Our Fairtrade Commitment
Great Coffee from Small Farmers Deserves a Fair Price
In 1992, Rombouts came across the UCIRI cooperative in Mexico, while looking for organic coffee. In that cooperative, they met with Father Vanderhoff, the founder of the philosophy and co-founder of the Max Havelaar label (the first ever Fairtrade Certification Mark in the international Fairtrade system, named after a famous, fictional Dutch character who opposed the exploitation of workers on coffee plantations in the Dutch colonies) and discovered the principle of Fairtrade.
Rombouts was convinced of the importance and necessity of trading fairly and decided to market a Max Havelaar labelled product in continental Europe: Coffee from Small Planters. This allowed the small farmers growing the coffee to negotiate a much higher price for their coffee than they would in traditional international trading systems.
In the UK, Rombouts has launched a range of individual filter coffees carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark – a consumer label which guarantees that products meet internationally recognised Fairtrade standards, set by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO).
These include social, environmental and economic standards such as a price that covers the cost of sustainable production, long-term trading relationships, and an additional premium to invest in education, healthcare or processing facilities that benefit the producers and the wider community. The Fairtrade Foundation is the independent certification body in the UK that licenses use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products that meet these international Fairtrade standards.
FLO carries out vigorous inspections to ensure that standards are met. Thanks to the minimum price guaranteed by the FAIRTRADE Mark for coffee and the Fairtrade premium, cooperatives and their families are able to make investments to improve the living conditions of their families and communities such as financing schools and health centres.
A Philosophy Whereby Everyone is a Winner
Our passion for coffee begins at the source. Rombouts pays regular visits to producers to get to know them better. Experience in growing coffee goes back centuries in these regions and enables them to grow coffee of the very best quality for us.
We are proud to support Fairtrade coffee producers in the developing world. By choosing our Fairtrade labelled coffee, not only have consumers made the ethical choice, but they get to enjoy a great coffee.
For further information on Fairtrade, visit www.fairtrade.org.uk
Look for the FAIRTRADE Mark on products: