Fair Trade Ministry at Millbrook Baptist Church

Fair Trade items are for sale in the vestibule on the second Sunday of the month. Our church supports Fair Trade by selling fair trade products (coffee, tea, and chocolate) purchased from Equal Exchange (www.equalexchange.com). We sell the items at our cost to maximize sales, which benefits the small farmers.

Using coffee as an example, the traditional chain for the production and sale is: Farmer to Middleman to Processor to Exporter to US Broker to Coffee Company to Food Distributor to Store to You. Every link is making a profit. Through purchasing Fair Trade coffee from Equal Exchange, the chain is shortened from 9 steps to 4. It becomes Farmer to Co-op to Equal Exchange to You.

By cutting out the middlemen, the farmers and workers earn more and you pay less. The farmers and workers are better able to support their families, increase their standard of living, afford health care, and provide education for their children.

Purchasing Fair Trade products also helps our environment because small farmers use organic methods, which are environmentally friendly and sustainable. Planting shade grown coffee eliminates the need for clear cutting and protects certain species of song birds. So by switching to fair trade coffee we can help the small farmer and his or her family out of poverty and positively impact our environment.