Good Coffee, Better World:
The Ethics and Economics of Fair Trade Coffee

by Margaret Balch-Gonzalez

Annotated Bibliography

Broad, Robin (Ed.). 2002. Global Backlash: Citizen Initiatives for a Just World Economy. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Provides a "road map" of different issues in globalization and illustrates the growing power of the citizen-led advocacy movement, or "global citizen backlash," for a fair world economy. Combats the common misconception that opponents of corporate globalization are a fringe movement of radicals and Luddites. Rejects the idea that the current world patterns of globalization and the hardships they cause are inevitable. Includes a brief history and description of the fair trade coffee certification process in "Can Advocacy-Led Certification Systems Transform Global Economic Practices?" by Michael E. Conroy. Excellent list of relevant Web sites.

Daly, Herman. 1996. Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Boston: Beacon Press.

Daly has written about his concept of a "steady state" economy - one that is not based on growth - since 1973. Forerunner of the "voluntary simplicity" movement.

Dicum, Gregory, and Nina Luttinger. 1999. The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry From Crop to the Last Drop. The New Press, NY. Recommended by Rodney North of Equal Exchange and Available through Equal Exchange.

Ericson, Rose Benz. The Conscious Consumer: Promoting Economic Justice Through Fair Trade. A 20-page comprehensive overview of the North American Fair Trade movement. Available from the Fair Trade Resource Network at http://www.fairtraderesource.org/cc.html

Gladwell, Malcolm. 2000. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Boston: Little Brown & Company.

Interesting theory about how small societal changes can add up to sudden major changes; heartening for anyone who would like to see the world change for the better.

Klein, Naomi. 1999. No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. New York: Picador.

Good analysis of corporate brand-name marketing and its cultural and economic effects on life in this country and the rest of the world. Describes the growing brand-based/consumer activist movement, including a thought-provoking analysis of its limitations and a call for active citizenship/participation in the political process as well.

Pendergrast, Mark. 1999. Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World. New York: Basic Books.

A comprehensive (520-page) history of the politics, economics, and social role of the world coffee trade, from sixth-century Abyssinia to Starbucks and fair trade certification.

"Few coffee drinkers suspect that they are affecting American foreign policy, the domestic policies of Latin-American and African countries, and the habitat of migratory birds. Pendergrast shows how and why they are. He has taken on a huge subject, but he organizes the facts skillfully and puts personalities in the perspective of their times. This encyclopedic volume is the entertaining result." The New Yorker

Schumacher, E. F. 1973. Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered. London: Blond & Briggs.

Classic blueprint for a small-scale, fair, sustainable world economy.

Web Resources

Equal Exchange
www.equalexchange.com
The first and the largest seller of fair trade coffee in the country. 100% of coffee sold is fair trade.

Coffee Exchange
http://www.coffeexchange.com
Popular neighborhood cafe in Providence, RI. Also sells wholesale/retail coffee by mail order.

New Harvest Coffee Roasters
http://www.newharvestcoffee.com
Offers customized wholesale programs and mail order retail sales.

Cafe Campesino
http://www.cafecampesino.com

Dean's Beans
http://www.deansbeans.com/ic/field_notes/nic_cafe.html

Peace Coffee
http://www.peacecoffee.com/home.htm

Fair Trade Advocacy Organizations

TransFair USA
http://www.transfairusa.org
Certifies all fair trade coffee in the US.

Global Exchange
http://www.globalexchange.org
International human rights organization dedicated to promoting environmental, political, and social justice.

Global Exchange's coffee campaign:
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/index.html

Coffee Kids
http://www.coffeekids.org
Nonprofit organization founded by co-owner of the Coffee Exchange. Sponsors projects such as microcredits to women's business collectives in coffee-producing countries to improve the quality of life for families.

Oxfam
http://www.oxfamamerica.org
Activist organization addressing poverty and social injustice around the world.

Oxfam's coffee campaign: http://ga0.org/campaign/coffee


United for a Fair Economy
http://www.ufenet.org/activist/fair_trade/index.html

Provides materials and trains facilitators for excellent, eye-opening workshops on globalization; facilitates community organizing around fair trade issues.

Fair Trade Federation
http://www.fairtradefederation.org
Trade association of fair trade wholesalers, retailers, and producers; fosters a more equitable and sustainable system of production and trade.

Fair Trade Resource Network
http://www.fairtraderesource.org
An information gateway whose mission is to raise consumer awareness about fair trade. Books, videos, and other ways to educate yourself about fair trade and what you can do.

Cafe Unidos
http://www.cafeunidos.org/intro-english.htm

An information clearinghouse for sustainable coffee: A project of the Eco-Research Chair of Environmental Law and Policy at the University of Victoria.

Make Trade Fair
www.maketradefair.com
Advocates on behalf of farmers, laborers, and factory workers who suffer hardship from the rules of world trade and seeks to educate consumers about ways to support them through trade fair. Make Trade Fair's coffee campaign.

International Federation for Alternative Trade
http://www.ifat.org/dwr/index.html
A global network of over 160 fair trade organizations in more than 50 countries.

Coffee Trade Associations

Specialty Coffee Association of America
http://www.scaa.org/index.cfm?f=h

Trade organization representing businesses involved in the high-quality (specialty) coffee trade, including fair trade coffee.

Coffee Quality Institute (sponsored by SCAA)
http://www.coffeeinstitute.org

National Coffee Association
http://www.ncausa.org/public/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
Trade association backed by the four major coffee roasting companies: Nestlé, Kraft, Sarah Lee, and Procter & Gamble.

Coffee Science Source (sponsored by NCA)
http://www.coffeescience.org
Coffee, caffeine, and health information

 

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