Celebrating 25 years of Fairtrade at Matthew Algie

Celebrating 25 years of Fairtrade at Matthew Algie

We here at Matthew Algie are incredibly proud of the fact that we were the first coffee roaster to introduce Fairtrade Espresso to the UK market, all the way back in 1997. 

In that time, the sale of Fairtrade certified Matthew Algie coffee has helped to generate nearly £7million in Fairtrade International Premiums for coffee farmers in small-scale producer organisations. 

These premiums play a vital role in allowing producers to invest in the quality of their coffee. That is why we will continue to support Fairtrade and supply Fairtrade certified coffee. 

On the 25th anniversary of this fantastic achievement, we thought it was only right to mark the occasion with a special event. 

We decided to host two inspiring online panel discussions to explore the most pressing issues facing coffee producers today.  

Two fantastic panels of guest speakers joined us, including, coffee farmers and representatives from around the world, along with the team at Fairtrade Foundation and our own in-house experts. 

READ MORE: These coffee farmers have been busy as bees diversifying their income

First up we wanted to develop a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing women coffee farmers. 

Chairing this discussion was Kerrina Thorogood, Commercial Partnerships Director, Fairtrade Foundation.

She was joined by; Luzmila Loayza Feliú, Export and Logistics Manager at Frontera San Ignacio cooperative in Peru, Justine Namayanja, Senior Programme Officer at Fairtrade Africa, our very own Dr Eduarda Cristovam, Director of Coffee, Quality & Sustainability at Matthew Algie and Deborah Johnson, Responsible Sourcing Manager at M&S Foods. 

 You can watch the Empowering Women in Coffee webinar in full below.

Chaired by Matthew Algie’s Sustainability Manager, Amy Oroko, the second panel discussion explored more key issues facing coffee farmers today. The aim was to help more of us develop an understanding of the support needed for young people to remain in the coffee, as well as considering ways that we can help farmers to mitigate the impacts of climate change. 

Amy was joined by Paulo Ferreira Junior, Coffee Expert at CLAC and Marina Lotti, Sales Supervisor at COOPFAM in Brazil. 

The entire Future of Coffee Webinar can be found below.

If you want to learn more about positive impacts that Fairtrade Premiums are delivering for coffee farmers around the world, why not read our producer profiles.