I have to agree with hmicciche. But I would go a step further, and this is an even more serious issue of laziness. The problem is that people buy Fair Trade coffee because it has a nice logo that says 'If you buy me, you will be supporting the poor farmers'. So, done deal, without having to do any research or make any real effort, we feel good about ourselves and Starbucks can pat themselves on the back because the only reason they did Fair Trade in the first place was because they knew they could sell more.

The problem is that Fair Trade is more damaging to poor farmers than helpful. Fact - The largest share of Fair Trade coffee comes from Mexico. This is a long way from being the poorest coffee producing nation and symbolises the problem. You see, in order to get certification as a Fair Trade coffee grower, you either have to fork out a lot of money (for a poor farmer), or take out loans to achieve the same goal, or form a cooperative with other farmers who are poor to be able to afford the high cost of certification. How else do you think Transfair USA (The US administrative body) is paid for. The people who can afford certification and get the nice logo on their coffee, which might be mediocre but sells anyway, are the not so poor farmers who don't need the help in the first place.

Meanwhile, the poorest farmers cannot sport the correct logo and the best coffee is often produced by them. The answer is to work with suppliers who actually deal directly with farmers and give them a fair price for their coffee direct without having to pay for a large administration such as Transfair USA.