Portland, Maine – March 20, 2016 – Local coffee giant partners with small Colombian village to purchase 100% of their coffee beans at 10% above fair trade value, according to Java Joe Coffee Inc. founder and CEO Joe Brown.
Java Joe Coffee Inc. is known for its commitment to fair trade coffee beans, buying from small farmers on six different continents. Following the discovery of a system wide departure from fair trade purchasing of their coffee beans earlier this year, Java Joe Coffee Inc. publicly declares a formal partnership with the Colombian village of San Pedro, agreeing to pay 10% above the current fair trade value for its coffee beans.
“We are excited to partner with the farmers of San
Pedro,” says Mr. Brown, “Despite the setback in recent months, Java Joe Coffee
Inc. is committed to fair trade coffee and working with farmers from around the
globe. We hope this partnership demonstrates our continued commitment to paying
a fair price for goods and encouraging safe and sustainable farming practices.”
In recent months Java Joe Coffee Inc. documents
leaked to the Fair Trade Commission, indicated that nearly half of the coffee
beans purchased by the company in 2015 were not from officially sanctioned fair
trade sources.
Mr. Brown notes that though this was a system wide
problem, the nearly 20 year old company has a long history of fair trade
practices and has been praised repeatedly for the global good it has helped to
bring about in developing countries.
“Java Joe Coffee helped put fair trade coffee on the
map. It’s what we are known for. Nobody is perfect, not even us. Our customers know that we take this problem
seriously and will do everything in our power to make it right again.”
Java Joe Coffee Inc. was founded in 2001 by Joe
Brown, as an independent barista in Portland, Maine. Today the company has 275 shops in the United
States and 540 worldwide.
