FairTrade.doc

January 3, 2003 Lead Author Economic Study: Willem J. Boot Boot Coffee Consulting Training wboot@ Environmental Study: Christopher Wunderlich cwunderlich@ CEPCO Case Study: Armando Bartra Instituto Maya circo@ Table of Contents Page Executive Summary Chapter 1. Introducing Ecolabels 1.1 Structure of the Mexican Production Sector 1.2 International Market for Coffee 1.3 Ecolabels Explained Chapter 2. Ecolabels and Sustainability 2.1 Shade versus Sun 2.2 Technification 2.3 Mexico: Ecologically Diverse 2.4 Certification and its Impact on Land Use 2.4.1 Organic Land Use 2.4.2 Fair Trade Land Use 2.4.3 Rainforest Alliance (formerly Eco-OK) Land Use 2.4.4 Bird Friendly Land Use 2.5 Conclusion Chapter 3. Ecolabels: Voluntary, Market-driven Certification Schemes 3.1 Market Research 3.1.1 Consumer Research 3.1.2 U.S. Importer Survey 3.2 Transition to Ecolabel Production: Voluntary Process Chapter 4. Socio-Economic Benefits of Ecolabels in Mexico 4.1 Economic Benefits for Producers through Price-Premiums 4.2 CEPCO (Oaxacan State Coffee Producers Network) 4.3 ISMAM (Indigenas de la Sierra Madre de Motozintla) 4.4 Producers Organization Uníon de Ejidos La Selva 4.5 Additional data from cooperatives Conclusions Sources Appendix 1. The Environmental Significance of Coffee Certification Programs in Mexico Appendix 2. CEPCO Case Study 3 6 6 7 10 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 17 19 20 22 23 24 26 Executive Summary Mexico has been at the forefront of the development of ecolabels for coffee. Coffee farmers in Mexico are at the mercy of commodity markets, and have to deal with a growing domination and concentration by large international companies. International trade houses and companies that are involved in both the import and export of green coffee have become bigger in the past 12 years. There are three types of ecolabels for coffee: Certified Organic, Certified Fair Trade, an