Posts Tagged ‘Fair Trade’
Posted on April 21, 2008 - by deCadmus
Bloggle Redux: Green Up Your Coffee Cup!
On the eve of Earth Day, here’s an oh-so-topical post from the Bloggle archives. Read it, already? Good! I challenge you to give it another review and see how your efforts to green up over the last year stack up. (And feel free to post a comment bragging on how you’ve done!)
Tomorrow, a new Earth Day post: Green Up Your Coffee House.
In the face of the now very real threat of global climate change, this year’s recognition of Earth Day carries with it a certain sense of urgency. 
It’s time to change some habits. Permanently. The good news? Greening up your coffee cup doesn’t mean sacrificing the quality of your coffee! Here’s some tips to get you started…
- Enough of the paper filters, already. If you enjoy your coffee in a press pot, good on you, you’re already there. But if you’re making a drip cup, consider some alternatives to your paper coffee filters. The gold standard of reusable drip filters are made by SwissGold, and they have a product line that covers most every filter basket style — from Mr. Coffee to Bunn to Melitta-styled cone filters — used in auto-drip machines today.
- Enough of the bottled water, too. I’ve written quite a lot about the importance of good water for good coffee. So by all means, use great water, but make it great yourself. Start with water from your own tap and filter it with any number of great filtration products (I like Brita, and PUR.) You’ll save oodles of money, and save oodles of carbon emissions from all the shipping that bottled water requires.
- Heat your water on-demand. Long-time readers will know that I’ve proclaimed my love for Bunn coffee makers in the past… but I have to tell you, that relationship is over. Home coffee makers that keep water hot 24 hours are energy hogs, pure and simple. Instead, use a water kettle to boil up only exactly as much water as you need. Chances are it’ll take no more time than your Bunn ever did.
- Take your mug on the road. If you’re heading to your local coffee house, take your mug with you! There’s thermal travel mugs and tumblers of every sort to make sure you don’t spill a drop on your commute, and chances are your coffee shop will thank you! (One of a coffee shop’s biggest costs is paper, and the lion’s share of that is paper cups.)
- Choose Fair Trade Certified™ and Organic coffee. Yes, you really can make a difference by choosing coffee with eco-friendly bona fides. And you have been! Sales of Fair Trade and Organic coffee continue to see accelerating double-digit growth. Keep it up! These coffees are ecologically sound, sustainable, and make for safer, healthier coffee-growing communities.
Posted on January 18, 2008 - by deCadmus
The skinny on… skinny?
This one’s worth a read just for this quote:
My regular coffee order at Starbucks sounds ridiculous. “I’ll have a grande, no-fat, sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte, no whip. Please.’’ Once, a customer behind me chirped, “Would you like coffee with that?”
Heh.
Now Starbucks is making it easier on patrons like myself who like to order a little coffee with their adjectives. Coffee drinks made with nonfat milk and sugar-free syrups are now called “skinny.’’ So I can order a “skinny” Cinnamon Dolce and get the same no-fat, sugar-free, no-whip drink without so much effort. There are also “skinny” mochas, “skinny” caramel lattes and “skinny” hazelnut lattes.
This is new? This is news? I’ve heard “skinny” used in coffee shops from Portland, Oregon to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and all points between. And certainly not only at Starbucks. But it would appear that “skinny” has now officially hit the Starbucks lexicon. And some folks aren’t happy about it.
At The Gothamist:
The non-official Starbucks Gossip Blog posted a letter Wednesday that one disgruntled New York employee fired off to the company’s top brass. The barista wrote not to protest Starbucks’s aggressive ubiquity, their resistance to fair trade coffee, or their union busting tactics. No sir, she’s up in arms about the new company policy instructing employees to refer to drinks made with sugar-free syrup, non-fat milk, and no whipped cream as “Skinny.”
Um… yeah. That’s pickin’ your battles.
As a person of estimable size (i.e. a really big guy) let me offer a brief note to reluctant baristas, everywhere: if you think what you call your drink is going to have an impact my self-image — any impact at all — you greatly overestimate your power. If you think that “skinny” is politically incorrect and you’re personally offended by the term, you really need to get a grip. And if this is where you intend to make your stand, well… you might shuffle the deck of cards that comprises your priorities.
