Fair Trade USA, the leading third-party certifier of fair trade products in the United States has named Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., provider of specialty coffee and coffee makers, the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee in the world for 2010. In calendar year 2010, GMCR purchased over 26 million pounds of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee.
GMCR has actively supported fair trade since 2000, when it first partnered with Fair Trade USA and committed to bring fair trade coffee to mainstream coffee drinkers. Through its family of specialty coffee brands, GMCR makes fair trade coffee available through specialty and mass retailers, grocery, club and convenience stores, offices, quick-serve restaurants, and online. The Green Mountain Coffee® brand offers the largest selection of Fair Trade Certified coffees in the United States.
Fair trade is a global movement to alleviate poverty. It provides a fair price to coffee farmers for their beans, resulting in high-quality coffee and a higher quality of life in coffee-farming communities. By choosing fair trade products, consumers help to protect the environment and improve the lives of farmers around the world. Since the start of GMCR’s relationship with Fair Trade USA, GMCR’s Fair Trade Certified coffee purchases have delivered more than $9.8 million in community development funds to coffee farmers.
“At GMCR, fair trade coffee is part of our company heritage. As the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the world, we are dedicated to producing high-quality, sustainably-sourced coffee for our consumers while helping provide a higher quality of life to farmers across our supply chain,” said Lindsey Bolger, senior director of coffee for the specialty coffee business unit of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. in a prepared statement. “With this leadership role comes a responsibility to share the story of fair trade with coffee drinkers and help them realize the impact they can have by looking for and choosing coffee and other products with the Fair Trade Certified logo.”
To help drive awareness for fair trade coffee, GMCR’s Green Mountain Coffee brand has launched a new “Better Quality for All” campaign to educate and engage consumers on the importance of fair trade coffee and the impact they can make by purchasing Fair Trade Certified coffee. By going to the campaign’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/GreenMountainCoffee), consumers can learn more about Fair Trade and taste the quality of Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Certified coffee with special offers. The campaign will run through the national Fair Trade Month awareness campaign this October.
GMCR recently made a $300,000 grant to Fair Trade USA to support the Fair Trade Towns and Fair Trade University programs. These programs unite volunteers in local communities and colleges to encourage fair trade purchases, and increase consumer awareness and understanding of the role fair trade products play in fighting poverty and protecting the environment.
“GMCR has long been a strong advocate and ally for the fair trade movement,” said Paul Rice, president and CEO of Fair Trade USA. “By providing its consumers the opportunity to help improve the lives of communities worldwide with every purchase, the company helps provide sustainable solutions to global problems.”
