Advocacy Groups and Shareholders Persuade Procter & Gamble to Offer Fair Trade Coffee.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 2003 Largest U.S. Coffee Company to Pay Farmers a Fair Price Small-scale coffee farmers around the world scored a victory this week when Procter & Gamble (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : PG), the largest seller of coffee in the U.S., announced that it would introduce Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee products through its specialty coffee division, Millstone millstone Either of two flat, round stones used for grinding grain to make flour. The stationary bottom stone is carved with shallow grooved channels that radiate from the centre. The upper stone rotates horizontally, and has a central hole through which grain is poured. . The announcement comes in response to dialogue with shareholders about the company's practices, as well as pressure from consumers, people of faith, human rights activists, and humanitarian organizations. With P&G's announcement that it will offer Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee through Millstone, the advocacy groups have agreed to suspend their campaigns against the corporation and the shareholders have withdrawn the resolution they had filed on the issue. "With world market prices as low as they are right now, we see that many coffee farmers cannot maintain their families and their land anymore. We need Fair Trade now more than ever," says Jeronimo Bollen, Director of Manos Campesinas, a Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee cooperative in Guatemala. Over the past three years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time price of coffee has fallen almost 50 percent, and now hovers near a 30-year low. This has resulted in a widespread humanitarian crisis A humanitarian crisis (or "humanitarian disaster") is an event or series of events which represents a critical threat to the health, safety, security or wellbeing of a community or other large group of people, usually over a wide area. for 25 million coffee-growing families in over 50 developing countries. Unable to cover their costs of production, small farmers cannot earn the income necessary to feed their families, send their children to school, purchase essential medicines, and stay on their land. Grown by democratically organized cooperatives, Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee guarantees farmers a minimum of $1.26 a pound for their harvest. Last month, the International Coffee Organization composite indicator average price for green coffee was 52 cents a pound. "P&G's action is an excellent example of what can be accomplished through the collaboration of shareholder activists and nonprofit organizations. It's a win-win for the world's small-scale coffee farmers, for the environment, and for P&G itself," said Sister Ruth Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the Center for Reflection, Education and Action (CREA CREA Creative CREA Creatine CREA Canadian Real Estate Association CREA Conselho Regional de Engenharia, Arquitetura E Agronomia (Regional Engineering, Architecture and Agronomy Council - Brazil) ). CREA and Domini Social Investments (Domini) led the shareholder dialogue with P&G. "We brought very serious concerns to P&G, and after considerable dialogue, the company was willing to take action. This dialogue continues, and we have achieved a working relationship with P&G that we expect will lead to further constructive action." With this decision, P&G, one of the four largest coffee companies in the world, joins an impressive list of over 200 coffee companies that currently offer Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee in the U.S. Procter & Gamble's Millstone will immediately offer Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee to wholesale accounts (universities, restaurants, etc.) and to consumers through its website www.millstone.com. P&G has committed to build significant consumer demand for Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee. This commitment is planned to result in P&G becoming a leading U.S. buyer of Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee--which would represent purchase of at least 2-3 million pounds per year, based on today's estimates. "More farmers than ever before will now receive a fair price for their harvests," said Deborah James of Global Exchange. "By establishing a floor price, Fair Trade enables farmers to make a dignified living while providing new opportunities to cultivate high-quality, environmentally sustainable coffee." "Domini is pleased that Procter & Gamble has become one of the world's largest coffee companies to retail Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee," said Adam Kanzer, Director of Shareholder Advocacy for Domini Social Investments, the manager of the Domini Social Equity Fund (NASDQ: DSEFX). "This is a small step forward, but a significant one. It is encouraging that as a major coffee company, P&G is willing to give Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee a chance, and to put marketing dollars behind it. P&G's management has demonstrated a willingness to address serious, complex inequities in the market with forward-thinking action." "Procter & Gamble's decision is a critical step to help make trade fair for the world's 25 million coffee-growing families, who continue to face destitution des·ti·tu·tion n. 1. Extreme want of resources or the means of subsistence; complete poverty. 2. A deprivation or lack; a deficiency. Noun 1. and ruin. Oxfam challenges global giants Kraft and Nestle, as well as the U.S. government, to take immediate steps to address the structural inequities that trap coffee farmers in a cycle of poverty," said Liam Brody of Oxfam. "With coffee prices so low, it is more important now than ever that coffee drinkers always ask for Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee," said Erin Gorman of Co-op America Co-op America is a nonprofit membership organization based in the United States. It promotes ethical consumerism, dedicated to harnessing the economic power of consumers, investors and businesses to promote social justice and environmental sustainability through helping . Over the course of the last two years, a range of shareholder and advocacy groups has each engaged Procter & Gamble on the issue of Fair Trade coffee. At the October 2001 P&G shareholder meeting, Global Exchange called on P&G to begin offering Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee. In September 2002, Oxfam launched its "What's That in Your Coffee?" campaign, which called on the world's major coffee roasters -- including Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is the largest food and beverage company headquartered in North America and the second largest in the world after Nestlé SA. The Philip Morris Company (now known as Altria Group), a company that produces tobacco products, acquired Kraft for , Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Sara Lee
Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE: SLE) is a global consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA. -- to increase the market for Fair Trade coffee, to bring the current oversupply o·ver·sup·ply n. pl. o·ver·sup·plies A supply in excess of what is appropriate or required. tr.v. o·ver·sup·plied, o·ver·sup·ply·ing, o·ver·sup·plies of coffee back into line with demand, and to help ensure that coffee farmers are able to earn a decent living. In December 2002, Domini and CREA led a coalition of investors holding more than 500,000 shares of P&G in a dialogue with the company about purchasing Fair Trade coffee. In April 2003, the shareholder coalition filed with Procter & Gamble the first-ever shareholder resolution to address the coffee crisis. Meanwhile, Co-op America, the Interfaith Fair Trade Initiative, Oxfam, and Global Exchange all educated and encouraged concerned citizens to urge the company to begin selling Fair Trade Certified coffee. Shareholders and NGOs cautioned that they will hold Procter & Gamble to its promises and continue to monitor its progress. "We're glad that Procter & Gamble is making this first-step commitment to Fair Trade, and look forward to the day when it commits to paying farmers a decent price for all its coffee--like the coffee companies that pioneered Fair Trade," said Sarah Ford of the Interfaith Fair Trade Initiative. # # # About CREA The Center for Reflection, Education and Action (CREA) is a faith-based social economic research, education, and action center located in Hartford, Connecticut. Additional information about CREA and its work on purchasing power Purchasing Power 1. The value of a currency expressed in terms of the amount of goods or services that one unit of money can buy. Purchasing power is important because, all else being equal, inflation decreases the amount of goods or services you'd be able to purchase. 2. , corporate responsibility, and economic justice can be found at www.crea-inc.org. About Co-op America Co-op America educates and mobilizes consumers on issues of fair trade, corporate responsibility, and green market development. For more information, visit www.coopamerica.org or call 800-58-GREEN. About Domini Social Investments Domini Social Investments manages more than $1.5 billion in assets for individual and institutional mutual fund investors seeking to create positive change in society by integrating social and environmental criteria into their investment decisions. Additional information on Domini Social Investments is available on the firm's website, www.domini.com. About Global Exchange Global Exchange is an international human rights organization dedicated to promoting environmental, political, and social justice. For more information, visit www.globalexchange.org or call 800-497-1994. About the Interfaith Fair Trade Initiative The Interfaith Fair Trade Initiative works with Fair Trade coffee companies and a coalition of faith-based international organizations and religious denominations to significantly expand the purchase of Fair Trade coffee in the U.S., increase advocacy on behalf of Fair Trade, and improve the lives of small-scale coffee farmers. About Oxfam Oxfam is an international development and humanitarian agency campaigning to change the rigged rules and double standards of international trade that keep millions living in poverty. Oxfam works with local partners in over 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.oxfamamerica.org and www.MakeTradeFair.com. About the Shareholder Coalition The shareholder coalition calling on Procter & Gamble to address the coffee crisis was led by Domini Social Investments and CREA and composed of a broad range of socially responsible investors and religious organizations. Domini and CREA were the lead filers of the P&G shareholder resolution, and co-filers were Church of the Brethren Church of the Brethren: see Brethren. Benefit Trust, James W. Gamble, Sarah E. Gillett, the Mennonite Foundation Stock Fund, Inc., the Mennonite Retirement Trust Common Stock Fund, the Milwaukee Province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Founding and growth The order was founded in Bavaria in 1833 during a time of poverty and illiteracy. , MMA (Microcomputer Managers Association, Inc.) A membership organization with chapters throughout the U.S. that was devoted to educating personnel responsible for personal computers. It disbanded in 1996. Mma - A fast Mathematica-like system, in Allegro CL by R. Fateman, 1991. Praxis Core Stock Fund, Real Assets Real assets Identifiable assets, such as land and buildings, equipment, patents, and trademarks, as distinguished from a financial investment. Investment Management, St. Joseph Health System, the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati were founded in October 1829 on a model of Elizabeth Ann Seton, who founded the first community of religious women, native to the United States. , the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul were founded on May 11, 1849, when the four founding Sisters of Charity, arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia from New York. They came in response to a request by then Halifax Archbishop William Walsh. of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, (Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jésus et de Marie)[1] Motto: "Jésus Et Marie Ma Force Et Ma Glorie" is a teaching order founded at Longueuil, Québec, Canada in 1843 by (Eulalie Durocher) Blessed Mother Marie-Rose (1811- , Patricia A. Wagner, William Ernesto Wagner, William G. Wagner, and the Whitney Foundation. The following organizations also actively participated in the dialogue with Procter and Gamble: Boston Common Asset Management, Ethical Funds, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1988 by the merging of three churches and currently having about 4. , Informed Investors Group, Newground Investment Services, and Trillium Asset Management. The Domini Funds are subject to market risks and are not insured. You may lose money. As of July 31, 2003, Procter & Gamble represented 2.27% of the Domini Social Equity Fund's portfolio. The Fund's portfolio is subject to change. Please obtain a prospectus, which contains more information including fees, expenses, and risks, by calling 1-800-762-6814 or online at www.domini.com. Read it carefully before you invest or send money. DSIL DSIL Domini Social Investments LLC DSIL Direction du Système d'Information Local Investment Services LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control (DSILD), Distributor. DSILD and the entities named above are not affiliated. 9/03 To unsubscribe To cancel a service. It is often possible to unsubscribe to an e-mail service by typing the word "unsubscribe" into a reply message. Contrast with subscribe. See opt-out. , please send a response to mediaservices@domini.com with the words UNSUBSCRIBE PRESS RELEASES in the subject line of the message. |
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