University of Fair Trade
Switching to a Sustainable Cup on Campus
by Nick Obourn
Portrait Photos by Annie Dixon
Origin Photos Courtesy of Sustainable Harvest

Fair-trade-certified coffee has garnered much attention in the coffee world. Hailed by activists a

s the salvation to plummeting coffee prices and the ongoing coffee crisis, fair-trade-certification is also winning over industry heavy-hitters such as Proctor & Gamble, the largest coffee importer in the world, which has decided to begin marketing fair-trade certified coffee. As a milestone for global responsibility and economic accountability, fair-trade coffee is making a meaningful impact on college and university campuses, largely because these institutions of higher education encourage the type of theory that fair-trade-certified coffee embodies. Students on campuses across the country yearn to endorse the global awareness of fair trade that ultimately supports farmers who would otherwise not make a living wage. Many students active in the fair-trade community feel it is their responsibility to give back to the less fortunate people producing coffee for their consumption. Hundreds of mess halls and cafeterias run by college administrations and foodservice companies are adopting the fair-trade philosophy because it can be beneficial for students, for the legislative bodies running these institutions and, more important, for the global economy.

The Student Life
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was "the first big campaign," as Valerie Orth, fair-trade coffee organizer for Global Exchange refers to it. Three years ago, five UCLA students, members of the UCLA Environmental Coalition, drafted a strong argument for their campus to sell fair-trade-certified coffee: better coffee attained and sold via more socially conscious methods. They presented it to the school's administration and to the dining services department. Sara Lee, the school's supplier, was persuaded and soon began selling fair-trade coffee. The victory was influential for many reasons: It changed the viewpoint of one of the largest coffee distributors in the United States; it was the impetus for Sara Lee to supply fair-trade-certified coffee to other accounts, including 250 Borders Bookstores; and for many it marked the beginning of the fair-trade movement on campuses.
   Students drink a lot of coffee. Between pulling all-nighters and rushing to early classes that require some semblance of alertness, dining halls are often the easiest place for many students to get their coffee. It's almost always available and quick, usually acquired with the simple swipe of a card and the use of an on-campus meal plan.
   "The dining hall is the crown jewel," says Tony LoPresti, West Coast coordinator for United Students for Fair Trade (USFT), an organization formed by students to further the course of fair-trade coffee on campus. The movement to transform that campus "crown jewel" into a market for fair-trade coffee often starts with these politically active students or an organization formed specifically to facilitate the change. The first step in such a campaign is to educate the student body. "Knowledge is key," says Lynsey Miller, organizer for Equal Exchange, the country's largest importer of fair-trade coffee. "The more knowledgeable students are about the myths and facts of fair trade, the stronger their campaign and the better their chances for success." Many organizations work primarily to educate students on the benefits of fair-trade coffee. USFT is one example; Oxfam and Global Exchange, are two more. "[Global Exchange] creates training materials so students know how to win a campaign on campus. We also tour producers and speak to college students on college campuses," Orth says. Global Exchange also runs a Fair Harvest Exchange Program through which fair-trade-passionate individuals can travel to Northern Nicaragua during harvest season and pick alongside coffee farmers for two weeks on a fair-trade-certified cooperative. This tangible expression of student's fair-trade beliefs, and actually seeing the first link in the coffee chain can be inspiration to further the fair-trade push.
   "Oxfam used to have a whole kit you could actually download from [its] Web site that included a lot of information about fair trade, some posters you could print out, [as well as] postcards that were very reasonably directed to the foodservice directors. Students could print those out and drop them off when they went in for their meals," says Rick Peyser, director of public relations for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Peyser calls these tactics "gentle nudges."
   One of the important names in fair-trade certification, Transfair USA-the only third-party certification agency in the United States-considers the proliferation of fair-trade-coffee within the industry to be very important. This organization believes educating the public is one of its responsibilities. "Since we started, we [have responded] a number of communities that are predisposed to doing the right thing and getting the right product, and students were one of the first to jump on board," says Haven Borque, director of marketing and communications for Transfair USA. All of these organizations are united in one goal: to end a systemic global poverty. Organizations such as Global Exchange and Oxfam that deal with fair trade's affect on many commodities, see coffee-the second most traded commodity in the world-as the flagship for their cause.
   "We say that fair-trade coffee is a 'cookie cutter' campaign-you just have a shape and you stamp it and you end up with the same thing wherever it happens. [But] this is only partly true," LoPresti says.
   After the research has been done and the initiative to begin a campaign for fair-trade coffee on campus has been set in motion, several different types of campaigns can be enacted. The objective might be the same, but the actual results depend on the method by which the campaign is carried out. So-called "pressure campaigns" usually involve physical acts, such as protests, sit-ins or other forms of civil disobedience. The idea behind this type of campaign is to pressure the administration and dining services director to switch to fair-trade coffee through intimidating tactics. Although sure to grab campus headlines, these campaigns are not always the most successful. Administrations would rather choose to switch than be cornered into it. "Most campuses are won with more diplomacy than pressure," LoPresti says. "Very often it turns against the students. You walk into the office and drag your sledgehammer, don't walk into the office with your sledgehammer held high."
   These days, students seem to favor the more diplomatic path. When students, faculty and dining services can come together on common ground and openly discuss the idea of carrying fair-trade-certified coffee, the end result is more appreciated by all parties involved. For example, take Villanova University, in Villanova, Pa., where dining services director Tim Dietzler switched to fair-trade-certified coffee in 100 percent of the eating establishments on campus after students organized and approached him with a cogent, logical and well-mannered proposal. The straight forward method fared well with Dietzler, whose school is now only one of 15 that carries solely fair-trade-certified coffee on campus. Today, Dietzler is one of the most outspoken advocates for fair trade in the college and university arena. In March 2003, Dietzler hosted the regional conference of the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) to encourage the use of fair-trade coffee on campus. He invited Peyser, along with a sales representative from Peet's Coffee & Tea and foodservice representatives from more than a dozen schools. Dietzler expressed how Villanova's Catholic background supported the ethics of fair-trade-certified coffee and how the students had made this connection in their proposal. He said when he did finally make the switch, more coffee was sold on campus.
   Some students use other methods to encourage the switch to fair-trade-certified coffee. At some schools, classes focus on the subject, and that tutelage inspires students to approach the foodservice administrator. If they meet with rejection, students often take their case directly to the administration that hires the foodservice company.
   "The way I look at it, the foodservice is kind of [in] between the students and the administration," Peyser says. "Students are the customers of the foodservice [company] and the administration hired the foodservice. The administration wants the students to be happy, and I think the foodservice [company also] wants the students to be happy."

