Costa Rican Coffee Extends Fair Trade Practices

Homegrown is taking a new meaning when it comes to coffee served in Costa Rican cafes and residences. THRIVE Farmers Coffee approaches the production of your morning cup of java from a completely new approach. By eliminating the need for middlemen, exporters, importers, and even external roasters, this brand provides farmers with unlimited access to the market. While coffee farmers are largely underpaid elsewhere in the world, the new business model implemented by THRIVE makes it possible for coffee farmers in Costa Rica to enjoy higher wages and a better quality of life.

As a result, farmers have a vested interest in the end product they produce. Consequently, consumers are able to benefit from a better product. Coming around in a full circle, local farmers are able to pass on the benefits of improved livelihoods to their communities and even future generations.

Under the fair trade model, coffee farmers are able to receive a guaranteed minimum price of $1.40 per pound for their coffee. In exchange, the farmers agree to follow strict labor and environmental standards. Fair Trade International, a non-profit organization, hands down those standards. While this might sound as though it would benefit coffee farmers, some economic studies have found that Fair Trade can actually prevent coffee farmers from taking advantage of high market prices.

THRIVE'S new model makes it possible for co-ops to earn returns that are significantly higher than those attained under Fair Trade. In all fairness, Fair Trade did raise the bar in terms of public awareness regarding the social and economic conditions of coffee farmers around the world. The model implemented by THRIVE fills in the gaps.

Around the world, farmers who own five acres or even less grow 70 percent of the global coffee production. Most such farmers are located in very rural locales in developing nations. The global coffee industry amounts to $100 billion, yet the significant majority of coffee farmers are not able to earn a fair wage due to their distance from the end consumer. THRIVE is set to change that.

Along with offering coffee farmers with the ability to earn a better wage, THRIVE also takes great pride in maintaining an environmentally sustainable business practice. In fact, the brand has even won awards for their economic practices. As a result of the practices set in place, THRIVE is making it possible for true environmental and social sustainability to take place—first by providing local farmers with the ability to care for their own family, a practice that is certain to continue extending outwards and benefitting local communities as a whole.