Our Organic, Fair Trade Policy

Vermont Coffee Company is committed to organic agriculture and fair trade.  All the coffee we purchase is certified organic and conforms to internationally recognized fair trade guidelines:

We pay farmers fair prices

Producers are paid fairly for their products. The price to farmers is at least the internationally determined minimum floor (fair trade) price for organic coffee.

We support non-traditional business structures

We buy coffee from small businesses, worker owned, and democratically run cooperatives and associations.  The intent is to support non-traditional business structures that break the pattern of worker exploitation and siphoning of profits out of the community. Our partner farm in the Dominican Republic is organized as a non-profit, community demonstration farm.

We educate our customers

We communicate with employees, retailers, restaurants, and consumers about the importance of purchasing fairly traded products which support living wages and healthy working conditions.

We support environmental sustainability

All the coffee we purchase is grown organically (under natural shade) without the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides.  Our partner farm in the Dominican Republic is diversified with fruit and nut crops and fertilized with home-made compost.

We strive to respect cultural identity

We have a responsibility to carry the quality of our producers products into our roasted coffee.  For our Dominican partner’s product, we sought out local artists and organizations who represent the aspirations of their communities.

We are committed to public accountability

We report all our purchases and sales to TransFair, USA, who audits our certified transactions.  We also submit to an annual, independent audit to confirm that our coffee purchases comply with fair trade principles.