WATERBURY, Vt. (October 1, 2010) – This October, Green Mountain Coffee®, part of the Specialty Coffee Business Unit of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), is celebrating Fair Trade Month with “The Fair Trade-Out,” a campaign to demonstrate that choosing Fair Trade is an easy way to enjoy great coffee and have a significant impact on farming communities around the world.
“Our Fair Trade-Out began with Green Mountain Coffee trading out two of its most popular blends – Our Blend and Vermont Country Blend – to be Fair Trade Certified,” said Sandy Yusen, Director of Public Relations for GMCR’s Specialty Coffee Business Unit. “In turn, we are encouraging coffee drinkers to ‘trade-out’ their daily cup of conventional coffee for a Fair Trade Certified variety. Supporting Fair Trade is one way we can help small-scale coffee farmers invest in the quality of their coffee and the quality of life in their communities.”
Fair Trade offers coffee farmers fair prices, community investment funds, and the business skills to produce high-quality products that can compete in the global marketplace. Green Mountain Coffee offers one of the largest selections of double-certified, Fair Trade organic coffees in the country. In its fiscal year 2009, GMCR purchased 16.2 million pounds of Fair Trade coffee that delivered over $1.6 million in Fair Trade premiums for community development to coffee farmers.
The Fair Trade-Out includes the following components:
• During Fair Trade Month, Green Mountain Coffee is offering 2,500 free samples per week of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee to Facebook visitors who choose to trade out their daily cup at www.facebook.com/greenmountaincoffee.
• Green Mountain Coffee is hosting coffee “trade-outs” in four regions – Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and Washington, DC. Guerilla sampling teams will trade out conventional coffee for Fair Trade Certified in offices, on the street, and in a variety of locations in each city. Coffee lovers in these regions can campaign to get traded out via Green Mountain Coffee’s Twitter account by using the hashtag #TradeMeOut.
• Green Mountain Coffee will host “The Fair Trade-Out e-Taste,” a live, guided tasting of Our Blend and Vermont Country Blend® coffees via UStream on October 26, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. EST. The tasting will feature Fair Trade USA President and CEO Paul Rice; Lindsey Bolger, Senior Director of Coffee Sourcing and Relationships for GMCR’s Specialty Coffee Business Unit; and Costa Rican coffee farmers from Coopelibertad, a Fair Trade cooperative. Participants will learn what to look for in a good cup, understand how Fair Trade benefits coffee farmers, and submit questions about coffee and Fair Trade. For more information, follow the hashtag #eTaste on Twitter. To get a free Fair Trade coffee sample and RSVP for the tasting, visit www.facebook.com/greenmountaincoffee.
Vermont Country Blend and Our Blend are available nationwide in K-Cup® portion packs for the Keurig® Single-Cup Brewing System, 12-ounce bags, institutional fractional packages, and bulk format.
About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR)
As a leader in the specialty coffee industry, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR’s operations are managed through two business units. The Specialty Coffee business unit produces coffee, tea and hot cocoa from its family of brands, including Tully’s Coffee®, Green Mountain Coffee®, Newman’s Own® Organics coffee, Timothy’s World Coffee® and Diedrich®, Coffee People® and Gloria Jeans®, a trademark licensed to the Company for use in North America and owned by Gloria Jeans Coffees International Pty. Ltd. The Keurig business unit is a pioneer and leading manufacturer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems. K-Cup® portion packs for Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers are produced by a variety of roasters, including Green Mountain Coffee, Tully’s, Timothy’s and Diedrich. GMCR supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, and donating at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects. Visit www.gmcr.com for more information.
GMCR routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors in the Investor Services section of its web site, including news releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC. The Company encourages investors to consult this section of its web site regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by subscribing to the Company’s email alerts, individuals can receive news directly from GMCR as it is released.
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