MEDIA RELEASE 30 AUGUST 2006

Corporate Express, Australia’s leading supplier of office products and business supplies is now offering its customers access to Fair Trade coffee. Fair Trade is an alternative approach to international trade that seeks to ensure that small-scale farmers and plantation workers receive a fair price for their crops and labour and work under safe conditions.

Corporate Express has recently added República® coffee to its range to give its customers the choice, making them the first office supply company to actively offer Fair Trade Coffee to their customers.

“Customer feedback has been very positive. A number of our large corporate clients have added Republica to their orders despite the product costing them a slight premium,” said Corporate Express’ National Merchandising Manager, Anthony Izzillo.

“Our customers are telling us that they are prepared to pay a little bit more to make an ethical purchase to serve Fair Trade coffee in their board rooms and to their staff. We will also be looking to add tea and hot chocolate to our Fair Trade range in the future,” he added.

Fair Trade seeks to give producers in developing countries more control by paying them a fair price, helping them to develop the skills they need to develop their businesses and developing long term trading relationships.

According to the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, Australia is the fastest growing Fair Trade market and experienced 178 percent growth in sales in 2005.
República® Coffee can be purchased online using NetXpress at https://netxpress.biz/