Esquires pays it forward with Fairtrade

Media release
For immediate release
Tuesday 11 May 2010

Esquires pays it forward with Fairtrade

Pay Fairtrade Forward Day this Friday, May 14 2010

If a complete stranger buys you a coffee at an Esquires Coffee House on Friday it doesn’t (necessarily) mean you’re being hit on. It could be part of a nationwide social experiment.

Esquires Coffee Houses and the P3 Foundation are getting together for the day to encourage customers to shout the next person in the line a Fairtrade coffee.

It’s an initiative called “Pay Fairtrade Forward”, dreamed up by the P3 Foundation to draw attention to the Fairtrade movement, which aims to ensure that third-world growers and manufacturers get a fair price for their products.

Staff in each of Esquires’ 45 coffee houses nationwide will get the ball rolling by shouting a Fairtrade coffee to their first customer of the day. They’ll then ask if the customer wishes to ‘Pay Fairtrade Forward’ by paying for the next person’s coffee. The aim of the experiment is to keep the gift going all day.

“When the P3 Foundation approached us to become involved in Pay Fairtrade Forward we didn’t hesitate to sign up,” says Esquires founder and director Lewis Deeks. “It’s a fantastic initiative to recognise the power of Fairtrade. Our commitment to Fairtrade is about empowering our customers to make the right choices.
 
“Even a gesture as simple as shouting the next person in line a coffee can have a big roll-on effect in the local community. In the same way, ensuring something as small as a coffee bean is traded fairly can make a difference globally – if enough of us make the effort.

The P3 Foundation, an organisation founded by young professionals that works to break the global poverty cycle, invited Esquires to be part of the day because of the contribution the coffee franchise has made to the Fairtrade movement. Esquires has served more than 10 million cups of Fairtrade coffee since it arrived in New Zealand in 2002.

Michael Askin, owner of the Esquires Coffee House in New Plymouth, plans to be one of the first people in New Zealand to play Pay Fairtrade Forward on Friday. When the store opens at 7.00am, he will be paying for his first customer’s coffee.

“I think it’s a neat idea,’ says Michael. ‘We’ve got a nice friendly vibe in our coffee house, so I reckon our customers will really get into the spirit of the day. We’ll have some fun while spreading the good word about Fairtrade.”

It’s believed to be the first time such an experiment has been run in New Zealand, though similar initiatives have been successful in the United States. The P3 Foundation will be reporting on the success of the day on Twitter and Facebook.

‘We believe in a world which enables equal opportunity for all,’ says Divya Dhar, president of the P3 Foundation.

“We believe that this experiment is going to work because Kiwis are some of the most generous people in the world and because it’s a fun and interesting way to get the word out about the benefits of Fairtrade.”

The Pay it Forward initiative is part of the Fairtrade Fortnight’s Big Swap Campaign, and is supported by Oxfam, the Global Poverty Project and the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand.

ENDS

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