"Tastes of Fair Trade" at PCC Natural Markets
Public invited to taste fair labor products and meet Fair Trade coffee grower
Seattle, Wash., September 30, 2005 — Products that meet the criteria of high quality, good taste, sustainable growing practices, and fair treatment of workers will be featured at "Tastes of Fair Trade," a one-day showcase of fairly-traded products at PCC Natural Markets' (PCC) Fremont store, Sunday, October 9, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Consumers will have the opportunity to learn about the Fair Trade movement, to sample over 35 Fair Trade Certified™* and self-certified fair labor products, and to meet a farmer from the UDEPOM coffee cooperative in Southern Mexico. "Tastes of Fair Trade" will take place on the Fremont PCC outdoor patio, located at 600 N. 34th Street in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood.
The Fair Trade business model, which assures that producers of items ranging from tea to handicrafts are treated and paid fairly, has been applied successfully around the world for almost 20 years. The movement started with coffee, the commodity hardest hit by falling market prices over the past few years, leaving millions of small-scale farmers, who produce 70% of the world's coffee, struggling for survival at below-poverty level. By organizing into democratic farmer cooperatives that adhere to specific criteria regarding co-op governance and growing practices, these farmers have been able to vastly improve the lives of their families and communities.
Eddie Magnol Jimenez Fernandez will represent UDEPOM, a successful coffee cooperative headquartered in Motozintla, Mexico, at "Tastes of Fair Trade." UDEPOM was founded in 1992 and comprises 850 families from 27 communities in the state of Chiapas. Mr. Jimenez' visit to Seattle is being sponsored by Tony's Coffee & Teas, a principal buyer of UDEPOM coffee and PCC's primary coffee supplier.
PCC offers a variety of fair labor products including coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, cornstarch and bananas. In 2003, PCC became the first grocery store chain to convert its line of coffee to 100 percent organic, shade-grown and Fair Trade Certified™ coffee.
About PCC Natural Markets: Headquartered in Seattle, Wash., PCC Natural Markets is a certified organic retailer, with annual sales of $89 million and an active membership of nearly 40,000. PCC operates seven locations in the Fremont, View Ridge, Greenlake, West Seattle, Seward Park, Kirkland and Issaquah neighborhoods.
About UDEPOM (Union de Ejidos Prof. Otilio Montana): Coffee produced by the cooperative is grown by native Mayan farmers at high altitudes in the Sierra Madre region of Southern Mexico, without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Farm sizes range between one and 10 acres. Farmers are paid on a work-share basis, rather than by individual farm yield, and they work in groups of 10, participating equally in all jobs to maintain high standards on each of their 10 farms. www.UDEPOM.com
About "Tastes of Fair Trade" participants:
Choice Organic Teas*, a division of Seattle-based Granum, Inc., has been providing exclusively organically grown tea since 1989 and is the first tea crafter in the US to have all qualifying teas Fair Trade Certified™. They offer more than 70 varieties of teas, and herbal infusions, providing exceptional tasting teas with an environmental and social conscience. Contact: 206-525-0051, www.choiceorganicteas.com
Dagoba Organic Chocolate* — Founded in 2001 and based in Ashland, Oregon, Dagoba is a family-owned business dedicated to producing exquisite chocolate using only the finest varietal cacao from Latin America and the Caribbean, and fully sustainable practices. All beans used are organic and shade grown and Dagoba sources Fair Trade Certified cacao as much a possible. Contact: 541-482-2001, www.dagobachocolate.com
Eden Foods — This family-owned natural food company was founded in 1968, offering organic, USA family farm grown food. Organic Chocolate EdenSoy is made from fairly traded, organically grown cocoa from the Dominican Republic that is finely milled in Holland. Non-GEO organic soybeans, naturally malted organic wheat and barley extract, and organic maple syrup create its smooth finish. Contact: 1-888-424-3336, www.edenfoods.com
Endangered Species Chocolate* — Founded in 1993 in an effort to spread awareness and to make an impact on the growing number of plant and animal species that are disappearing from Earth, Endangered Species Chocolate donates 10 percent of the company's net profits towards conservation of species, habitat and humanity. Headquartered in Indiana, the company purchases cacao beans used to make its all-natural chocolate from small, family owned properties where the income benefits the communities. In addition to ensuring a fair wage and humane working conditions, Endangered Species Chocolate pays fair prices for harvested products. Contact: 800-293-0160, www.chocolatebar.com
