Fair trade systems provide technical assistance, such as transitioning to organic farming. Fair trade prices support health care, education, environmental stewardship and economic independence. It is the U.S. branch of the FLO, which includes monitors from 17 different countries. The International Fair Trade Registry certifies over 300 cooperatives in 20 different producer countries, representing over 550,000 farmers worldwide. The Audubon Society has identified industrial coffee production as one of the major threats to songbirds and trees in the hemisphere.
Fair trade addresses environmental issues.
Small farmers are the best stewards of the land, using traditional farming techniques. Paying farmers a fair wage for their crops with incentives for ecological practices is a good way to encourage sustainable farming. However, implementation of the code has been slow, with little if any visible change for coffee workers in Guatemala. For a company which aggressively expands and which is known for predatory real estate practices driving out local competition, Starbucks is unconvincing when it portrays itself as helpless to move its monitoring program forward. Starbucks markets itself as a responsible corporation.