SSIR Articles
Peter Giuliano is in many ways the model of a Fair Trade coffee advocate. He began his career as a humble barista, worked his way up the ladder, and in 1995 co-founded Counter Culture Coffee, a wholesale roasting and coffee education enterprise in Durham, N.C. In his role as the green coffee buyer, Giuliano has developed close working relationships with farmers throughout the coffee-growing world, traveling extensively to Latin America, Indonesia, and Africa. He has been active for more than a decade in the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the world's largest coffee trade association, and currently serves as its president. Giuliano originally embraced the Fair Trade-certification model—which pays producers an above-market "fair trade" price provided they meet specific labor, environmental, and production standards—because he believed it was the best way to empower growers and drive the sustainable development of one of the world's largest commodities. Today, Giuliano no longer purchases Fair Trade-certified coffee for his business. "I think fair trade as a concept is very relevant," says Giuliano. But "I think the… Sent with Reeder
