Fair Trade Coffee

The foundation of a Sustainable farming program is the ability for the farmers to make a living wage. The absence of such a foundation causes unsustainable practices to be the norm.

Birds and Beans sells a variety Fair Trade Certified Coffees. In Canada, the Fair Trade certification is administered by Transfair Canada. The Fair Trade Logo is your guarantee that the clearly defined criteria of the Fairtrade Labeling Organization International have been satisfied:

1. A Fair Price
   Producer cooperatives are guaranteed a fair price — a floor price of US$1.26 or 5 cents US above the prevailing market price if higher; US$1.41 for certified organic coffee or 15 cents US above the market price if higher.
   
2. Democratic Organization
   Producers must belong to cooperatives or associations that are transparent and democratically controlled by their members.
   
3. Direct Trade and Long Term Relationships
   Importers must purchase coffee directly from Fair Trade certified producers and agree to establish long-term and stable relationships.
   
4. Access to Credit
   When requested by producers, importers must provide pre-harvest financing or credit.
   
5. Environmental Protection
   Producers must implement integrated crop management and environmental protection plans. Through price incentives, producers are encouraged to work towards organic production.

Birds and Beans endeavours to purchase all its coffees under the above conditions. In addition, we strongly support the the Fair Trade certification program by:

• Licencing with Transfair Canada and hence subjecting our practices to their auditors,
• Paying a higher price for raw coffee,
• Clearly identifying which coffees are certified Fair Trade,
• Paying a royalty to Transfair Canada on sales of certified Fair Trade coffee,
• Selecting Fair Trade coffees from our importers where possible, and
• Endeavouring to purchase coffees traded under these conditions even where certification is not yet in place.

At Birds and Beans, we believe slightly higher prices are worth sustainability!