Dean Cycon, author of “Java Trekker” and founder of Dean’s Beans came to Boston College this week to talk about fair trade. The audience he found was comprised of the sort of demographic one has come to expect at a discussion about social change or social equity.

Amongst the BC Green shirts and Philosophy majors, Mr. Cycon talked about the role Dean’s Beans played in the lives of its coffee bean suppliers and the simple ways in which larger coffee companies, such as Green Mountain and Starbucks, could dramatically impact the lives of the millions of people involved in the coffee bean production industry, at little cost to their profits.

Dean’s Beans started when Dean Cycon was fired from his job working as an environmental attorney. Deprived of a paycheck, he still wanted to work to change the lack of social consciousness in the world of commercial trade. He hoped to start a company that paid socially just (and therefore higher) prices for coffee beans while simultaneously charging low prices for its coffee.

He aimed to reinvest a portion of any profits back into the coffee-producing community. The goal of his experimental company was to remain fairly profitable.

Cycon’s business model was a success. He described a steadily growing profit margin and market share, despite an overall decline in U.S. coffee consumption.

The portion of profits reinvested in coffee-producing communities has, over the years, led to great social improvements. There are now wells in Ethiopia, so that the women and children of the village no longer have to spend all day walking up and down a mountain to get water for the coffee plants. Deforestation around Latin American villages has been reversed through the replanting of trees, reviving a stagnant lumber industry.  And thousands of children are receiving an education they would otherwise be without.

Cycon’s business model was not the only topic of his discussion, however. His other main talking point was the deception of the public perpetuated by larger coffee companies. He cited Starbucks as an example of one company that claimed to be “Free Trade,” when in reality only four per cent of its coffee beans are bought in that process.

He estimated that to be fully, one hundred per cent Free Trade, Starbucks would have to pay approximately the equivalent of seven cents a share. Their share price is $20.27 as of October 23rd.

Despite his self-proclaimed social activist roots, Dean Cycon has proven himself a very capable businessman. He founded a multi-million dollar company focused not solely on its bottom line, but primarily on conducting business ethically.

His business practices have released third world communities from the grip of poverty. His outspoken opposition to the deceptive policies of larger corporations has raised awareness of their malfeasance. His lecture was remarkable. But there was one thing that didn’t make sense – why were there so few business students there?

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