FAIRTRADE INTERNATIONAL JOINS THE 4C ASSOCIATION
21.09.2012 - On 14 September Fairtrade International became a member of the 4C Association, a global sustainability platform for the coffee sector. In becoming a 4C Member, Fairtrade International joins a forum that includes a growing number of producers, trade and industry representatives, and civil society organisations that are working together to address sustainability issues affecting coffee.
The 4C Code of Conduct is a baseline sustainability standard and verification system, is a starting point for producers to build up to other more demanding sustainability certifications, such as Fairtrade and others.
"We believe Fairtrade’s global scale, reach and experience of working directly with small coffee farmers for over 25 years can bring an extremely valuable contribution to the 4C Association’s work in broadening sustainability across the sector,” stated Melanie Rutten-Sülz, Executive Director of the 4C Association.
UTZ Certified and the Rainforest Alliance are also members of the 4C Association. By working together, standards organizations can offer better support to producers and companies with multiple certifications, strengthen programmes for producers, and ultimately increase the overall volumes of verified and certified sustainable coffees.
“We joined the 4C Association to continue making sure the voice of small coffee farmers is heard on a global stage. The 4C Association is an ideal forum for meeting with other important actors in coffee,” said Lee Byers, Senior Adviser on Coffee and Tea at Fairtrade International. “We’re looking forward to joining the discussion on topics like climate change mitigation, quality and productivity investments, and more.”