Cafédirect is a UK-based alternative trading organization. Cafédirect was founded in 1991 by Oxfam, Traidcraft, Equal Exchange Trading and Twin Trading as a response to the 1989 global collapse in coffee prices. It "aims to give coffee bean, cocoa and tea growers a larger slice of the purchase price for the products."
CaféDirect was the first coffee brand to carry the Fairtrade certification mark. The company reinvests about 60pc of its profits into grower training and development programmes.
In 2007, the company's market share for hot drinks equated to 34%, 32%, and 14% respectively of the UK's Fairtrade coffee, tea, and drinking chocolate markets. In the overall market, Cafedirect is the fifth largest coffee brand and seventh largest tea brand in the UK.
Video Cafédirect
Producer support programmes
Cafédirect has established the Gold Standard, a guarantee to pay above the world market price for coffee, and to support the development of producers. Between 2004 and 2009, Cafédirect paid more than £7.5 million above the market price to growers (including Fairtrade premiums), invested over £3 million in tailor-made programmes to strengthen growers' businesses, which represents more than 50% of the company's profits and in total, paid more than £10.5 million towards the businesses and communities of their grower partners.
In addition to paying a fair price to growers in developing countries, the company donates a percentage of its profits to producers for activities such as market information and management training. Its Producer Partnership Programme (PPP) "was set up in 1996 and goes above and beyond Fairtrade criteria". In 2007, the company invested £600,000 in PPP and these investments attracted, without additional cost to the company, matched funds of £700,000, meaning growers benefited from a total investment of £1.3 million.
In 2007, the organization launched amongst other things:
- Initiated a three-year public private partnership with the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) to support small farmers in analysing the threats of climate change to their specific environments and identifying viable adaptation strategies
- Supported its 162,007 African grower partners in developing community-led and cooperative-specific environmental initiatives to increase energy efficiency and reduce deforestation
- Worked directly with tea growers to introduce an improved pricing structure to provide additional support when market prices drop. As a result, the company increased its minimum price by 8%, and, including the Fairtrade premium, paid on average 47% over and above market prices
Since then it has begun projects, such as the 'Reforestation Sierra Piura' project, which enabled coffee growers to join forces with subsistence communities nearby to overcome issues faced by climate change and provided a sustainable existence via carbon credit schemes. This was the first such project where carbon credits were wholly owned by the communities at origin.
Maps Cafédirect
Awards
- 2007: In a survey of 2,000 global brands Cafedirect ranks No. 1 as the most recommended brand
- 2007: Cafédirect's Machu Picchu coffee beans were awarded a Gold Star in the 2007 Great Taste Awards, from the Guild of Fine Food.
- 2008-2011: Cafédirect's products won 15 Gold Great Taste Awards from the Guild of Fine Food.
- 2008: Cafédirect's Machu Picchu ground and wholebean coffees both won Soil Association Awards.
- 2008: Teadirect topped New Consumer Magazine's Fairtrade Tea category
- 2009: Anne MacCaig, the (now former) Chief Executive of Cafédirect won the Triodos Bank Women in Ethical Business Awards, Ethical Business of the Year.
- 2010: Cafédirect won the 'Sustainable Procurement' category at the Sustainable City Awards, hosted by the City of London, and were runners up in the 'Sustainable Finance' category
- 2011: Cafédirect won the Social Impact award at the 2011 Guardian Sustainable Business Awards for its Producer Partnership Programme (PPP)
- 2013: Cafédirect won 'Best Ethical Brand' in the Good Housekeeping Food Awards and its Decaf Roast & Ground coffee won a Great Taste Award. Its Foodservice Decaf Espresso blend won a '3 Star' award.
References
External links
- Official website
- Cafédirect on Twitter
- The Fair Trade Story Case Study on Cafédirect's development
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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