The Administrative Level
Academia may have an ivory tower image, but college foodservice is a business and choosing to stock fair-trade coffee is a business decision. On campus, this decision lies with the director of foodservice who is responsible for all food and beverages supplied on campus. Far off campus, in growing regions around the globe, this business decision made on campus can provide sustainable living wages for farmers and workers.
   The foodservice director chooses the type of food served and who serves it. He or she hires a company to staff the dining halls, cook the food and obtain all the food served on campus. These foodservice companies, in turn, contract out to a coffee distributor for their coffee, fair trade or not. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters supplies coffee to campuses such as Columbia University, Villanova University, Wheaton College, The University of Vermont, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), Fordham University, Colgate University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Providence College, and Ithaca College through a foodservice company called Sodexho Alliance. It is much easier for the coffee company to go through a distributor than to go to each college or university individually and attempt to sell its product. All colleges and universities that have contracts with Sodexho Alliance are automatically Green Mountain Coffee Roaster's customers, and it is likely that their coffee will permeate the dining halls. "If there are students who are requesting fair trade on a campus that is serviced by Sodexho, it is very easy for that foodservice director to obtain fair-trade coffee," Peyser says. "[It] opens a lot of doors for us to sell fair-trade coffee on campuses." It is important to note that foodservice companies servicing campuses very often carry several coffee brands, so it is not a monopoly for any coffee distributor.
   Contracts with the right foodservice company can prove to be advantageous for fair-trade advocates and coffee companies. But they also can stymie attempts to carry fair-trade coffee on campus. Schools are bound to contracts that detail what foods should be provided and what foods are available through the company that represents their eating halls. If the foodservice company does not carry fair-trade coffee-as was the case with Sara Lee at UCLA-then it is up to the students to either convince the foodservice company to switch or to convince the administration to get out of a contract (and most contracts are written for several years of service).
   Cost is also an important issue, especially in an age of budget cuts. Fair-trade-certified coffee usually costs more than lower-grade varieties. But the foodservice provider can charge students more as well. It is often a battle between moral beliefs and the almighty dollar. Sometimes, for foodservice directors, charging more means selling less. However, foodservice directors who have decided to switch have met with positive results. "When [Villanova University] finally agreed to switch, it began selling more coffee and it was making a lot more money," Peyser recounted from the NACUFS meeting held at Villanova. "The folks from Bryn Mawr [College] were seated right across the table, and they said the exact same thing-bottom line, business has improved for us by bringing in fair trade." Many coffee companies work to make it more affordable for schools to carry fair-trade coffee. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Pura Vida-another large supplier to colleges and universities-have intentionally priced fair-trade coffee so it is within reach of most consumers, rather than making it a high-priced, elite item. "When we first started expanding our line, we really wanted to price these coffees in the middle of our line. We did not want them to be the most expensive coffees that we sell and we didn't want them to be the least expensive," Peyser says.

Higher Education, Higher Purpose
The sale of fair-trade-certified coffee on college and university campuses has been uplifting for the coffee industry, providing a sure channel through which fair-trade coffee can be distributed. And students-society's moral fighters-may turn out to play an important role in eventually ending the coffee crisis. Not only do students support fair-trade coffee by drinking it, they are also forming organizations and educating themselves on the positive social effects of fair trade. And we hope this dedication doesn't stop once students stop being students. "It has an important message with it," Peyser says. "When that message is available on campus through point-of-purchase or posters or brochures, we are able as a coffee company to communicate the importance of these coffees. It is important because it will go beyond graduation day. Our hope is that we will begin to influence some purchasing decisions that will last a lifetime and will make an important impact on our world." Students and the administrations that embrace fair-trade-certified coffee can slowly change the industry by unifying to affect the world around them.
   "Many specialty coffee drinkers are associating the producer and his or her welfare with good coffee. When you look at the extensive activism and education [surrounding] fair trade that's [occurring] on campuses nationwide, you can see that the next generation of customers for the specialty industry is going to be even more educated, more interested and more supportive of fair-trade than the current one-which is saying a lot," says Rodney North, head of public relations for Equal Exchange.
   Fair-trade coffee, while probably not the sole solution for the coffee crisis, offers hope to farmers and guarantees them $1.26 per pound. And students, as long as they keep fighting for the cause, can enjoy exceptional coffee on their campuses, still run late to class, cram for tests all night, and lend a hand to the global economy at the same time.

Nick Obourn is associate editor of Fresh Cup Magazine. He can be reached at nick@freshcup.com.