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Coffee with a shot of activism

By Gaveliers, The Gavel Media Team, on December 7, 2009 7:49 PM

By Amy Walsh, Features Editor -

Fairness, justice, and equality are inherent qualities that this Jesuit institution strongly promotes and strives to instill in its students, even in such a seemingly insignificant purchase like morning coffee.

As sleep-deprived college students, it is no surprise that the Boston College campus consumes thousands upon thousands of coffee every year. However, when one is standing in line at Hillside, groggy and dreading the busy day that lies ahead, fair trade is probably not on one’s mind. It is this lack of conscientious consumerism that may be hindering the fair trade movement.

Josh, a high school student from Institute for Leadership and Social Justice at Boston Trinity Academy, noted that one main problem for fair trade products is the lack of a consumer base to financially back the movement. Some people, however, see hope.

”Consumers are becoming increasingly ethically minded,” Charlie, another student from the Institute, says.

Compared to consumer awareness in the past, this is true. Helen Wechsler, director of BC Dining, highlights the fact that 10 years ago, fair trade was something barely anyone knew about, in the world of campus dining programs. Very few colleges or universities were purchasing fair trade coffee or even thinking about it. Wechsler proudly points out that throughout the eight and a half years that she has been with BC dining, they have always had fair trade coffee.

“If you’re committed to fair trade, you can find it anywhere on campus,” Wechsler explains.

The three coffee vendors that provide coffee on BC’s campus,Starbucks, New England Coffee Roasters, and Peet’s all carry some form of fair trade coffee. Some, however, boast more fair trade blends than others.

According to the Organic Consumer Association, Starbucks plans to double its fair trade purchases to 40 million pounds by the end of 2009, making it the largest consumer of Fair Trade Certified Coffee in the world. Companies like Equal Exchange, however, have always been champions of fair trade. Equal Exchange was founded in 1986 to promote fair trade in a way that “empowers both farmers and consumers.” The company forms relationships with co-operatives in countries throughout the world that are run and made up of small farmers from countries in Latin America, Africa, or Asia. Equal Exchange purchases the coffee directly from the farmers, eliminating the middleman and assuring the farmers that they will consistently have their coffee purchased at the same price, regardless of market price.

“[Starbucks sees fair trade] as a market niche, like flavored, or organic [coffee], or some product line that they can develop,” Peter Buck, co-owner of Equal Exchange, says. “They’re not really mission driven.”

Equal Exchange states that it is primarily concerned about establishing relationships with their co-ops and the social justice those relationships encourage. However, some advocacy groups assert that other vendors like Starbucks are more concerned about the profitability of fair trade, rather than the ethical considerations.

“Recently, there’s been a great deal of focus on certification in the coffee world,” Peet’s Coffee and Tea says in their mission statement. “And while various certifications address various aspects of sustainable production, they cannot ensure both the quality and the sustainability of the coffee in your cup.”

Many of Peet’s products are labeled “fairly traded.” They are not officially certified, but the company strives to create relationships with farmers and perpetuate sustainability. The problem remains that without certification, there is no watchdog force.

“The real issue is that even though a lot of the coffee is labeled as ‘Fair Trade,’ some of our coffee purveyors, Starbuck’s, Peet’s, Green Mountain, are large companies that make huge profits and market their Fair Trade certification as part of their public image instead of demonstrating true dedication to forming ethical business partnerships with coffee growers in other countries,” Sarah King, A&S ’10 and a co-leader of Real Food BC says.

Conscientious consumerism is not an easy thing. Of the 95 percent of fair trade or fairly traded coffee that BC boasts, how much is actually helping the communities in which fair trade revenue is sorely needed? This question involves heavy research and desire on the part of the consumer to want to know where the products are coming from.

Many students lack easy access to this information. If somone on campus is not aware of what truly fair traded coffee is, or where to find it on campus, then the fair trade movement has been lackluster in its mission, even if it is not a failure. But BC dining must abide by the financial bottom line.

“If you don’t buy it, I won’t sell it,” Wechsler says.

Students hold the power in demanding the products we want on campus. Occasionally fair trade can be two to three percent more expensive than generic blends, however, more often than not fair trade is of an equal or lesser price than its competitors.

In terms of price, Melissa Lin LSOE ’12 says, “I don’t think people are going to care about the slight increase in price. Guys may be upset by the increase just because their meal plans dwindle so rapidly, but if you didn’t tell them, no one would notice.”

Brianna Rivas, CSON ’12 and non-appreciator of coffee comically notes, “I don’t care if the coffee tastes bad, I just want to feel better about myself.”

Students hold the power to get what they want on campus. Dining services will be sending out surveys second semester about fair trade coffee and whether or not the coffee has a consumer base. Regardless of opinions on fair trade, students’ choices in the dining hall go beyond the choice of Honey-Q vs. Buffalo Chicken—they impact the buying practices of BC Dining Services and so affect the lives of farmers and people continents away.