Were you aware of this issue? Do you know where your coffee comes from and how it's harvested? I was shocked when I first found out how serious this issue is! Have a look and decide for yourself..
How does watching that make you feel? Not sure about you, but it breaks my heart to imagine that there's probably hundreds of thousands of children, mothers and fathers in the Ivory Coast, Cuba and many more African countries that go on less than half a dollar a day working their bodies to unnatural extents and not getting anything in return....it's inhumane. So next time you go and grab your morning coffee, just have a little think...I know I will.
It's a shame that we live in a money-hungry, selfish world and it's unfortunate that most individuals are not aware of this occurring in certain third-world countries. It's dissapointing that people do not know where their money is going. If they had the knowledge and awareness they would re-think where to source their coffee from. It is encouraging to see that organisations like this can truly impact people's lives in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteSpot on Bec. This the unfortunate harsh reality of the world we live in. However, we can't sit back and do nothing...after all, we're all humans and it hurts to see that there are other humans in the world who are in such appalling circumstances.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your point about knowledge and awareness - do you think that once they're accomplished, and people realise the horrible reality behind how they're coffee is harvested, it will be enough to deter the use of those specific brands? If not, what do you recommend?
Thanks for your input :)
Marketing, of course, has a major impact on people's decision making; if this becomes known world-wide, and it is instilled in people's minds, then yes I do believe they will consciously make the more wise decision in choosing where to source their coffee - this in turn will encourage reputable companies to rethink where they choose to obtain their coffee beans from if by high demand.
ReplyDeleteYou would be surprised how much even word of mouth has an impact. From my own experience, for example, I continuously asked Woolworths, a reputable grocery store, if they had a specific product and asked others around me to also ask. A few weeks later, they had supplied the product for me. If I had not initially voiced my request, then I would not have the product.
I believe, therefore, if individuals voiced their opinion to their regular coffee supplier and instead bought their coffee from a place that supplied fair trade coffee, then it forces these larger companies to reconsider where to obtain their coffee beans.
This is great Bec! Thank you for sharing your opionion. Regarding your Woolworths experience - just goes to show how much voicing your requests and gaining support does...We will definitely be bigger Marketing techniques in advertising - i.e. Guerilla Marketing - to generate publicity and will also be using word of mouth.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot of your feedback Bec :)
I am shocked and appalled at what I just watched. I love coffee and now this has got me thinking maybe I shouldn't drink it so much. We need to get the message to everyone to only drink fair trade coffee, this is just the small step we need to change.
ReplyDeleteThese poor people have nothing and on top of this they are being made to work in such rough conditions and they are being underpaid for. Maybe the next time we complain about something small and little we can take a moment to look at our lives and realise just how good it actually is. This video has made be thankful for what i have in my life.
But also it made me realise i need to start making a change in what I do, more people need to be aware of these and we all need to be the people that do that.
Thanks Aba for your post, I'm sure most people didn't know these things about coffee and have found that they learnt a lot, I know I did.
I had the same reaction Bavly - it's absolutely appalling. Most people really don't know much about this issue and so we all have to do our bit and tell our friends and pass the message on. This is the first step!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments :)