Fairtrade coffee has become a familiar sight in British supermarkets and cafés. Its intentions are admirable, as it guarantees a minimum price for coffee growers, and it would be a callous soul who argued against a better deal for these farmers – in 2007 the Fairtrade logo adorned £117m of coffee sold in the UK.
In November last year, the Starbucks coffee shop chain announced that by the end of 2009, all espresso coffee sold in its stores in the UK and Ireland would be Fairtrade certified.
Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation UK, said: “The partnership between Fairtrade and Starbucks is good news for farmers, good news for coffee lovers and a wake-up call to the wider coffee industry.”