"After five years of building the market, TransFair has succeeded in propelling fair trade into the consumer mainstream," Rice said. "And in doing so, we have essentially set up the foundation for benefiting literally hundreds of thousands of farmers at a time of the worst price crisis in the history of coffee."
To Nell Newman, Paul Newman's daughter, who sells coffee through Newman's Own Organics, which she cofounded, Cycon's view of the industry does not reflect the half-full picture she touts.
"There are different tactics," Newman said from her headquarters in Santa Cruz, California. "I'd rather just smile, set a good example, and sell a lot of `fair trade' coffee" with Green Mountain. Newman's Own Organics buys 100 percent of its beans at "fair trade" prices, said Newman, who stressed that her father does not have an ownership position in the company.
"I was peeved at Dean for using my father's name and image to catch people's attention," she said.
Although Paul Newman is not financially linked to his daughter's organic company, Nell Newman devotes all aftertax profits to charity, just as her father's food company does. But Newman's Own Organics hired Green Mountain to be its exclusive roaster and distributor, and therein lies the rub for Cycon.
"Newman's Own (Organics) is a welcome addition to the fair trade community," Cycon's ad said. "The problem is, Paul has come to our community through a partnership with Green Mountain Roasters ... a company that doesn't really practice the principles of fair trade."
Green Mountain officials adamantly defended their commitment to environmental and social justice principles, and said they are increasing the share of their "fair trade" market. The company, which did US$100 million in sales in the last fiscal year, intends to buy from 25 to 30 percent of its coffee beans at "fair trade" prices in five years, Peyser said.
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