Wednesday, 9 Jan 2002
SEATTLE, Wash.
Today I'm trying to schedule a meeting with a local coffee importer to tour their operation and learn more about their perspective on the coffee business. It's a visit that's probably long overdue, but somehow I've managed to put it off. Importers represent just one step in the process of converting coffee from crop to steaming cup, but they're crucial to establishing shade-grown varieties in the specialty market. What they choose to market to roasters and retailers is what ends up in the cafes and stores. Some promote shade-grown organic beans; others don't.
When the Northwest Shade Coffee Campaign began six years ago with a group of volunteers and the support of several local coffee companies, we approached the coffee issue much the same way activists tackle any problem: We held events and raised money and waited for change to come. And it did. Today, 45 roasters and retailers are part of the campaign. Each has pledged to offer at least one line of shade-grown coffee year-round and educate their customers about the benefits of shade-grown coffee. In exchange, they get to use our logo on their products.
To achieve what we have in the last six years, we've had to learn a lot about the business of coffee. For instance, something as basic as shade certification (independent confirmation that coffee is actually grown under shade conditions) is expensive and difficult to obtain. The sheer number of farmers, the different farming methods, and the vast geographic area all inhibit our information-gathering. Both the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the Rainforest Alliance certify shade-grown coffee, but there is no universal standard, no single label that lets consumers know they are buying coffee that is shade-grown.
We took a big step forward last May, when the Consumer's Choice Council issued "Conservation Principles for Coffee Production," a set of guidelines that can be used to create certification systems. The principles advocate coffee farming that protects wildlife and habitat, conserves water and energy, and creates sustainable jobs. These principles have been a powerful tool; Starbucks has used them to change their sourcing practices, prioritizing environmentally and socially responsible coffee in their acquisition process.
For now, though, consumers wade through three different systems when buying socially responsible coffee. In addition to shade-grown coffee, fair trade and organic coffee command attention on the supermarket shelves. Certified fair-trade importers like Equal Exchange work directly with coffee cooperatives, ensuring that farmers receive a stable price of $1.26 per pound. While U.S. importers encourage their cooperatives to adopt organic and shade practices, fair trade coffee is not necessarily organic or shade-grown. The best estimates are that 70 percent of fair trade coffee is organically produced.
If socially and environmentally responsible coffee is ever to move beyond the niche market of specialty coffee and "into the can," we'll need to develop one consistent label that indicates triple-certification. Three companies -- Folgers, Nestle, and Kraft -- control much of the mainstream coffee market. To date, they have done almost nothing to determine the source of their beans. Working through brokers and combining coffee from different countries to create their signature roasts, the big three conveniently opt to look the other way when it comes to the health of the workers and of the environment in coffee-producing countries.
I think that can change. But like the "dolphin-safe tuna" campaign of the 1980s, coffee will need an instantly identifiable logo to communicate to the majority of Americans who can't tell the difference between a cappuccino and a latte. Right now we're applying for funding to work with other organizations, like Conservation International, on the ground in coffee country, but a coordinated effort to ensure a steady supply of certified shade-grown coffee is still a couple years off.
Sometimes my ambitions for this project start spinning out of control. I'm so excited for everything to work, but I need to concentrate on building on what we've already accomplished -- like working on all fronts with consumers, importers, and retailers. Which reminds me, I've got a meeting to schedule.
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