USA: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Joins TransFair USA in Marketing and Promoting Fair Trade Coffee
Company's Organic Coffee Line To Be Fair Trade Certified Green Mountain Coffee, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) and TransFair USA announced today that the two organizations have reached a landmark agreement to work together to promote Fair Trade coffee. As part of the agreement, Green Mountain Coffee will purchase coffee under internationally accepted Fair Trade terms, from small farmer cooperatives in Peru, Mexico, and Sumatra where the Company has long-standing relationships. Coffee certified by TransFair USA provides an audit trail from the farm to the cup, which insures that farmers are paid a Fair Trade price for their coffee - providing them with a decent living wage. Green Mountain is planning an autumn 2000 Fair Trade coffee launch in conjunction with efforts by TransFair USA and Oxfam America in the Northeast. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters will have all of its regular certified organic coffees certified by TransFair USA. Additionally, the company will support the launch of Fair Trade coffee to promote consumer awareness and increase the amount of Fair Trade coffee sold in its market areas. An autumn promotion in conjunction with TransFair USA and Oxfam America is being developed. Early plans include the use of the Company's "Buzzmobile" - Green Mountain's motorhome-sized "coffee shop on wheels" - to help bring visibility to the cause, the use of consumer sales incentives, and promotion through company publications and the Company's website:
