As a consequence of growing awareness of differences
in development between North and South, small groups of consumers organized
so-called Third World shops, which sold products from developing countries that
were purchased under just conditions from small producers. Initially, such shops
were simply a table in the church after Sunday service but gradually they have
evolved and, as in the case of the Fairtrade movement, have become professional
franchise organizations with turnovers of several million United States dollars.
Coffee typically constitutes up to 50% of their sales as they usually supply a
lot of coffee to institutional markets and caterers.
Originally consumer coffees from such alternative
trade organizations were sold only through their own outlets or by mail order
operated by volunteers. Usually they reached only the people who were prepared
to make a detour to buy their coffee in a Third World shop instead of in their
normal supermarket.
Therefore, at the request of small growers in Mexico
(UCIRI), in 1988 a Netherlands NGO, Solidaridad, took the initiative to start
the Max Havelaar certification system
for Fairtrade
coffee (and subsequently also for other products) with the goal of
bringing these coffees into conventional supermarket channels.