Sir, The Fairtrade system takes very seriously the issues raised in Hal
Weitzman’s article “Bitter cost of ‘fair trade’ coffee” (September 9). Our
core aim is to enable poor farmers to move incrementally towards sustainable
development. This vision underpins the way Fairtrade works which is why the
public can be confident in the integrity of the certification system behind
the Fairtrade Mark.

All workers hired directly by farmers’ organisations must be paid legal
minimum wages. Fairtrade inspects against this and treats non-compliance
with great seriousness.

Fairtrade recognises that farmers who sell only a small proportion of their
crop on Fairtrade terms will often struggle to earn the minimum wage
themselves. That is why our standards state that they must share any
benefits of Fairtrade and progressively improve working conditions. These
farms were paying workers 25 per cent above what they could get elsewhere,
despite selling just 10-15 per cent of their total crop on Fairtrade terms.

Claims that non-certified coffee is being sold as Fairtrade are overstated.
We are confident that Fairtrade certification is robust on this. Our trade
audit system does detect anomalies where they occur, and seeks correction.
As Mr Weitzman was informed, a trader inspection on this very issue is
already under way in Peru.

Shade-grown coffee can be cultivated entirely in harmony with the
preservation of rainforests and even assists by giving farmers a stake in
the process. This year Fairtrade environmental standards were strengthened,
with a transition period to enable producer groups to comply with new
requirements. These prohibit coffee planting in designated conservation
areas. For other rainforest areas, no new planting is allowed unless it can
be shown that this can be achieved in harmony with preservation of the
forest and only if no other arable land is available.

Tackling complex development issues requires a sophisticated response, and
Fairtrade systems are constantly being strengthened to deliver this. We have
yet to see the conventional, uncertified market offer a better alternative.