Welcome to Fairtrade Fortnight 2022
Fairtrade Fortnight this year will be held between the dates of August 3 and 16.
This is a time to share the stories of the people who grow our food and drinks. At bean ground & drunk, this is at the core of everything we do year-round. However, Fairtrade Fortnight is when we ask for your help.
Without you, our valued customers, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. This August, educate yourself on all things Fairtrade. Help us spread the word!
Fairtrade, Certified Organic, and the Environment
The theme for this year’s event surrounds the environment. Our farmers are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Without the benefits of Fairtrade, farmers would be very unequipped to deal with the disasters they face.
Coffee – particularly the Arabica strain – only grows in very specific conditions. This is predominantly on cool mountains towards the equator.
As temperatures rise, the amount of quality coffee able to be produced reduces. This greatly affects the farmers who grow it, as they’re typically dependent on Fairtrade for their entire income.
The combination of the minimum price and the Fairtrade Premium allows coffee growers to implement coping strategies they otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
The co-ops we work with are also certified organic. This means that their crops must adapt to the changing environment completely naturally.
While chemicals could help their produce face the climate emergency more easily, there are myriad other problems associated with this.
How You Can Get Involved in Fairtrade Fortnight
The easiest way to get involved is buy looking for the Fairtrade mark. 
Products with this mark ensure that the entire supply chain has been audited and meets Fairtrade’s rigorous standards.
Read up on the benefits of buying Fairtrade. A lot of people know Fairtrade is good, but they don’t really understand why.
For example, everyone can guess from the name Fairtrade that it ensures a better deal for farmers. But did you know there is an additional sum paid to members on top of a minimum price?
The Fairtrade Premium typically accumulates to hundreds of millions of dollars a year. This is equitably shared among producers. They’re free to use the premium to benefit their community in any way they see fit.
Most communities use the Premium to build medical facilities, water wells, schools, or infrastructure.
It’s a compounding effect, because as the community’s resources improve, so too does their ability to become an independent producer!
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