Fair Wages for Coffee Growers: Why It Matters

Freshly roasted coffee beans in from our Salinas plant 

On the heels of the discovery of unfair trade practices at Java Joe Coffee, we have received a lot of support from our loyal customers, for which we are thankful.  Though we have taken steps to repair the damage done by the lapse in management at our Salinas plant, we feel it’s important to explain why Java Joe Coffee is 100% committed to economic justice for all our coffee growers –no matter where they live. 

Fair wages and safe working conditions are a guarantee for the American worker, but sadly, this isn’t the case for many of the workers around the globe.  Economic justice allows people to live beyond a subsistent level.  Economic justice guarantees that workers will have the basic necessities that allow them to live a productive, dignified and creative life. 

 

Juan Santez, a coffee grower in San Pedro, Bolivia 

Global Fair Trade Partners 

As a member of Fair Trade America, Java Joe Coffee was shocked to learn that the top management personnel at our Salina’s Valley facility was secretly buying coffee beans from Columbia that were not fair trade and pocketing the difference in prices. Those individuals have been terminated from the company, but the damage has been done.  So we feel it’s more important than ever to assure our customers, our employees and our global community that Java Joe Coffee is still the same company that helped invigorate village economies in Peru, China, Namibia, Bolivia, and Chile. We are committed to fair trade practices that will empower coffee growers to increase their social, environmental and economic sustainability.  To help repair the damage done to in the village of San Pedro, Columbia we are committed to paying 10% beyond the standard fair trade prices for coffee beans. In addition, we are also providing the seed money for a new public elementary school for San Pedro’s children.  

Coffee Grower Tsandi Omaheke from  Aroab, Namibia

A Long History of Fair Trade Practices for Coffee Growers  

We aren’t just a coffee company.  Our coffee growers are not just our suppliers. They are part of our global family.  Just as we value our workers in our US-based plants, we value our workers living thousands of miles away, on different continents. For us, Fair Trade is about more than just money.  Throughout our 20-year history of fair trade partnerships Java Joe Coffee has established numerous global initiatives including:

• Clean drinking water in Bolivia
• Free public elementary schools in Chile
• Mosquito netting for malaria prevention in Namibia 

We realize that Java Joe Coffee would not be where it is today without the contributions of our global partners.  We could not offer the variety or selection of gourmet coffee without beans grown in different soils and climates.  We are proud to be a USA company, and are proud of our roots that reach all over the world. 

META TAGS: Java Joe Coffee, fair trade, coffee growers, fair trade partnership, San Pedro, Columbia.