Transcript No Slide Title

Java Justice
• Fair Trade in church and at home
• "Brew Justice: A CRC Blend"
Should Christians care
about trade?
“Woe to him who builds his
house by unrighteousness, and
his upper rooms by injustice;
who makes his neighbors work
for nothing, and does not give
them their wages…” (Jeremiah
22:13)
“Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
saying, ‘When will the new moon be over
so that we may sell grain;
and the Sabbath,
so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the
shekel great,
and practice deceit with false balances,
buying the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and selling the sweepings of the wheat.’”
(Amos 8)
“Whosoever
commands
the
What is Fair?
trade of the world commands
the riches of the worldIf one
and
member
suffers, all suffer
hence the world itself.”
together with it;
if one member is
honored, all
rejoice together
with it.”
- Sir Walter Raleigh
(1 Cor 12:26)
Why coffee?
“Before you’ve finished your
breakfast this morning, you’ll
have relied on half the world.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Why coffee?
• Coffee is the second most traded
commodity in the world… after
oil.
• $5 billion/year domestic industry.
• Small farmers produce 75% of the
world’s coffee supply.
• Christians are big coffee drinkers.
The Coffee Trade
Small Farmers - Many coffee farmers receive prices
that are less than the cost of production, forcing
them into a cycle of poverty and debt.
Local Exporters - The low prices they pay farmers
have earned them the nickname “Coyotes.”
Roasters - The largest profits are controlled by 4
major multinational corporations.
Retailers - Sell the product via supermarket or cafe.
Consumer - You.
Who Gets the Profits?
You buy a cup of coffee for $1 - How is that money
divided?
Small Farmers $0.05 or 5%
Retailers $0.30 or 30%
Coyotes $0.30 or 30%
Roasters $0.35 or 35%
Fair Trade Levels
the Playing Field
•Fair Wage
•Opportunities for Advancement
•Equal Employment
•Environmental Protection
•Public Accountability
•Long-Term Trade
•Healthy and Safe Work
•Technical Assistance
FREE TRADE
FAIR TRADE
Strategy
Profit, profit, profit
People, planet, profit
Financing
Payment when you
ship it, no credit
Advance credit eases
lean times
Investment in
community
If the skills benefit
commerce, generate
good publicity
Technical assistance,
training build skills;
social projects benefit
all in community
Supply chain
Finds lowest-cost,
often middlemen
The “least of these”
are made partners
Marketing
Directed at increasing Driven by consumer
profitability
education / advocacy
for social responsibility
“In the last decade, the major coffee companies’ revenues have
doubled. During the same time, the earnings of ordinary coffee
farmers have been slashed by two-thirds.”
- Nestor Osorio, International Coffee Organization
“Coffee prices have plummeted to all-time lows in recent months and
are currently less than $.50 per pound, with no increase in sight. With
world market prices as low as they are right now, we see that a lot of
farmers cannot maintain their families and their land anymore. We
need Fair Trade now more than ever. ”
- Jeronimo Bollen, Manos Campesinas
(a Fair Trade Cooperative in Guatemala)
Fair Trade Coffee: The Alternative
“Consumers have more control over the food chain than many of us think. Since
the free-market system respects buying power above all
else, consumers need to speak the language the market recognizes.
That means expressing a clear choice about how we want our food grown, processed,
and delivered to us, and whom we want to profit
from the conduct of the trade.”- Myrna Greenfield “Making Coffee Strong”
Fair Trade Certification Guarantees:
1. A Fair Price - Floor price of $1.26 per pound
2. Democratic Organization - Producers belong to Cooperatives
3. Direct Trade and Long-Term Relationships - Partnerships
4. Access to Credit - Improve technology
5. Environmental Protection - 85% of Fair Trade is also Organic
“Whenever you are in doubt, apply the
following test: Recall the face of the poorest
and weakest person you may have seen and
ask yourself if the step you contemplate is
going to be of any use to them.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Go Fair Trade at Home
• Look for the logo.
• Ask your grocer to stock
Fair Trade.
• Pray for your farmer as
you sip your first cup.
• Tell your friends!
• Challenge yourself.
Go Fair Trade at Church
• Get a group of advocates together.
• Find out your current “coffee situation.”
•Set a goal or
two.
•Catch flies
with honey!
When BUDGET gets in the way
• Opportunity to practice gospel-living:
–
–
–
–
–
Mark 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”
Communal act of generosity.
There are people behind what we consume.
Finances are part of our faith.
Church budget as a moral document.
• Educate with every cup.
• One-year challenge.
• Voluntary contributions.
– Basket by the coffee pot
– Sell bags for home-use to supplement
the budget
Brew Justice
Supports farmers.
Supports justice programs in CRC congregations.
Supports you!
• $10/pound (home use)
– Medium roast
– Dark roast
– Decaf
• $36.50/5-lb (church use)
• $7.50/lb (fundraising use)
• www.crcjustice.org
What’s next?
• Spread the love.
– Black Gold
– “Fair Trade Fellowship”
– transfair.ca, transfairusa.org
– Alternative Gift Market
– Keep us posted!
• [email protected] (US)
• [email protected] (Canada)