Equal Exchange* — Equal Exchange products have always been 100 percent fairly traded. The company offers pre-harvest credit to aid farmers throughout their growing season; works with farmers to support high a quality, sustainable and shade-grown practices; and maintains long-term relationship with growers over many years. Equal Exchange trades directly with democratically organized farmer cooperatives to ensure the fair trade price gets to the farmers who grow the products, and Equal Exchange itself is structured as a worker-owned cooperative that channels profits to support the company's mission. Contact: Virginia Berman 774-776-7372; www.equalexchange.com
Fair Trade Puget Sound: This coalition of community groups, businesses, non-profit organizations, faith communities, students and individuals is dedicated to doubling the availability and consumption of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee in Seattle and the greater Puget Sound area. www.fairtradepugetsound.org
Green & Black* — Headquartered in London, England, Green & Black was founded in 1991 and is known for making the world's first organic chocolate, as well as the first product to be awarded the Fair Trade mark. Green & Black's business supports hundreds of farmers who grow organic cocoa in Belize, Dominican Republic and Madagascar. Green & Black's "Maya Gold" Chocolate comes from a recipe based on the traditional cacao-based Maya drink (Kukuh). The "gold" in its name refers to the economic security and stability enjoyed by farmers because of their relationship with the company. www.greenandblacks.com
Jinya's Treasures — Founded in 2002, this Seattle-based retailer offers one-of-a-kind products ranging from ceramics to wood carvings, made entirely by hand, and using organic materials if at all possible, by 70 families in Indonesia. Owner Virginia Merrill travels to Southeast Asia twice a year and buys directly from these families, assuring them a fair price and a guaranteed market for their products. Contact: 206-633-2012.
Moka Joe Coffee* — Headquartered in Bellingham, WA, Moka Joe Coffee is a small-batch, wholesale microroaster of specialty premium gourmet coffees. Contact: 360-714-1953, www.mokajoe.com
PCC Natural Markets — At the "Tastes of Fair Trade' event, PCC will be featuring chocolate mini cupcakes made at the Fremont PCC Deli with fairly traded cocoa and espresso, and "GROW" bananas from Organics Unlimited, a California, family-owned business founded in 2000 that imports certified organic fruits from Mexico. Organics Unlimited has created a foundation called GROW (Giving Resources and Opportunities to Workers), a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of field workers and providing resources for their communities. www.organicsunlimited.com
Rapunzel Pure Organics — Rapunzel was founded in Germany in 1974 with the vision of promoting healthy living and sustainable agriculture by growing, manufacturing, and distributing premium quality, pure organic foods. It is now an international, environmentally and socially responsible company dedicated to being "True to Nature." Rapunzel's "Hand in Hand" program provides support to thousands of small-scale farmers, stabilizing their income through a minimum-price system, and providing benefits, including education, health and environmental programs, that improve the quality of life in their communities. www.rapunzel.com
Tony's Coffee & Teas* — One of the pioneers of the specialty coffee industry, Tony's Coffees & Teas has been roasting and blending fine coffees since 1971. A leader in supporting sustainable farming practices, Tony's strives to forge strong and mutually beneficial relationships between growers and consumers of quality organic and Fair Trade products. Contact: 1-800-448-8804, www.tonyscoffee.com
Traditional Medicinals* — This Northern California company has been making Traditional Herbal Medicine since 1974, and is guided by the principles of social and environmental responsibility. Traditional Medicinals offers Fair Trade Certified teas from India, China and South Africa and is the only tea company in North America that uses the highest quality and most efficacious medicinal grade herbs for its products. Contact: 1-800-543-4372, www.traditionalmedicinals.com
* TransFairUSA, the only independent, third party certifier of Fair Trade products in the U.S, certifies some or all products. TransFairUSA audits and monitors the business practices of importers and manufacturers to ensure that products meet international Fair Trade criteria, established by the Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO). www.transfairusa.org