Founded in 1981, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) is a Vermont-based wholesale coffee company with a strong commitment to ecological conservation and social responsibility. The company reached sales in excess of $95 million for fiscal year 2001, and roasts more than 75 high-quality arabica coffees, including single-origin, estate, certified organic, Fair Trade, proprietary blends, and flavored coffees. Forbes Magazine has recognized GMCR for the past two years as one of the "200 Best Small Companies in America." In September 2000, GMCR formed a partnership with TransFair USA to launch Fair Trade Certified coffee.

TransFair USA, a nonprofit organization, is the first and only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. The Fair Trade Certified label guarantees that farmers receive a fair price through direct trade, timely credit, and support for sustainable agriculture. At today’s rock-bottom coffee prices, farmers earn 5-6 times more through the Fair Trade price than they would from local buyers. Fair Trade premiums are reinvested in essential social services such as health clinics, schools, housing, technical assistance and organic certification programs.

Consumers are looking for socially responsible products, and visionary businesses like Green Mountain are choosing Fair Trade Certified coffees as a way to respond to consumer purchasing trends, differentiate their products, and win new accounts. In Green Mountain’s first year carrying Fair Trade, their first 5 Fair Trade coffees experienced 37% growth (pounds and sales) over what the same lines had achieved the previous year without certification. The company sold 872,000 pounds of Fair Trade coffee in their first year—more than double what they had anticipated. Just last month, Portland-based Fred Meyer, one of the largest food retailers in the US, announced that it will offer up to 12 Green Mountain Fair Trade Certified coffees. A Fair Trade Certified product line has also helped the company win large institutional accounts, including several leading universities.

Now more than ever Fair Trade certification plays a critical role in the coffee world. While a collapse in world coffee prices over the past five years is destroying many coffee-growing communities and removing incentives for high quality, Fair Trade guarantees coffee quality by ensuring that the farmers who grow the beans receive a fair price for them.

Paul Rice, President and CEO of TransFair USA, is particularly excited about the partnership. "Green Mountain’s commitment to Fair Trade dramatically increased both the number of farmers that benefit and the number of consumers that can change the world through their choice of coffee," Rice said.

Green Mountain’s success story is featured in the new book, “Untapped: Creating Value in Undeserved Markets,” authored by John Wesier, a founding partner at the firm Brody Weiser Burns; Michele Kahane, Director of Special Projects at The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College (CCCBC); Steve Rochlin, Director of Research and Policy Development at the CCCBC; and Jessica Landis, a Research Consultant at the CCCBC. "Untapped" was recently named to the Harvard Business Review Reading List for 2006. Visit www.untappedbook.com for more information and Berrett-Koehler Publishers to purchase your copy of this book.

For more information, please contact Rick Peyser at rick.peyser@gmcr.com.

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