WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2005

Coffee ice cream wins fair trade certification

Ben & Jerry's flavors join socially conscious lineup
By Terence Chea ASSOCIATED PRESS     Ben & Jerry's newest products arrived in supermarket freezers this week, offering a less-guilty pleasure for consumers who worry about who labors to make their ice cream.     The Company's Coffee, Coffee Health Bar Crunch and Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz flavors have been designated Fair Trade Certified by Transfair USA, a non-profit group in Oakland that audits the books of U.S. Companies to ensure that the ingredients come from farmers who get fair prices for their goods.     "Fair trade is about making sure that people get their fair share of the pie", said Ben Cohen, co-founder of the Burlington, Vt., ice cream company. "The whole concept of fair trade goes to the heart of American values and the sense of right and wrong. Nobody wants to buy something that was made by exploiting somebody else."     Transfair is helping lead a quiet revolution in American business. In the six years since the group began certifying products, fair trade sales have risen steadily. Last year, retailers sold about $300 million in coffee - 34 million pounds, or 6 percent of the gourmet coffee market - and sales should grow to 50 million pounds this year, according to Transfair.     About 400 companies now sell fair trade products, including Starbucks, Peet's Coffee, Dunkin' Donuts and Procter & Gamble, maker of Folgers.			"Fair Trade consumer are looking for an easy way to make a difference in the world," said Transfair's founder and chief executive officer, Paul Rice. "Discerning consumers tend to be skeptical unless there's some kind of independent verification. That's what Transfair does."     The list of fair trade goods has expanded to include tea, chocolate, bananas, mangoes, pineapple, rice, and sugar - mostly high-end products that are also certified organic. Ben & Jerry's coffee-flavored ice cream marks the label's first foray into the frozen foods section.     While most retailers and consumers pay more for fair trade products, Cohen said that the ice cream company is absorbing the full cost of the switch, and won't pass it on to consumers.     Even a small price premium means a lot to the producers, who are mostly small family farmers. While most bean growers receive about 20 cents per pound, the fair trade price is $1.26 - a difference that can provide a decent life in countries like Columbia, Ethiopia and Indonesia.     The coffee used to make Ben & Jerry's ice cream was grown by a co-op of 350 families in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Fair trade prices have allowed the community to build a school and store, the coffee is grown in the shade of a forest, making it environmentally sustainable, Rice said.     Still, some economists doubt that more than a tiny fraction of the consuming will pay		higher prices to do good.     "I think this will be a minor part of consumer spending. Most consumers are looking for good value," said Bill Conerly, a business consultant at the National Center for Policy Analysis. "Americans are not willing to pay extra to help American workers. I think it's unlikely they're going to pay extra to help foreign workers."     Transfair, the only U.S. group that certifies fair trade products, was started in 1998 by Rice, who studied agricultural economics at Yale University. After college, he spent 11 years in Nicaragua, helping coffee farmers start a co-op to sell fair trade coffee to Europe.     After returning from Nicaragua, Rice, 44, earned an MBA at UC Berkeley before writing the business plan and finding finance backing for Transfair. The organization now has 35 employees and a $4 million budget.     During the next few years Rice wants to expand fair trade labeling to clothing, shoes and garments. He sees a vast market among consumers worried about low-wage laborers who toil under sweatshop conditions.     "There's a growing demand by consumers and a growing need by industry for a fair trade model that will take care of these workers," Rice said. "We're creating a broad product line to allow responsible shoppers to increasingly acquire a fair trade lifestyle - a lifestyle that reflects their values."