When I first became involved with True Blue Coffee Roasters I must say at first I was skeptical of Fair Trade. How could Fair Trade coffee really make a difference? Why do we pay so much for our green coffee beans? Maybe we should look for alternatives to Fair Trade coffee to cut costs? You name it, I thought it.

But, that was over a year ago…and my opinion has changed. Fair Trade coffee is making a difference regularly in the lives of people in developing countries. From helping small-scale farmers, their families, their communites, and the environment- Fair Trade truly does a world of good by guaranteeing that farmers and workers receive a fair price for their products.

Thanks to Fair Trade in the highlands of Guatemala, indigenous Tzutuhil Mayans in the La Voz cooperative are sending the local children to college for the first time. In Peru, the CECOVASA cooperative is assisting members from Quechua and Aymara indigenous groups in raising coffee quality and transitioning to certified organic production. In some countries, such as Colombia, Fair Trade has even helped prevent the cultivation of more than 1,600 acres of coca and poppy, used for the production of illicit drugs. These are only a few of the examples of how Fair Trade has benefited the local residents.

So the next time you buy coffee, look for the Fair Trade label, and be glad to know that your purchase is doing a world of good.