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Equal Exchange Fairly Traded Gourmet
Coffee
Waking up to a cup of coffee is a ritual many people
have every day, and maybe you do, too. But did you know
that what coffee you buy can make a difference to a
family living in a developing
country?
To give some statistics, the U.S. is the largest consumer
of coffee, importing 20% of the world's coffee production.
Unfortunately the nearly 20 million workers involved
in cultivating it live in some of the poorest nations;
El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru and Tanzania, and
they do not make a living wage.
This is because the price you pay goes to companies
and middlemen that distribute and export coffee. Very
little money ever reaches the people that grow and harvest
the beans.
This is one of the many reasons why the Plowshare Gift
Shop sells Equal Exchange Gourmet Coffee.
In 1986 Equal Exchange, a non-profit organization, was
founded in order to bring a fair price for third world
coffee farmers, while bringing high quality coffee to
consumers. Equal Exchange works directly with farmers
to import their beans to the U.S., which cuts out the
large coffee corporations and middlemen. This means
that farmers and other people who harvest the beans
get more money for their efforts. For every pound of
Equal Exchange coffee you buy, you are assured that
the coffee farmers and workers are getting a fair deal.
So the next time you need coffee, come to the Plowshare
Gift Shop, and know that every dollar spent is supporting
fair trade for coffee producers.
The 5% Fair Trade Challenge
The average household spends more than $9000* each year
on food, clothing, furnishings and gifts. You have a
choice about how you will spend this money. This year,
challenge yourself to shift just 5% of that $9000 (about
$450) to products from Fair Trade businesses. This will
make a big difference in the lives of artisans and farmers
in developing parts of the world.
The Plowshare Center is a member of the Fair Trade Federation. If you would like to
find out more ways to make this a reality in your life
(along with shopping at Plowshare Gifts, of course!)
their website is: www.fairtradefederation.org
(* Average expenditure for households
earning $36,684 after taxes, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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