Big Four

Who are they?

The “Big Four” roasters – Sara Lee, Kraft, Procter & Gamble and Nestlé – buy nearly half the world’s coffee crop and make huge profits. Together, they have the power to make a difference by addressing the misery at the heart of their business and make globalization work for the poor people. If the Big Four work together they can help close that gap, extending to more farmers the benefits of the Fair Trade system.

Sara Lee has done very little to pay coffee farmers better prices. Though it did collaborate with the rest of the industry to bring the coffee crisis to light, it simply has not done enough to establish coffee-buying standards that provide farmers with a decent price, or to aid farmers in diversifying to other crops.

Kraft did not buy Fair Trade coffee in the past year, nor did they produce coffee that met international quality standards. They have been involved in a few social development programs; however they have to contribute at a larger scale to make the necessary difference.

Nestlé has refused to buy Fair Trade coffee in the past, however in comparison to Kraft and Sara Lee, its involvement has been significantly greater. They have supported the efforts of the ICO to address the crisis. Without a complete commitment, however, we cannot put an end to this misery.

Procter and Gamble has paid more farmers a decent price for their coffee than any other company in the industry. It has also helped lobby the US to rejoin the ICO. However, despite the fact that it is the industry leader in terms of fair trade, it still does not have a high enough quality of coffee buying standards in place to ensure good standards for farmers.

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