Pursuits
Fair Trade Proving Anything But in Growing $6 Billion Market
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In a coffee-scented conference room near Lake Geneva, Ramon Esteve, a sixth-generation commodities trader, sits amid his father’s collection of centuries-old grinders and explains why he’s helping impoverished farmers grow more coffee, cotton and cocoa.
He’s embracing a goal, first laid out by fair-trade activists, so he can secure more sustainable supplies for his company and clients such as Nestle SA, the world’s largest food company, and Starbucks Corp., the biggest coffee-shop operator.