Starbucks Coffee

Since Starbucks began purchasing fair trade coffee in 2000, they have become the largest buyer of Certified Fair Trade coffee in North America – consisting of about 10% of the global market. Though, as with most large companies, it can be very difficult to ensure consistency across the many franchise operations. While Starbucks certainly purchases fair trade coffee from sources around the world, purchasing fair trade coffee at a Starbucks location can be hit or miss.

 

At some locations you must wait to for the fair trade coffee to be brewed especially for you while others have it available most of the time without a wait. On a recent trip to the Starbucks on Bluemont in Manhattan, I was able to get a cup of their Italian roast fair trade coffee with no problems. Beyond brewed, in-store availability, Starbucks also offers fair trade whole beans in some locations and other retailers.

During my research, I found that recently, Starbucks has switched to using all fair trade coffee in all the espresso drinks they make in the UK and Ireland with hopes to soon extend that standard to the US! That is a great step in fair trade availability because Starbucks is such as large company with a huge fan-base.  

In a 2009 interview, Senior Vice President of coffee and tea Dub Hay said that 10% of the coffee Starbucks purchases and sells is fair trade. A much larger percentage of its coffee meets C.A.F.E. guidelines.

Yep, Starbucks has its own certification system. With the help of Conservation International, Starbucks has developed buying guidelines for ethical sourcing of products. The Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices (C.A.F.E.) ensure that farmers grow coffee in a way that limits harm to both people and the planet. “C.A.F.E. Practices is a comprehensive set of measurable standards focused on the following four areas: Product Quality, Economic Accountability, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Leadership.” Currently, more than 80% of Starbucks coffee is at least up to CAFÉ standards.

 

The CAFE standards are quite interesting and are definitely worth looking into in. They can be found at: http://www.scscertified.com/retail/docs/CAFE_GUI_EvaluationGuidelines_V2.0_093009.pdf

More information on Starbucks’ ethical and sustainability standards can be found at: http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/coffee

M.G.

Einstein Bro. Bagels

Einstein Bro. bagel shop is conveniently located in the bottom of Hale Library. Many students find it a fast and easy place to grab a quick breakfast, lunch, or snack any time of day as well as a cup of coffee for a little pick-me-up. The shop offers many of bagel and coffee options to students, professors, and the public.

But is Einstein’s the best place to get fair trade coffee on campus?

According to the manager I spoke to, Einstein Bro. has certified fair trade coffee brewed and available during most business hours. He said that due to waning requests for decaf coffee and an increase in patron’s desire for fair trade options, the decaf carafe was replaced with a fair trade carafe this semester. That means that fair trade coffee – the Tribeca blend – is just around the corner for people on campus, with no waiting!

Einstein Bro. coffee is supplied by Coffee Bean International and Farmers Bro Company. Both companies claim to be supporters and/or partners of the Rainforest Alliance, Quality Assurance International Organic, Fair Trade, and USDA Organic certifications.

Find out more about Einstein Bro at their website: http://www.einsteinbros.com

M.G.

CornerStone Coffee and Bakery - Fair Trade Friendliest Place at K-State

Photo from CornerStone's Facebook page

K-State's Jardine Apartment's are hiding one of the best-kept secrets on the K-State campus - CornerStone Coffee and Bakery. According to their Facebook page, CornerStone is "A coffee shop and bakery in Jardine Apartment Complex serving Equal Exchange fairly traded coffee and espresso and made-from-scratch baked goods!" I even called them up to make sure that this advertisement was not outdated or simply too good to be true, and got the same answer: all coffee served at this location is Equal Exchange fair trade! If you haven't read my previous post, Equal Exchange is a co-op that provides fair trade coffee produced only by small farmers and co-operatives. K-State students might often think buying fair trade in Manhattan is just not an option, but this is just not true.

CornerStone is located in Building 5 at Jardine (the address is 2002 Tunstall Circle). Google maps unfortunately took their street view of this area before construction was completed, but this map should give you an idea of where it is located. There are metered spots for parking as well as parking available on Jarvis Drive for those without a parking permit (after 9 a.m.). CornerStone also has incredible hours, open 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. - 11 p.m. on weekends.

CornerStone has received our highest rating: an A+. Not only do they carry only Equal Exchange coffee (I know I mentioned that at least three times already, but I just cannot get over how cool that is), but they also have the latest hours of any of the other coffee shops on campus. Why more people don't know about this place, I don't know, but I'm excited to spread the word, and you should be too.

Drink on, coffee lovers, drink on.

