Cooperative speaks against Fairtrade

Guardian letters 13 Oct: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/13/fair-trade-starbucks-coffee-cadburys

Letters
Still a way to go on fair trade

The Guardian, Tuesday 13 October 2009
Article history
After reading your article/advertisement "Fair from every point of view" (10 October), I must conclude the opposite. What gives you (or Starbucks or the Fairtrade Foundation) the right to speak on behalf of producers in the developing world? I am employed by coffee farmers and I can assure you that this system is not considered "fair" from every point of view. The fundamental flaw with Fairtrade is that producers are merely beneficiaries, not participants. Until Starbucks, Green & Blacks, the Co-op etc actually partner with producers, providing them a stake in ownership and a vote, then there is nothing "fair" about it – just great marketing.
To illustrate my point, more than 85% of the revenue generated by Fairtrade coffee remains in the global north. The economics just don't add up.
Thaleon Tremain
General manager, Pachamama Coffee Co-operative