Green Mountain Coffee Wakes Consumers up during Fair Trade Month

Green Mountain Coffee Wakes Up Consumers during Fair Trade Month.

According to an article, by Andrew Newman, in the New York Times Green Mountain Coffee is looking to help consumers better understand the meaning of Fair Trade. This is a smart, timely move that will help bring clarity to their value as a brand.

It also serves as a perfect example of corporate social responsibility efforts that align consumers and brands with common interests and concerns.

CSR is not just about philanthropic giving. (Although Green Mountain does work with Fair Trade USA, a nonprofit.) It is also centered around ethical compliance, or a companies effort to follow ethical standards of behavior.

In the case of Green Mountain Coffee, they are going out of their way (so to speak) to eliminate an important social issue . The campaign, called “Great Coffee, good vibes, pass it on,” will include print and online ads. They will also run videos featuring famous recording artists visiting coffee farms in Colombia and Sumatra.

Companies who buy fair trade coffee pay a community-development premiums that essentially help make a better life for farmers. They’ve voted to use this money to develop new schools and health care facilities.

Whole Foods has also gotten on board to promote Fair Trade month. So, you can see how companies tend to align themselves with causes that are relevant to their brands. From a PR perspective, it is great to see how tirelessly the food and beverage industry works to promote social and environmental issues.

CSR not only instills a positive perception of a company in the minds of consumers, it also creates a domino effect behind certain social movements. It is great that companies use their resources to help the greater good and create buzz behind an issue that might otherwise be overlooked.

When the advertising message is about doing good, it raises our moral consciousness.

What do you think?

About the campaign: Video