Direct Trade Commitment
At The Artery Community Roasters, we are proud to adopt a transparent and equitable Direct Trade model when sourcing our specialty green coffee, thanks to our partners at Semilla Coffee.
Direct trade is a form of sourcing that aims to build relationships with the farmers and processors who grow, pick and process our coffee, based on respect and equity. This is unlike the outdated model employed by most large and even medium scale coffee roasters, where farmers and processors are taken advantage of and paid a below market price for their labour.
Direct trade practices vary as a reflection of business and ethical priorities of roasters, which is why we want you to do your research! We will share as much as we can to help consumers make an informed decision and we aim to be as transparent as possible about our commitment to putting our relationships with our direct trade partners (growers, processors) before the pursuit of profits and the 'perfect cup'.
The same commitment to transparency and equity goes for our own staff, who we will always invest in first before investing in expansion of our business (e.g. new store front) or a new cottage extension. We want you to rest assured that your support of our social enterprise not only supports the ethical sourcing of some incredible coffee, but also helps provide a living wage for people living with various disabilities.
We approach our commitment to direct trade as an alternative to the fair trade model, which has limitations. We generally pay higher premiums to farmers than those mandated by fair trade practices. These premiums also help attain better quality standards and help support a sustainable economic rationale for higher prices, so we don't revert back to the broken model of larger coffee companies paying rock-bottom prices for poorly processed coffee.
Direct trade also opens the playing field to small farmers and processors, who under other models, were too small to compete and could not afford certification costs.
At the heart of this model is building relationships with the people and places that are growing and processing our coffee. Trust, transparency and teamwork is the name of the game, and we are thrilled that we get to help our partners achieve this new vision for a third, and even fourth wave, of coffee sourcing and production.
Coffee with a conscience is not just a buzzword, it's what drives every aspect of our business. When you support us, you are directly supporting worthwhile employment for people with disabilities, and fair wages for the farmers, pickers and processors who are responsible for the exceptional beans we have the honour of roasting.
Thanks for caring!