Laura

Co-ops vs. Corporations

As Kat touched on in her first post, there are many different types of fair trade, and this can get extremely confusing for the consumer, not to mention disheartening if or when you realize that the "fair trade" coffee you were buying may not have been traded all that fairly. The website equalexchange.org has a lot of good information to educate consumers under the "our co-op" tab. What is especially exciting to me about fair trade is that I know that it not only gives small farmers a chance to be a part of the world marketplace, but it gives me a chance to be a part of that, too. By saying "I will only buy fairly traded coffee," I am saying that my caffeine fix is not worth someone else's suffering.
This coffee chain illustration from the website provides a simple way to understand the differences between fair trade coffee (through Equal Exchange's model) and conventionally traded coffee. Basically, there are less middlemen to deal with, thus the farmers are able to receive higher wages.

The World Fair Trade Organization lays out the 10 Principles that Fair Trade Organizations must follow at wtfo.com. These principles are:
1. Creating Opportunities for Economically Disadvantaged Producers
2. Transparency and Accountability
3. Fair Trading Practices
4. Payment of a Fair Price
5. Ensuring No Child Labor and Forced Labor
6. Commitment to Non-Discrimination, Gender Equity and Freedom of Association
7. Ensuring Good Working Conditions
8. Providing Capacity Building
9. Promoting Fair Trade
10. Respect for the Environment

Organizations like Equal Exchange have found that one of the only ways to truly uphold these principles is to work with small farmers and co-ops rather than large plantations and corporations.

One thing to look out for are Fair Trade USA products, which was formerly TransFair USA, which has left the international fair trade system (Fair Trade International/Fair Trade Labeling Organization, on the web at fairtrade.net), lowered standards, eliminated small farmers, and invited large-scale plantations into their dealings, according to Equal Exchange's website. You might ask "Why not deal with large-scale plantations?" and Equal Exchange comes to the rescue again. Small co-ops are run democratically; large plantations reinforce existing hierarchies. As the website states, "Buying from plantations, even ones that sincerely do right by their workers, largely reinforces long-standing power dynamics." Not only that, but large plantations sometimes even try to put co-ops out of business, while co-ops do just what the name implies - they cooperate with other business, as well as promote cooperation within their own businesses.

 Equal Exchange encourages people to sign this public statement which says that it is NOT OK to let these large plantations into the Fair Trade marketplace. We encourage people to look out for coffee products that are produced by Equal Exchange, and K-State students, you're in luck! CornerStone Coffee and Bakery, located in the Jardine Marketplace on campus carries only Equal Exchange coffee products. The next blog post will contain more information on this option for students.

Excited to learn more,

Laura

Caribou Coffee - Rainforest Alliance Certified

K-State's campus has a Caribou Coffee in the Student Union, a commonly visited area for many of us. But does Caribou carry fair trade coffee? According to Caribou’s website, they are now the first coffeehouse to serve 100 percent Rainforest Alliance certified coffee and espresso, but what does that mean?

According to rainforest-alliance.org, their certification is “awarded farms that meet the comprehensive standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network,” which focuses on “environmental, social and economic sustainability” on farms of all sizes, from small cooperatives to large plantations. It also states, “Because we believe that companies deserve recognition for their commitments to conservation, we allow those using at least 30 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified content to put the seal on packaging.” If it is less than 90 percent, labels are required to state how much is Rainforest Alliance Certified. Confused a bit? Me too.

The good news is, since the end of 2011, 100 percent of Caribou's coffee is actually 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified. Definitely a step in the right direction! It's important to note that Rainforest Alliance Certified and Fair Trade Certified are not the same -- you can read Rainforest Alliance's explanation of the differences here: rainforest-alliance.org/agriculture/faq-fairtrade. I would like to note that their information is slightly biased. This report gives a breakdown of Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance Certified, and salutes the Rainforest Alliance way because "they send a message to the big players in the coffee sector that they need to be more productive." I think it should be added that the option of supporting small farmers rather than the "big players" might be more productive than sending messages.

Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee COULD potentially help workers, as they encourage better employment practices, but their work with large corporations is somewhat of a red flag for me. They also state that they "ensure biodiversity on huge swathes of land," which is very exciting. The downside to this whole thing is that Caribou Coffee in the Union no longer carries the Fair Trade blend from Rwanda that they used to. While I salute Caribou for a step in the right direction, for the purposes of this project and this blog, which is to encourage students to understand and buy fairly traded coffee, I give them a C. While not the worst place to go, students should go get some Pura Vida coffee in the food court or head to CornerStone Coffee and Bakery in Jardine instead.

- Your friendly coffee companion, Laura

Pura Vida coffee - K-State Student Union

Pura Vida Coffee is a U.S. nonprofit organization that sells Fair Trade shade-grown organic coffee. Pura Vida coffee is available in the food court in the K-State Student Union until about 5 p.m. and costs less than $2 for a regular 12 oz. cup. Pura Vida coffee is available through Pura Vida's partnership with Compass Group, the leading food management company in the U.S., and Compass Group's affiliation with Chartwells, which provide food service to K-State.

