News Release -- 2003

BBT’s shares help to persuade Procter and Gamble
to sell Fair Trade Certified coffee

Sept. 29, 2003 Elgin, Ill.

Brethren Benefit Trust’s shareholder advocacy efforts on behalf of small-scale coffee farmers proved to be effective as Procter and Gamble (P&G) announced on Sept. 15 that it would begin marketing a Fair Trade Certified blend of coffee.

A shareholder resolution on which BBT was a co-filer was withdrawn when P&G, the largest seller of coffee in the United States, introduced Millstone’s new Mountain Moonlight Fair Trade Certified brand. The resolution had urged the corporation to review its policies related to the effects the steep decline in coffee prices has had on coffee farmers.

“Many farmers in developing countries who planted coffee in response to encouragement from development agencies have been devastated by low prices for their product,” explained Will Thomas, director of Foundation operations for BBT. “This will help double their income.”

According to the human rights group Global Exchange, the price of coffee has reached an all-time low in recent months — currently less than $.50 per pound — with no increase in sight. As the wholesale price has plummeted, coffee companies have pocketed the difference rather than lowering their prices. Small-scale farmers, who have been forced to sell their coffee for less than their production cost, cannot afford basic necessities such as food, healthcare, and education for their children.

Fair Trade Certified coffee is grown primarily on small family farms that are part of democratically run cooperatives. Through membership in the cooperatives, farmers are able to sell their products at guaranteed prices, while the cooperatives in turn invest in the community through housing programs, health clinics, schools, and women’s and scholarship programs.

Shareholders and advocacy groups have engaged P&G in discussions on the issue of Fair Trade Certified coffee over the past two years. In December 2002, a coalition of investors, including BBT, engaged the company in dialog on the issue. In April 2003, the coalition filed the shareholder resolution to address the crisis. In response to P&G’s announcement, the resolution was withdrawn.

Millstone’s Mountain Moonlight Fair Trade Certified coffee is currently available only online at www.millstone.com or by calling 800-729-5282. The cost for a 10-ounce bag is $8.99 plus shipping, with coffee growers receiving $1.26 per pound. The product will be available on store shelves within a year if sales support it, according to a company spokesman.

“Buying coffee with the Fair Trade Certified label allows thoughtful consumers to ensure that their purchase provides a living wage to the families that produced it,” said Thomas.

Additional information on the coffee crisis and Fair Trade Certified coffee can be found at www.globalexchange.org and www.fairtradecertified.org.