And that’s the real skinny.
Posted on August 30, 2007 - by deCadmus
Coffee Notes from All Over
- Hey, that’s pretty savvy for Wall Street. TheStreet.com’s Eileen Gunn takes a peek at Fair Trade — and Fair Trade coffee, in particular. For a publication that’s altogether dedicated to Free Trade it’s a remarkably balanced, and only remotely snarky read. Still…
“[T]his is where my capitalist instincts start to twitch. I’m always skeptical when someone tries to argue to me that subsidies are simultaneously superfluous and essential.
Moreover, those prices include a 10-cent premium for social and environmental programs (such as building schools and health clinics and teaching new farming techniques). In 2006, those dimes added up to roughly $91 million in social aid from the U.S. to growers in places such as Honduras, East Timor and Guatemala. That’s nice, but is it trade — communities benefiting from earned profit and prosperity — or is it non-tax-deductible charity?”
That’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it? The naked capitalist is entirely confunded about the difference between charity, and simply doing the right thing. For them the difference between a hand-up and a handout is entirely a question of whether or not you get a tax write-off. (sigh)
Just the same, I’m always happy to see capitalists twitch. Good for the soul.
- Meanwhile, the big kids continue to play with the box it came in. Procter & Gamble is suing Kraft over packaging. Since introducing its plastic AromaSeal canister in 2003, P&G has seen sales of Folger’s coffee climb. Now that Kraft has launched its Maxwell House brand coffee in a similar container P&G has cried foul. ‘Course the real foul here is their coffee, which, were it lavished with the same attention as its packaging, would be something to talk about. Meanwhile, both brands continue to lose ground to specialty coffee, in the grocery and beyond.
- Is somebody being clever? The headline reads, Uganda: Coffee Producers Are the Biggest Losers. While the article speaks to the unequal share of profits that coffee growers receive in the Ugandan coffee trade, it could as well be speaking to the latest trend among Ugandan exporters: actually *losing* the coffee. In just the last few months more than 20 containers (each with about 20 tons of goods) have arrived at their destination filled with — wait for it — dirt. Apparently the coffee was stolen before it left port, and they had to put *something* in the box.
Hey, that’s kinda like the story just before it, huh?
Posted on August 9, 2007 - by deCadmus
Brewing Justice — The Book — and The Principles
On the recommendation of Just Coffee’s Matt Earley, I’m picking up a copy of Brewing Justice, by Dan Jaffee.
Who is Matt, you say, that he should know from Fair Trade? (Apparently today you are a mensch… I don’t know why.) Matt and his crew at Just Coffee make up one of those small, really admirable coffee roasters that’s trying to raise the bar in terms of of transparency. For them, Fair Trade is a movement, not just a market. (Says so, right in their logo.)
I like the work that Matt’s doing, despite his tendency to talk crap about roasters — like Green Mountain — who offer a number of Fair Trade coffees (currently about 30% of coffee sales) but don’t offer Fair Trade coffees exclusively. This isn’t uncommon. In fact, it’s becoming something of a tradition among “self-certified” Fair Trade roasters… those who’ve who’ve cast aside third-party certification for their own flavor of a Fair Trade label. What tends to get lost in kerfuffles like this is that — despite the noise — the essential principles of companies like Just Coffee and Green Mountain are the same: a fair price for farmers, long-term relationships with growers, and support for sustainable and ecologically sound practices all around.
“Fair traders have been way too reluctant to take a critical look at what we are trying to build and this book accomplishes that objective and does it well. Dan makes the point that FT needs to re-connect with other organizations and movements for social and economic justice instead of selling out to the corporations that they oppose. We could not agree more.”
– Matt Earley, Just Coffee
I’m looking forward to some interesting reading.
Posted on August 6, 2007 - by deCadmus
Another View on Black Gold & Fair Trade
Hasbean’s Stephen Leighton offers a point of view on the Fair Trade coffee documentary, Black Gold, that’s informed and thought-provoking, and that will surely cause some to get their shorts in a bunch. And that’s just fine.
The Fair Trade system as we know it today does admirable things. It is not, however, a panacea. And it’s got some warts. And the only way to make it better is to keep the dialog going, otherwise folks who are serious-minded about coffee quality are simply going to route around it. Point of fact, they already are… witness the rejection of Fair Trade certification by some, and the various and sundry Direct Trade models that have begun to circulate.
