Grinders Coffee Roasters, Australia’s largest branded roaster of Fairtrade green beans, has partnered with Woolworths to support coffee farmers and raise consumer awareness this Fairtrade Fortnight, taking place from 3 to 16 August.
“Our close relationship with Fairtrade is very important to our commitment to leading a sustainable future for the coffee industry, and delivering better outcomes for coffee communities,” says Grinders General Manager Neale Wood.
Fairtrade is an independent certification system that provides farmers and workers in developing countries with practical and technical support to grow their businesses and support their local communities.
“Like us, Woolworths is proud to be an ongoing supporter of Fairtrade Fortnight helping promote the importance and positive impact of fair trade, and is this year supporting the Buy Fair campaign with awareness-raising activities across all stores, online and in its Woolworths Fresh magazine that reaches more than four million people,” Neale says.
Since 2008, Grinders has sold more than 1.7 million kilograms of Fairtrade Coffee and generated over $1.1 million to help support 844,311 Fairtrade farmers and their communities in 475 cooperatives from 31 countries across the world.
“Sustainability, particularly ethical sourcing and the environment, is of increasing importance to coffee consumers. Grinders Coffee is committed to playing its part in leading a sustainable future for the coffee industry and building on our ongoing relationship with Fairtrade is a key part of this commitment,” Neale says.
Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand CEO Molly Harriss Olson says Grinders’ commitment has supported innovation in coffee-growing communities across Nicaragua, Ethiopia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea.
“More than $220,000 of Fairtrade premiums generated through Grinders sales has been invested specifically into innovative productivity and quality developments at origin,” Molly says.
In addition, Grinders contributions continue to support coffee-growing communities by creating opportunities for new schools, fresh water projects and organic systems to prolong the lives of their coffee plants.
“We at Fairtrade are proud to have a long-standing partnership with Grinders, which not only produces award-winning coffee, but continues to be our biggest branded coffee label, committed to outstanding ethical supply chains,” Molly says.
One such community to benefit from Grinders’ contribution to Fairtrade is the Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative (HOAC) in Papua New Guinea. For many members of HOAC, secure housing is a significant issue. Traditionally homes are rebuilt every five years, so they remain strong, and local kunai grass is used for thatched roofs. However, the kunai grass is becoming increasingly difficult to find due to invasive weeds. Fairtrade funding was used to provide 12 sheets of iron roofing to 200 households, providing longer lasting and durable homes.
“Our dream in the next five years is to sleep under an iron roofed house and to have power/electricity”, says a cooperative member.
For more information and to support Fairtrade Fortnight, click here.
Image credit: Fairtrade Australia New Zealand