this, direct trade may well resonant as a more authentic connection to the source.