I don’t think third-party certification is going to become irrelevant any time soon, but I worry that greater numbers of ever more prominent roasters may fold up their tents in favor of systems that offer equal transparency, more equity for farmers — no matter whether they’re a single-family farm or a coop or an estate — and increased respect for coffee quality as a part of the equation.
Posted on August 6, 2007 - by deCadmus
Selling Coffee to Kenyans
Oh sure, it sounds like the punchline to a joke. Something like “selling ice to Eskimos.” Instead, it’s an idea who’s time has come. Finally.
Most coffee growing countries you may visit you’ll have a hard time scaring up a good cup of coffee. Ask for a cup and often as not you’ll get instant – granules spooned from a tin or a jar kept above the stove. Only Ethiopia — the birthplace of coffee — has had a coffee-consuming tradition for as long as the bean has been cultivated. (Yemen, too, but somewhat less so.) This is changing, and one of the most profound changes may be in Kenya.
For most of Kenya’s 100 years or so of coffee production, it’s been illegal to roast beans for local consumption, all to better assure a steady supply of beans for foreign trade. Those rules have been relaxed… and many more of the traditionally rigid, compulsory practices of the Kenya Coffee Board are being reexamined as Fair Trade principles — and Fair Trade’s higher prices — find their way into the Kenyan economy. 
Thus, the latest entry into the Kenyan coffee culture… the iconic coffee shop –
“People thought we were crazy to try to sell coffee to Kenyans,” said Jon Wagner, an American former relief worker who co-founded the company eight years ago, and has seen revenues grow every quarter since. “It was virgin territory but we believed a good cup of coffee would always find a market.”
Posted on May 27, 2007 - by deCadmus
The Observer: What’s the Hidden Cost of a £2 Latte?
The Observer today features a weighty article on the filmmakers of Black Gold, some of the larger players in the coffee trade, and the challenges facing consumers who seek absolution in their coffee cup.
“There are few products of capitalism more pertinent than coffee, the world’s most popular drink, with more than two billion cups drunk every day. And there are few products more economically complex. The final price of a cup of coffee in the West will have absorbed the costs of insurance, taxes, transport, processing, packaging, marketing, storage and much more. But of the £2 charged for a cappuccino in a British coffee shop, an average farmer gets less than 2p.
Posted on May 12, 2007 - by deCadmus
Today: Celebrate a world event you never heard of!
You’ve been counting the days and it’s finally here… today is World Fair Trade Day!
What? Whatd’ya mean you never heard of it? Why it’s… it’s Big! It’s HUGE! It’s on everybody’s calendar, right? No? Well… I hear it’s big in Japan.
I guess it’s understandable you’ve never heard of it. Heck, until just a week or three ago even TransFair USA was a little confused about just where to find it on the calendar. And even today TransFair sends visitors seeking resources about World Fair Trade Day to a third-party web site that offers little more than empty pages and empty promises of world-changing stuff to come.
Really, now… that’s just embarrassing.
Despite the apparent cone of silence surrounding the day, there are about 50 events in honor of World Fair Trade Day in the US and Canada… perhaps you can find one near you. (Yo, Vermonters, there’s an event at the Brattleboro Farmers’ Market if you’re so inclined.)
Oh! And while on the subject of upcoming events, don’t forget that Sunday is Mother’s Day. I bet *that* one’s on your calendar!
Posted on April 22, 2007 - by deCadmus
Green Up Your Coffee Cup
It’s Earth Day…
In the face of the now very real threat of global climate change, this year’s recognition of Earth Day carries with it a certain sense of urgency. It’s time to change some habits. Permanently. The good news? Greening up your coffee cup doesn’t mean sacrificing the quality of your coffee! Here’s some tips to get you started…
- Enough of the paper filters, already. If you enjoy your coffee in a press pot, good on you, you’re already there. But if you’re making a drip cup, consider some alternatives to your paper coffee filters. The gold standard of reusable drip filters are made by SwissGold, and they have a product line that covers most every filter basket style — from Mr. Coffee to Bunn to Melitta-styled cone filters — used in auto-drip machines today.
