When you write a blog about going green, sometimes people ask you questions about the many products that are out there. A few people tell me they are concerned about drinking coffee that might be harvested using methods that are bad for the environment or grown and sold in ways that are unfair to the people working the fields. Well, let me tell you of one company that a friend told me about and maybe it will help you in your search.There is a company called Ethical Bean Coffee. They do not claim to be a green coffee company but they do have some mighty fine claims nonetheless. There are 4 pillars that this company claims to abide by in bringing coffee beans to your table. Those pillars are the following:
1. Fair Trade
2. Organic
3. Community Minded
4. Environmentally Minded
Ethical Bean Coffee says that bringing you absolutely delicious coffee is important but if it does not fit into those 4 concepts, they won't do it. Let me explain something about those concepts.
Fair Trade - Fair Trade coffee is produced and trade through an alternative system to the conventional way that the coffee market runs. Producers are assured a minimum price based on the costs of production and not the volatile market price. There is also additional money paid to the coffee cooperatives to invest back into the community the way they see fit, but in order to receive this allotment, they must follow regulations to ensure they are operating in a just and sustainable manner. Small family farms must organize into cooperatives and cannot allow forced labor or child labor. Fairtrade Labeling Organization International (FLO) is the international umbrella organization that sets the Fairtrade standards.
Organic - The coffee beans have to be organic. They have to be certified organic and be shade grown coffee that is best for the farmers and for the environment. Organic farmers have created resourceful ways to compost and to use coffee pulp and poultry manure to household waste in fertilizers. Harmful pesticides and herbicides are never used. Coffee grown in the shade grows slower and is more sustainable and does taste better.
Community Minded - Ethical Bean Coffee states that community is a must in their company. A part of the proceeds from every bag of Ethical bean coffee goes to support two non-profit organizations, Child Aid and Project Somos. Child Aid provides educational help for children in Guatemala and Project Somos is building a village for the huge number of Guatemalan children who have been orphaned. These are just 2 of a few organizations that Ethical Bean Coffee supports.
Environmentally Minded - All of this leads to Ethical Bean Coffee being socially aware and environmentally minded and that is a company you do not mind doing business with.
If you want to read more about Ethical Bean Coffee, just click on the link below and see more of what I have covered here. You can also order from them there. If the link is not working at this time, return to this page and find some of the companies that are linked on the page that offer the same things Ethical Bean offers. Look for Swiss Water Coffee or Healthwise for the best alternatives.
