I want to thank BzzAgent for the opportunity to sample this great GREEN MOUNTAIN COFFEE. #GotItFree Take a look at all the wonderful coffee they sent me. Each box has 4 K-cup pods and each one is different. I was able to share a 4 pack with 3 of my friends

 

GREEN MOUNTAIN COFFEE has been helping consumers wake up for more than three decades, but a new advertising campaign is meant to be an eye-opener of a different sort. 

The executives at Green Mountain have decided to educate coffee drinkers about Fair Trade products. Green Mountain Coffee, is now a Fair Trade Coffee. 

.

What is Fair Trade? 

“I think about fair trade sometimes like antioxidants,” said Jonathan Yohannan, executive vice president for corporate responsibility at Cone Communications, one of several agencies working on the campaign, referring to substances often praised for their health benefits. “You know it’s good for you, but you don’t really know what it means.” 

The brand works with the nonprofit FAIR TRADE USA, which certifies that producers conform to labor and environmental standards, and links farmers directly to companies rather than enriching middlemen.

When companies buy fair-trade coffee, they pay a community-development premium in addition to the base price. For every pound of conventionally grown coffee, the premium is 20 cents; for organically grown coffee, it is 50 cents, with 20 cents going to community development and the remaining 30 cents to farmers.

•

In 2011, when more than 138 million pounds of certified coffee was imported to the United States, fair-trade premiums totaled about $17 million. The money went to cooperatives of farmers, who voted to apply it to development projects like new schools, health care facilities and equipment to improve the productivity of farms and the quality of their coffee. 

 •

 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters — the parent company, which also produces brands like Tully’s Coffee and, under a licensing agreement, Newman’s Own Organics — is the largest producer of fair-trade coffee in the world. It imported about 50.3 million pounds in 2011, or 24 percent of its raw coffee purchases, according to the company and Fair Trade USA. 

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters also owns Keurig, which makes systems that brew single-serve pods called K-Cups. Green Mountain spent $22.9 million on advertising in 2011, compared with $100.5 million for Starbucks, $37.5 million for Folgers and $24.9 million for Maxwell House, according to the Kantar Media unit of WPP.

Green Mountain has some outstanding blends of coffee. My favorites are Mountain Blueberry and Sumatran Reserve, which is Extra Bold.  Join me in a cup of Green Mountain Coffee...Follow Green Mountain Coffee on Facebook and like their page for exclusive music and updates.