- Enough of the bottled water, too. I’ve written quite a lot about the importance of good water for good coffee. So by all means, use great water, but make it great yourself. Start with water from your own tap and filter it with any number of great filtration products (I like Brita, and PUR.) You’ll save oodles of money, and save oodles of carbon emissions from all the shipping that bottled water requires.
- Heat your water on-demand. Long-time readers will know that I’ve proclaimed my love for Bunn coffee makers in the past… but I have to tell you, that relationship is over. Home coffee makers that keep water hot 24 hours are energy hogs, pure and simple. Instead, use a water kettle to boil up only exactly as much water as you need. Chances are it’ll take no more time than your Bunn ever did.
- Take your mug on the road. If you’re heading to your local coffee house, take your mug with you! There’s thermal travel mugs and tumblers of every sort to make sure you don’t spill a drop on your commute, and chances are your coffee shop will thank you! (One of a coffee shop’s biggest costs is paper, and the lion’s share of that is paper cups.)
- Choose Fair Trade Certified™ and Organic coffee. Yes, you really can make a difference by choosing coffee with eco-friendly bona fides. And you have been! Sales of Fair Trade coffee rose ten-fold between 2000 and 2005, and Fair Trade and Organic coffee sales are right now seeing accelerating double-digit growth. Keep it up! These coffees are ecologically sound, sustainable, and make for safer, healthier coffee-growing communities.
Visit TreeHugger.com for still more ideas to green up your cup.
Posted on April 19, 2007 - by deCadmus
How Many Labels are Too Many Labels?
Organic, Fair Trade, Direct Trade, Shade Grown, Bird Friendly, C.A.F.E., Whole Trade, Rainforest Alliance…
When Sam Fromartz’ article — Is This the End of Organic Coffee — first appeared in Salon it generated quite a lot of reader responses, with many folks writing along the lines of, “Just drink Fair Trade coffee, instead.” I wrote a letter, too, trying to make the point that not all certifications are created equal —
Organic and Fair Trade are each distinctive certifications, with different goals and methods and results in coffee farming communities. To suggest that in lieu of buying organic you can instead buy Fair Trade is well intentioned, but misstated.
Organic certification protects the land, the water supply, and the ecosystems that surround coffee farms — including many of those greenhouse-gas swallowing rain forest canopies that still exist — and exceeds the environmental goals and criteria of Fair Trade certification, alone.
It takes *years* to achieve organic certification on a coffee farm, and it costs not only dollars, but blood, sweat and tears to do so. Pulling the rug out from under coffee farmers who’ve worked hard to attain certification for their farm — and the subsequent price differential for their crop — only to lose it at the stroke of a pen in a government bureaucracy thousands of miles away is not just disheartening, but it could break the will of farming folk who’ve endured hardship enough, already.
In today’s Chicago Tribune, writer Monica Eng continues that theme by providing a Cert Cheat Sheet of sorts… and being in Chicago she includes Chi-town’s own Intelligentsia Coffee’s Direct Trade™ label, too —
Direct trade: A term that was created by Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea Inc. roastmaster and green coffee buyer Geoff Watts in response to his frustration with “Fair Trade.” Watts wanted to work more directly with individual farmers and to send his own representatives to verify adherence to a list of criteria, including a “verifiable price to the grower or the local co-op, not simply the exporter, must be at least 25 percent above the Fair Trade price; the grower must be committed to healthy environmental practices; the grower must be committed to sustainable social practices.” Watts is especially proud of the program’s ability to give a higher price to individual farmers who have produced outstanding harvests, even on small levels.
I admire the goals of Intelligentsia’s Direct Trade model (and have said as much, before) but I really begin to wonder: how many certification models do we need? Can any retailer-specific label carry the same weight as one that’s applied and certified by a third-party? And at what point do people who love specialty coffee start to get blinded and dizzy by the glare of too many labels?
Hello.
Bloggle is the online playground of Doug Cadmus, a usability guy, writer, photographer and sometime dramatist who moved to Vermont for the coffee. When not writing, reading or walking his old, blind golden retriever, he roasts coffee in his garage and is the Web Guy for Green Mountain Coffee in Waterbury, VT.Flickr Photos