Pura Vida coffee is one of the most ethically sound choice for students interested in Fair Trade. In addition to being certified through Fair Trade USA, Pura Vida Coffee contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to developing coffee-growing companies through its nonprofit Create Good Foundation. The Compass Group - and by extension, Chartwells - contributes 25 cents per pound of coffee to the Create Good Foundation, which gives the money back to farmers in rural communities by building latrines, digging wells, and providing water filters to communities in need of safe water and sanitary waste facilities. 25 cents might not sound like much, but according to greenamerica.org, the market price for most farmers, who sell through middlemen, is only 30 to 50 cents per pound, while Fair Trade organic farmers earn a floor price of $1.51. If these Nicaraguan or Guatemalan farmers grew coffee outside the Fair Trade system, they would not receive much more than 25 cents per pound.

For these reasons, we give Pura Vida coffee in the K-State Student Union food court an A grade.

For more on the Create Good Foundation's projects, visit http://creategood.org/cgf_index.php/projects. For more on Pura Vida, see http://puravidacreategood.com.

-Katie

Keep your money and your conscience!!!

As college students, most of us have a limited budget but also need our caffeine to get us through those long days when running off of little to no sleep. It may be convenient to grab a quick cup of joe when running in between classes, however, it’s better for your wallets and for your conscious to brew a thermos full of fair-traded coffee before quickly running out the door for your next class. Where might somebody purchase certified fair-trade coffee in Manhattan, KS? I am SOOOOO glad you asked! Though many people might assume that it would be hard for them to purchase fair-trade coffee for at home use, there are several grocery stores that offer numerous delicious and aromatic blends available for purchase! The list below indicates where exactly fair-trade coffee can be purchased 
1. Hy-vee (Organic Section) 
2. Dillons (Organic Section) 
3. People’s Grocery 
 4. Target 
5. Wal-Mart (Yes, even the grocery store that everyone loves to hate carries fair-trade coffee. 
Also, for you college students on a budget, Wal-Mart sells certified fair trade coffee under its Great Value brand for only $5.88 for a 12oz. bag!!! That’s really cheap compared to that “frapa-crapa-who knows how much sugar is in this-cino” that you pick up at Starbucks before heading to class, right?

Now that you are an educated consumer, making logical and informed decisions about where your coffee comes from, who the profits benefit, and where fair-trade coffee can be purchased, you can now brew your own cup (if you’re studying for finals week, make that a bubba-keg sized cup) of guilt-free coffee while keeping more money in your wallet. I don’t know about you, but that’s how I like my coffee…with a conscience. 
Signed, "I like my coffee fairly traded, and preferably in a dark roast" -Kaleigh

"What is Fair Trade, Anyway?"

    What is fair trade, anyway?

    It's an important question to ask if you want to get involved in the fair trade movement, or perhaps if you are just considering buying some coffee labeled "fair trade" at your local cafe.

    There are many different types of fair trade, but at the heart of the matter is the principle of equitable exchange:  In exchange for being paid a guaranteed price and meeting labor and environmental standards (both for the workers and the products they produce), farming cooperatives receive a "fair trade" certification mark on their products. This certification allows grocers to sell their products from the farmers directly, often at a premium, cutting out the inflated profits of the middlemen on whom they depend for getting their goods to distant markets.  This boosts profits for the farmers and provides consumers with the guarantee that the product was produced in a safe, environmentally-friendly, and fair way.

    There are many different types of fair trade, and not all of them are equal. Some producers use organic methods of farming that don't include chemicals and pesticides that could be dangerous for both the producer and the consumer, but don't actually engage in fair trade. Or perhaps it is "corporate fair trade" only where the products are still sold to an intermediate company before reaching their final destination market; or perhaps the product is being advertised as being fairly traded, but the money isn't actually going back to the people who produced it like you think it is. It is important to distinguish between these different types of trade, and understand the potential effects both on the people who produce the food, and the people who are consuming it.  No one likes the idea that buying a product would hurt the people who helped make it--and that is the idea behind free trade. Safety and equity for the worker, the consumer, and everyone in between! Fair trade means that you can feel good about the coffee you are buying, because you will know exactly where and how it was made.

    In this blog, we will explore the different types of fair trade, and how they relate to the college student's all time favorite beverage--coffee! There are a number of coffee shops on and around the Kansas State University campus that we probably all frequent, and together we will explore which of these establishments offer fairly traded coffee, what type of fair trade they implement, and provide a report on exactly what to expect the next time you go looking for your caffeine fix.


Your fellow KSU student and coffee aficionado,
Kat